At Harbert: How We Think
LEVERAGING STUDENTS’ WISDOM DEEPENS LEARNING FOR ALL P eople seek an MBA more than any other graduate degree. With over 1,000 MBA degree programs in the United States, those pursuing the degree have plenty of options to consider. Answering the
ever come their way. But there is an advantage to be found, and it’s that advantage that distinguishes Auburn’s EMBA. By design, we leverage the expertise of the cohort. We deliberately recruit a class and construct a cohort where, despite the many individual gaps in understanding business, the members of the cohort, with their diverse industry backgrounds, represent the full complement of business disciplines. And we impress upon each student the expectation, the duty, to share their expertise. By design, the cohort provides a capable think tank, where each member serves each other as part of a comprehensively competent pro bono consultancy group. We’ve found that our cohorts are remarkably durable. Class members not only stay in touch with each other, they often reach out to other classes — which means that the larger cohort continues to develop and to educate itself well beyond graduation and well past the requirements of the degree. Ultimately, we are dedicated to producing students who are not just educated, but who are energized to boldly impact their organizations and the world, students who will do the extraordinary.
question “Why should I choose Auburn?” is a challenge. Of course, a program should develop and expand a student’s functional capabilities, but by design, Auburn’s Executive MBA goes beyond the offer of a broadly respected degree. Organizations and the problems they face are inherently complex. Executives — in their area of expertise — may offer significant contributions to the corporate mission. However, those same executives may be largely unknowledgeable of corporate operations outside their expertise. In fact, this lack of a broad understanding is often the driving force behind the pursuit of an MBA. Increased business knowledge not only develops and expands an executive’s operating capability, but it also enables a comprehensive awareness of business functions, which, taken together, optimizes the enterprise’s overall performance. The dynamics of modern-day business deliver a constant stream of surprisingly new complications. In fact, some complications will arise that don’t even exist today. In the world of unknown unknowns, no MBA program can teach its graduates to solve every problem that will
JOE COLLAZO Assistant Director Graduate Executive Programs
Successful Harbert students join Collazo on graduation day.
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