As Finansovye Izvestia writes, they are nevertheless in demand, although very specific, and not many people are willing to get such a narrow education. And the demand for the church MBA program at Bishop Grosseteste College turned out to be so small that it had to be closed.
However, according to Peter Calladine, accreditation manager at the Association of MBAs, some MBA programs in specific fields are doing quite well. It is very important to position a program correctly. At the University of Leicester you can find an MBA program for bankers and financiers, Aston University offers an MBA for civil servants, but everyone tries to avoid faceless names like "European MBA" or "International MBA".
"Avoiding the 'specialization' factor in MBA programs is almost impossible today, and we have to put up with it," says Professor Jake Yong Ken, director of full-time study on MBA programs at Manchester Business School. In his opinion, the term "Special MBA" is an oxymoron of our time, since business education was originally conceived as a degree in general management. When it became obvious that the market was close to saturation, some schools, in an effort to stand out from the crowd, began to focus on specific marketing niches.
"Perhaps it was the only way for them to survive, but such an idea goes against the very concept of an MBA," says Yong Ken. No program is perfect. For example, graduates of a regular generalist MBA who have decided to build a career in the banking and financial sector, traditionally the largest consumer of MBA talent, will feel a lack of specialized knowledge and skills. Therefore, the professor believes, more attention should be paid to studying the issues of this direction.
In the US, the market for specialized programs thrives because they are tied to market development trends, such as management in sports or the hotel business. In France, there are MBA programs in winemaking. Nevertheless, narrowly specialized programs can usually be found only in small schools, believes Professor Yong Ken. "You are unlikely to find specialized programs in the largest schools that are included in international rankings."
Peter Calladine believes that graduates of general business education programs have a better chance of success. "Usually such programs have good elective courses. So if you need deeper knowledge in banking, you choose the appropriate classes." According to many analysts, the future belongs to specialized programs. But whether these forecasts will come true remains to be seen.
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