MBA in Germany to Earn Money
Taking the success of Mannheim Business School MBA students as a model , German business education has recently been rapidly “coming out of the shadows”, relying on the country’s successful economy and world-famous companies.
Three quarters of the course of the MBA program are foreign students from 22 countries of the world. Jens Wüstemann, the school’s president, says that close collaboration with businesses is now seen by many as a chance for German MBA programs. Mannheim’s proximity to Frankfurt and Stuttgart, where German companies are based, is the main reason for the attractiveness of the program.
“Many of our students want to work for German companies,” says Professor Wustemann, “they believe that Mannheim will help them get their dream job and stay in Germany.”
Given the international success that many German companies can boast of, it seems very strange that the country’s business school has not yet suffered the same fate. German schools have never been prominent in world rankings. Hence the optimism that causes a stable strengthening of the country’s position on the world stage among schools.
People want to know what’s so special about this country, says Michael Frenkel, dean of the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management . “Never before have business schools had such a great opportunity to capitalize on interest in their country.”
Many factors have contributed to the fact that German business education has not yet received international recognition. MBA programs have never fit into the structure of the country’s higher education, which favored long theoretical courses. Entire generations of managers often began their careers by the age of thirty. Infrequently, one could also face the rotation of personnel between companies.
Reforms in European higher education, the so-called Bologna process, have contributed to the fact that bachelor’s programs have become shorter, and younger people have begun to enroll in them. This new generation was ready to return to the classroom after a few years of work. Also, very important for German business education, employers have begun to pay more attention to ongoing training for their staff.
Jessica Thiel , Head of Human Resources at Henkel , says the Bologna process has also affected companies.
“It brings quite a lot of positive things for such a global company as ours, as it equalizes international qualifications. It also encourages us to be active and think about its possible impact on our business,” says Jessica.
Daniela Feuchtinger , head of employee development at insurance company Munich Re , also sees that “companies today have more commitment to their employees and play a bigger role in staff education ”. According to Daniela, today there is a need for personnel development courses.
Educational reforms can be combined with international interest in creating the image of German business education. GMAT data show that since 2007, the number of tests addressed to German business schools has quadrupled. Now Germany ranks fifth in Europe in this indicator. If we consider applications exclusively from European students, then their number has increased by 5 times, compared with 2007. According to the rating, the Germans themselves prefer to receive business education at home, followed by the United States. Also, the GMAT data showed that the average test taker is somewhat younger.
“I worked in the USA for 8 years and constantly encountered people’s surprise. They couldn’t understand why Germany – a very developed country where many world-class companies are based – doesn’t have big business schools, says Joerg Rohol , president of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. – For a long time, German education did not enter the international market, like, for example, American or British education, but now everything is changing. The number of students who need business education is growing substantially.”
ESMT was founded in Berlin 10 years ago. It was funded by 25 of the most reputable German companies and business associations that understood the need to develop German management education.
Munich Re was one of these companies, and as Feuchtinger says: “It was important for us to help develop a European style of business education. Europe and Germany in particular need it very much.”
It is difficult to give a precise definition of the German style of business education. But Professor Rohol talks about the things that German companies have made famous all over the world – technical excellence and reliability. Professor Frenkel says that at WHU students can get ideas that are distinctive for German business . We are talking, for example, about the experience of attracting ordinary employees to meetings of the board of directors, and involving them in the decision-making process.
If German business education does manage to rise in the rankings, it could strengthen the next generation of German managers, just at a time when companies are waging fierce wars for talent. Many firms see foreign students as a resource that can be very well used in the context of globalization processes. Professor Rohol says that 90 percent of ESMT’s MBA students are foreigners. In addition, 60 percent of students stay in Germany after graduation.
Rolf-Dirk Rothheim completed Henley’s MBA program in the UK in the 1990s. He currently holds the position of Head of Human Resources for the German logistics company DHL . He says many German companies “know how to use the new business school policies to their advantage. Today, German companies clearly understand that when they give employees a chance to get a business education, this strengthens their position as an employer.”
Moreover, Rotheim emphasizes that often large companies are no longer German, but international: “In the process of globalization, they have realized the need to build international networks and intercultural interaction, in which MBA graduates demonstrate competence. This gives an MBA in Germany a “second wind,” he says.
But this positive trend is not limited to large companies. Professor Wüstemann says that students from countries such as India and China are highly valued in smaller firms, such as the family-owned Mittelstand , which wants to break into the markets of these countries. “These companies are looking for students who are already accustomed to Germany and can become a kind of bridge between it and their country,” says Wüstemann.
If everything is really so, this may help some of the “implicit champions” of the German industry to hold out on the world Olympus for some more time.