"Mini-Guide" to an Online MBA

Here are some how describe the master's in business administration program:

• "Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs are designed to focus and develop the quantitative, leadership, and communication skills of its students to optimize their performance in the business world. The MBA experience prepares individuals to better their decision making ability by strengthening technical, analytical and strategic aptitude, while being able to negotiate issues regarding ethical business practices."

- eLearners.com

• "For businesses across the globe, the MBA degree represents a set of internationally recognized and valued managerial skills. Candidates pursue this training to better utilize resources, increase efficiently, and obtain better results, eventually progressing to the management level in a large company or as an entrepreneur. Many others realize that the MBA is also a tool for life."

- Nick Barnard, MBA Center Zurich

• "For my undergraduate degree, I attended a liberal arts college that didn’t offer a business major. As a result, prior to attending business school the vast majority of my business, finance, and economics knowledge was learned on the job. The MBA provided a formal education in these key areas and a solid foundation to put to work when faced with new situations. Even though the terminology used in the workplace may be different in the classroom, it all comes down to the same constructs and if you know those, you are much better off."

- What Can You Do with a Major in Business? Kate Shoup Welsh, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2005

Think about an online MBA degree program if:

• You already own or run a business, but need more skill and credibility for dealing with lenders, investors, and customers
• You are creative and enjoy thinking and learning of better ways to do things.
• You are intellectually curious, interested in pondering business problems.
• You enjoy taking risks to achieve your goals.
• You have natural leadership skills and are not afraid to take charge of a situation.
• You like debate, negotiation and the decision-making process.
• You like working with people and being part of a team.
• You want to develop your network of contacts.
• You want to gain the skills to start and run a business.
• You want to learn how to manage within the technical or artistic field in which you are already employed.

Perhaps instead of an online MBA, you might consider these master's degrees instead:

• Master of Business Communication:
  Programs pair practical aptitude and academic theory to prepare managers on interpersonal and intercultural communication skills and how to optimize new media in their business practices.
  Master's Degrees in Business Communication | Business Communication Certificates
• Master of Educational Administration:
  Develop the skills to effectively, ethically negotiate the issues that educational leaders confront: organizational leadership and management, school finance and budgeting, curriculum planning, and community relations.
  Master's Degrees in Educational Administration
• Master of Engineering Management:
  Designed to develop managerial, analytical and interpersonal competencies for engineering and science professionals keeping up with the demands of business.
  Master's Degrees in Engineering Management
• Master of Information Technology:
  Degree programs provide students with the theory, methods and applications for evaluating an organization’s needs and how to best implement the latest technology to maximize output.
  Master's Degrees in I.T. | IT Certifications
• Master of Public Health:
  Health professionals can increase the ability to address and anticipate the health needs of a community by researching and understanding the cultural, economic, environmental factors that affect its people.
  Master's Degrees in Public Health

Most business schools allow you to choose elective courses to customize your curriculum. This enables you to develop expertise in specific fields by choosing a concentration:

• MBA in Accounting
  Expose yourself to a variety of business disciplines; focus on the collection, documentation, interpretation and communication of an organization’s financial performance.
• MBA in E-Commerce/E-Business
  Learn how technology and business concepts can connect by using the Internet; have a better grasp of hardware and software and how it can be applied to expand a business.
• MBA in Finance
  Understand the complexities of the domestic and global markets; learn how financial decisions are made and the ways that financial risk is managed.
• MBA in Health Care Management
  With a focus on health care services, study the financial, legal, and human issues that arise and its effects on a health organization’s operational success.
• MBA in Human Resource Management
  Familiarize yourself with the skills necessary to manage issues relating to organizational staffing, compensation, and employee well-being.
• MBA in Innovative Entrepreneurship
  Know how to identify and seize new business opportunities and effectively establish and operate a new business, company or franchise.
• MBA in International Commerce/Global Enterprise Management
  Think about business on an international level; how the interplay international culture, policy, and law affect business operations.
• MBA in Nonprofit Management
  Learn how to ensure the sustainability of your organization; explore methods and systems used to maximize fundraising efforts and resources while improving services and public image.
• MBA in Project Management
  Focus on the process of project management and how to optimize time, budget and resources while minimizing risk and other potential variables.
• MBA in Sports Management & Leadership
  Examine the financial, legal and socio-cultural issues that affect the sports industry; know how to spot opportunities and avoid being ineffective in your position.

While the exact curriculum will vary from school to school, here are some of the courses you might take as an online MBA student:

• Administrative Policy
• Business Economics and Forecasting
• Business Statistics
• Commercial Real Estate
• Economics of Labor Markets
• Ethics, Leadership and Entrepreneurship
• Financial Accounting
• Financial Management and Markets
• Government Policy
• International Business
• International Marketing
• Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
• Marketing Management
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Principles of Managerial Accounting
• Quantitative Analysis
• Strategic Philanthropy and Social Enterprise
• Supply Chain Management

When you have completed your online M.B.A. program, you will likely have gained many of the following skills and competencies:

• Ability to contribute solutions to organizational problems
• Ability to evaluate and exploit business opportunities
• Ability to make decisions with imperfect information
• Better leadership skills and methods to encourage and motivate a team
• Clearly and effectively communicate (speaking, writing, using body language)
• Enhanced negotiation skills
• Heightened sense of ethics when making business considerations
• More effectively interact with peers and colleagues
• Solidify your quantitative skills
• Strengthen understanding of concepts, operation and techniques of modern business
• The know-how to align projects and procedures with business strategy
• Understanding of and ability to use technology as a tool of effective management
• Widened knowledge of the cultural, and sociopolitical context of business

As a career-oriented major focusing upon entrepreneurship, business management and operations, and consumer needs, business majors are needed in a variety of industries, such as:

• Advertising agencies
• Architectural and design firms
• Hedge funds needing managers
• Investment banks
• Local, state, and federal level government offices
• Management consulting firms
• Market research firms
• Mortgage banks
• Non-profit organizations
• Public accounting companies
• Public relations (PR) firms
• Retail establishments (casinos, food companies, hotels, restaurants, etc.)
• Security and information management companies
• Sports management firms

Here is a sampling of jobs you for which you may be qualified with a master's degree in business administration. Use this for inspiration, remembering that this many represents some, but certainly not all, of the careers can consider.

• Account Representative
• Auditor
• Budget Analyst
• Human Resources (HR) Executive
• Import/Export Specialist
• Internet Business Developer
• Investment Banker
• Real Estate Broker
• Stockbroker
• Systems Analyst
• Chief Financial Officer, Financial Controller
• Chief Investment Officer
• Managing Director
• Product Director
• Project Leadership Consultant
• Principal/Founder
• Senior Project Manager
• Senior VP of Program Practices
• Vice-President of Sales & Development
• Vice-President of Real Estate Acquisitions