Executive MBA influence on Creative Industries and Digital Business

When an Executive MBA degree designed specifically for candidates in the creative industries was launched three years ago in the UK, cynics may have thought they were safe in thinking such a degree was just a fad and would eventually run its course. But judging by the popularity of Henley Business School’s MBA for Music and Creative Industries, which builds on the school’s Flexible Executive MBA program, there’s no sign of demand for this degree waning. In fact, the growth of the program – Henley launched it in South Africa this year (2014) and has plans to offer the program in Hong Kong in 2016 – indicates quite the opposite. Salford Business School has also joined the ranks of provision for executives in creative industries and is targeting the digital business sector with their part-time Executive MBA program.

Both programs are proving business school is no longer just for the stereotypical corporate executive.   

An Executive MBA for a growing sector

Henley Business School’s program director, Helen Gammons, says when the dean, Professor John Board, was first approached about the degree four years ago, the sector had already experienced significant change. “There was a real need for the development of strategic capability and this need is growing, not diminishing. This is demonstrated by our numbers for March 2015 increasing again; in fact they are up by 100% on this time last year,” Gammons says.

The 30-month, part-time program aims to develop skilled leaders in the creative industries and covers areas such as copyright development, brand sponsorship and value creation, as well as international policy and regulations – all specific to the music and creative industries. The program has attracted a diverse range of candidates but Gammons says they have each benefited from it.

“Several [candidates] were self-starters having developed and led a team inside a large corporate organization and who were now finding themselves managing their own business and employing their own teams. They knew instinctively that their skillset needed to be sharpened and developed to cover areas of business that they were not previously in charge of, but which they now needed to be more accomplished in.

“The other type of person wants to stretch their organization’s business model from within the company and seek out new and emergent opportunities,” Gammons says. “To do this they feel they need to be as good as other executives in other business sectors. They have recognized a particular need and priority to think and develop more strategic partnerships.”

Business skills for the creative industries

While a link between a ‘creative’ and an ‘EMBA’ may seem tenuous, the degree is certainly beneficial to this group of candidates. “The creative industries attract very bright, entrepreneurial individuals who demonstrate a high degree of passion and commitment to their work. An Executive MBA provides a set of tools that enhances what they do already, it complements and supports them in a sector that is now used to significant change and which continues to adapt,” says Gammons.

“With our MBA for the Music and Creative Industries, applicants have a chance to enhance their business capabilities and skills but we also contextualize discussions, case studies and have additional guest speakers to bring the applied sector work to life,” she says. “It is a key part of the Henley Business School MBA, it gives the applicants a world view of business and strategic application with a more closely defined discussion.”

Creatives in digital business

Another creative industry being catered for is digital business. Salford Business School has a part-time Executive MBA, which is designed to develop candidates’ commercial awareness among other essential skills. Dr Marie Griffiths, director of Salford Business School’s Centre for Digital Business, says new workplace jargon such as cloud computing, enterprise 2.0, SEO and s-commerce are, more importantly, innovative digital technologies that are radically altering the business landscape. “This pace of change brings major challenges for businesses; some are woefully unskilled and ill-equipped to compete in such turbulent environments and some don’t believe the hype,” she says. “Gaps in our high street confirm that large organizations, such as HMV, Kodak, and Thomas Cook Travel, are not looking forward, adapting their business models or aligning business and IT strategies to meet these new challenges.

“Business leaders, from CIOs of global firms to MDs of SMEs, need to be armed with digital business skills to remain ahead of the competition, but, more importantly, be knowledgeable about how to integrate innovative thinking, services and products into their business strategies. An EMBA: Digital Business is becoming critical for businesses who want to lead rather than follow.”

Creating diversity in the digital business

Dr Griffiths says the curriculum of the Salford Business School EMBA: Digital Business was, and continues to be, informed by the burgeoning creative industry in the northwest of England. “We listened closely to what employers and the industry needs and embedded those requirements,” she says. “The wishlist included innovative approaches to solve problems, digital literacy skills, strategic planning and pioneering attitudes.

“The EMBA: Digital Business includes two specifically designed modules, ‘Digital Innovation’ and ‘Search and Social Media Marketing’, which include sessions on innovative thinking, product creation, and entrepreneurship. The Digital Innovation assessment focuses on wearable technology, such as Google Glass, which is now becoming a reality after so many science fiction interpretations, while the Search and Social Media Marketing module provides students with a skill set to pitch business ideas to the market place. These skills and expertise will enable students on this pathway to be business pioneers of the future.”

Such examples demonstrate the diversity of the Executive MBA degree. Once upon a time deemed a degree for those in more ‘traditional’ professions, the adaptability of the degree and the diverse range of skills it provides candidates means it’s a qualification for all executives, regardless of specialty, sector or industry.