An Introduction To MBA course at the School of Industrial & Commercial Management and Tourism Management of Yunnan University

I. What does MBA mean?

MBA is the abbreviation for Master of Business Administration. It is a professional management master’s degree introduced and recognized by western states.

As a professional master’s degree, MBA is different from other kinds of master’s degree. Firstly, the aims for this course are different. The MBA course aims at training pragmatic, integrated and superior personnel for enterprises and superior managements charging in economic management, while other master’s degree courses aim at training personnel for scientific research and teaching. Secondly, the enrolling requirements are different. Students for the MBA course must have a bachelor’s degree and a three-year working experience, while other kinds of master students could be those who are either newly-graduated bachelors or serve in a working unit. Thirdly, the ways of training are different. The MBA course emphasizes the importance of pragmatic ability through real cases analyses and field-work study based on modern management theory by which the students can face the tests of theory and skill, individualism and psychology, and personal aim, while other master’s degree courses emphasize theory study and academic research.

Although MBA differs from other master courses in the aspects mentioned above, its enrollment and management accord with other courses in the sense students have to pass the national examination before entering the course.

II. MBA both in and out China

As a professional master’s degree and a qualification for business activities, MBA originated in America and is now recognized across the world. In western countries, one of the major pre-requirements of obtaining a senior management position is to have got h the MBA degree. One million students are conferred MBA degree in America and European countries every year, and more than 5,000 students in other areas like Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. In America, one out of five graduates are MBA masters. They play an energetic role in every walk of life like industry, commerce, finance and tourism.

For keeping the pace with international level of training industrial and commercial personnel, China began the MBA course in its nine key universities in 1991. Now 62 Chinese universities in 27 provinces have been approved by the State to offer. the MBA course. In 2001, the number of enrolled MBA students in China was 12227 and the total number, up to this year, reached 47,586; among them, 29819 are still at the course and 12, 484 are enterprise managers. 12, 508 persons have got the MBA degree. The MBA personnel have been playing an important role in the society. MBA education becomes a major means of training senior management personnel. The MBA degree is the first professional degree in China that has gone international.

Since1997, China has put into practice the system of the same subjects, the same examination guide, the same paper and the same enrolling yardstick for people to take the MBA entrance examination. All the students applying for the course study have to pass the entrance examination. The five subjects included in the exam are mathematics, logic, management, Chinese and politics. The methods of examination are undergoing continuous improvement but still center on the integrated ability and potential of the applicants.

III. MBA in Yunnan University

In 1999, Yunnan University formed an MBA Application Working Team directed by its main leaders. This team made preparations for applying for the approval to undertake MBA education. In March 2000, MBA Education Directing Committee was founded and was directed byVice chancellor Wang Rong. In June 2000, the application forms were submitted to the Department of Education of Yunnan Province and then to the State Academic Degrees Examination And Approval Committee. On October 10, 2000, Yunnan University was certificated to undertake MBA education as the first and only MBA education organization within Yunnan University.

Since 2001, Yunnan University began to enroll MBA students among those who had certain working experience and were with a Bachelor degree. There are two kinds of MBA classes in Yunnan University: one is called “the planned and limited class” which opens to people from all walks of life in accordance with the enrolling requirements. Students apply in October, take the examination in mid January, begin the semester in autumn, and get the degree after obtaining the required credits and passing the thesis defense; the other is called “the in-service class” which opens to enterprise workers recommended by provincial enterprise leader training organizations. Workers apply in May or June, take the examination in late October, begin the semester in spring, and get the degree so long as they pass the thesis defense.

The MBA education in Yunnan University aims at cultivating handy-at-all personnel of erudition, of a creative mind, of sociability, of cooperating spirit and of an ability to meet the requirement of market economic development. As a three-year program, MBA education adopts the credit system. MBA graduates have to obtain at least 45 credits and pass the thesis defense before getting the degree. MBA course in Yunan University has three orientations: enterprise management, tourism management, and technology and information management. To this end, elicitation and seminar approaches are put into practice, fostering and improving the students’ ability to think and resolve practical problems through case analysis, group discussion, simulation on computer , and consultation.

Yunnan University makes good use of its education resources to guarantee the quality of its MBA course. For the teaching staff, the university has engaged teachers with high academic credentials, sent excellent young teachers to famous universities home and abroad to learn systematic industrial and commercial management courses, encouraged young teachers to study for a doctorate in relevant fields, and selected excellent MBA graduates in the university as teachers. The quality of teaching staff has been improved greatly. In regard to teaching facilities, the following are available for use for the MBA course: 2 multi-media classrooms, a computer library, a library with more than 10000 Chinese and foreign books, more than 100 Chinese and foreign journals, and a set of American ABI/BPO data retrieval system through which summaries of more than 1000 English journals and whole contexts of more than 500 journals can be referred. In addition, other facilities also make the MBA study more convenient, such as the library of Yunnan University, ,the computer center, Internet center, and information center.

IV. Yunnan University’s enrollment Of MBA in-service class in 2001 in Yunnan

In 2001, the State Council granted Yunnan University to enroll 80 in-service students. From early July 2001, 437 people from various industries, enterprises and economic management authorities submitted the application forms. Yunnan University held a training class from late July to early October and employed excellent teachers of both in and out Yunnan Province to take charge of the class. On 13^th and 14^th, October, the students took the examination. On 3^rd and 4^th, November, more than 340 students were interviewed in Yunnan University on politics. In December, 2001, the enrollment standard was disclosed by the State .133 students who applied passed, Furthermore, 70% students who passed the examination were those who had attended the pre-exam training class at Yunnan University. The number of the students passing the examination was twice the number granted by the State Council. Tanks to the Department of education of Yunnan Province,,Yunnan Commercial Committee and Yunnan University, the State Council granted 8 more quota to Yunnan University. Therefore, the enrolled number increased to 88. Other 45 students who passed the examination were enrolled by Jiangxi University through the negotiation and cooperation between Jiangxi University and Yunnan University. The enrolling job was completely fulfilled in late February 2002. 134 students from metallurgical industry, chemical industry, electric industry, electronic industry, telecommunication, finance, education and service industry entered the university on 14^th March 20, 2002. From MBA enrollment in 2001, facts show that the enthusiasm of applying entrance to MBA course is great and the demand for MBA students is large. MBA education will develop with great potentiality in Yunnan Province.