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| Sidewalk Cafe on the Octagon in August (like February in the northern hemisphere) with high temperatures consistently exceeding 10c/50f |
We frequently receive two questions from MBA student candidates: (1) why is the Otago MBA programme relatively small; and (2) why isn't our programme ranked in the "Top 100" in the world? The simple answer is, "by choice."
I have explained the value we deliver to our students (defined as attention to the individual and whole person, with an emphasis on his or her thinking abilities and character) and our selection of high-quality student candidates (less than one in ten is accepted). Here's an important insight into strategy design: all of the elements of any enterprise's business model must fit together to deliver best value to its customers. You cannot produce a Ferrari on an assembly line and can't sell gourmet cuisine in a fast food business model.
We choose to remain a boutique programme (N = 30 to 40 full and part-time students) and fly beneath the radar of ranking organizations (Financial Times and Economist) to deliver best value to our students. Now consider, the top one-hundred MBA programmes in the world possess the resources and talents to deliver high value to their students: you still need to define this "value" for yourself. Perhaps one percent of MBA candidates attend these schools. The other 99 percent of MBA candidates face the choice of attending a "me too" programme that (less effectively) mimics the strategies of Top 100 schools or look for something different.
The Otago MBA management team made the decision long ago to design a fully-integrated programme to deliver value at the individual level and not compete head-to-head with large scale "name" programmes. We continue to articulate our business model and refine its implementation year by year to create an integrated experience aimed at developing the individual into a career-ready business professional.
I have explained the value we deliver to our students (defined as attention to the individual and whole person, with an emphasis on his or her thinking abilities and character) and our selection of high-quality student candidates (less than one in ten is accepted). Here's an important insight into strategy design: all of the elements of any enterprise's business model must fit together to deliver best value to its customers. You cannot produce a Ferrari on an assembly line and can't sell gourmet cuisine in a fast food business model.
We choose to remain a boutique programme (N = 30 to 40 full and part-time students) and fly beneath the radar of ranking organizations (Financial Times and Economist) to deliver best value to our students. Now consider, the top one-hundred MBA programmes in the world possess the resources and talents to deliver high value to their students: you still need to define this "value" for yourself. Perhaps one percent of MBA candidates attend these schools. The other 99 percent of MBA candidates face the choice of attending a "me too" programme that (less effectively) mimics the strategies of Top 100 schools or look for something different.
The Otago MBA management team made the decision long ago to design a fully-integrated programme to deliver value at the individual level and not compete head-to-head with large scale "name" programmes. We continue to articulate our business model and refine its implementation year by year to create an integrated experience aimed at developing the individual into a career-ready business professional.
We choose to operate as a boutique programme and we're the right choice for MBA
candidates who want to differentiate themselves from the masses.
If you're concerned about getting lost in the crowds,
David
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