Specialist Education for Senior Executives

September 7 2003 - Business expects too much from MBAs and not enough from senior executives according to Bernard Cronin, Victorian executive director of the Australian Institute of Management (AIM).

"Turning to an MBA graduate for management expertise is like going to your GP for open heart surgery," claims Bernard Cronin.

"While both the graduate and the GP should understand the basic principles of the operation, they both lack the experience and specialist training to undertake such a critical task.

Mr Cronin said, "Many of the appalling problems exposed in major Australian organisations in recent times are symptoms of a lack of formal, contemporary education amongst senior business leaders.

"In every organisation the senior managers should have ample experience as well as the contemporary qualifications desirable for a person in their position of responsibility.

According to Bernard Cronin the MBA was never meant to do more than give a promising business person a thorough grounding in the basics of business.

"If you need to know the basics of business, do an MBA, but if you want to make a difference to a company, get all the experience you can and maintain your education and training in your field of specialisation," he said.

"Then if you want to run the company, get the best management education you can."

AIM analysed education offerings for senior executives from around the world before forming a partnership with Europe's largest business school to develop what it claims is the "ultimate management qualification for Australian executives".

Director of the AIM Masters of Management program, Associate Professor Murray Ainsworth, contributed to RMIT University's MBA programs for 25 years before joining AIM.

"The AIM Masters is not an MBA - far from it. It is for senior executives and people who did an MBA ten years ago and who are now ready to lead in an increasingly unpredictable global business environment," Professor Ainsworth said.

Professor Ainsworth said the AIM Masters is designed to produce "confident citizens of the future" by teaching innovative approaches to strategy formulation in the context of the "knowledge-enriched new economy".

Senior executives with substantial experience or who hold two graduate certificates or a graduate diploma may apply to complete just the final year of AIM program to gain their Masters of Management degree. The program is delivered part-time via a combination of residential modules and Saturday classes in Melbourne.

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