MBA一年還是兩年英語(yǔ)美文

　　ONE YEAR OR TWO?

　　Like practitioners of extreme sports, MBA students go to great lengths to persuade friends, family and future employers what a punishing experience they are undergoing. Business school is – we find ourselves saying – “intense”. This incantation obscures the fact that some MBA courses, including almost all those in the US, take two years, while most in Europe take one.

　　Apart from length, what is the difference? Neither format dominates the business school rankings. Employers do not seem to discriminate. Course syllabuses look similar. Nonetheless, all courses are definitely not the same.

　　There are, for a start, degrees of intensity. It would be unwise to expect class-free Fridays and work-life balance on a one-year course. The compression of the programme leaves little fat and no chance to catch up if you fall behind. At Insead, the school that pioneered the one-year MBA format 50 years ago, classes start at 8.30am, often finish at 7pm and go on regardless of public holidays.

　　In this format, core courses are largely dispatched in a four-month sprint at the start of the year. Engineers and business graduates may be able to treat subjects such as statistics or accounting as refreshers, but those without either a quantitative background or business education face a mountain to climb.

　　The composition of the classes may be different too. One-year courses may have more sponsored students and may be older. Average ages for some European one-year courses are distinctly higher – often about 29 or 30 – meaning participants have more workplace experience. More experienced students may find discussions of leadership frustrating in classes where few have ever managed other workers.

　　In terms of what happens in the classroom, the differences are clear. A one-year programme might squeeze a course of 10 three-hour sessions into 16 90-minute slots. Two-year MBAs, such as that at Iese Business School in Spain, thus have time to stick to the Harvard Business School model, where every class revolves around a discussion of a business case. This means shorter MBAs do not waste time rehearsing material students can find in textbooks.

　　The critical difference between the two modes of study is off campus. At the heart of the two-year programme, in the long summer break between first and second years, is an internship. This summer job on steroids allows students to subsidise their study and try a different career for 12 weeks.

　　Some manage to cram in more than one, according to David Simpson from London Business School.

　　“These days we are seeing an increasing number of people taking more than one internship, working for a month or more for two completely different companies.” In addition, LBS students must complete a two- to four-month paid consulting project with an external company in their second year. These opportunities to experiment and interact with outside organisations – while not absent – are reduced on a one-year course by sheer timetable pressure.

　　Another important differentiator must be the motives of those studying. Those who have a definite goal and do not need time to ruminate and explore will find little to complain about on a one-year course. Anyone who wants time to think and feel their way into a career, might want the extra flexibility of a two-year programme and the extra opportunities to work with companies in different sectors.

　　For those who do not want to choose, there are à la carte options. Since 2005, LBS has offered students the chance to front-load their study, complete fewer electives and finish the course in 15 months. This option is popular for would-be entrepreneurs who have found a promising project.

　　Columbia Business School in the US offers a 16-month variation, whereby those who do not want an internship can begin the course in January and study through the summer, beginning the second year in sync with the September intake.

　　The biggest difference of all is geographic. For most, the choice is two-year study in the US versus a year in Europe. US classes tend to be slightly younger than those in Europe and they are often less international. Almost all US schools are at least two-thirds North American. But for anyone wanting to work in the US, this offers an excellent insight into US business culture.

　　Comparison is tricky because nobody takes both paths. A two-year programme offers room for manoeuvre and more time to network. A one-year course strips study down to a frenzied sprint, where friendships are bound by shared adversity. At the very least, you learn good time management.

　　MBA：一年還是兩年?

　　和極限運(yùn)動(dòng)參與者一樣，MBA的學(xué)生費(fèi)盡唇舌讓他們的朋友、家人以及未來(lái)的雇主相信，他們正經(jīng)歷著一次相當(dāng)累人的經(jīng)歷。商學(xué)院是緊張的——我們發(fā)現(xiàn)人們都這么說(shuō))。這個(gè)口頭禪模糊了一個(gè)事實(shí)：包括幾乎所有美國(guó)MBA課程在內(nèi)，很多MBA課程都是兩年制，而大多數(shù)歐洲的MBA課程都是一年制。

　　除了時(shí)間長(zhǎng)短外，還有什么區(qū)別呢?兩類課程的時(shí)間并非決定商學(xué)院排名的主要因素，雇主似乎也沒(méi)有厚此薄彼。課程提綱看上去也很相似。不過(guò)，所有的課程顯然不會(huì)一樣。

　　首先，兩者的緊張程度存在區(qū)別。在一年制的課程安排中，你別指望會(huì)有沒(méi)課的周五，也別指望工作和生活的平衡。整個(gè)項(xiàng)目的壓縮，給你留下了很少的空閑時(shí)間。如果你落下了，就沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)再追趕上去了。作為50年前開(kāi)創(chuàng)一年制MBA的先驅(qū)，在歐洲工商管理學(xué)院(Insead)，早上8:30開(kāi)始上課，下午7點(diǎn)結(jié)束。節(jié)假日也是如此。

　　在這種模式中，大部分核心課程被安排在最初4個(gè)月的沖刺期內(nèi)。工科和經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)科的畢業(yè)生們可能會(huì)覺(jué)得某些課程是小菜一碟，比如統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)和會(huì)計(jì)學(xué)，而對(duì)那些沒(méi)有數(shù)學(xué)背景或者沒(méi)有接受過(guò)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教育的學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō)，它們卻難如登山。

　　班級(jí)構(gòu)成也是不同的。一年制課程的班級(jí)里，委培學(xué)生可能會(huì)更多一些，學(xué)生的年齡或者更大一些。歐洲的某些一年制MBA班級(jí)，學(xué)生的平均年齡明顯大一些——通常大約29或者30歲，這意味著他們擁有更多的'工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)。經(jīng)驗(yàn)較豐富的學(xué)生可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，在一個(gè)很少有人曾有管理經(jīng)驗(yàn)的班級(jí)里討論領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力，會(huì)讓他們有挫敗感。

　　至于課堂內(nèi)容，區(qū)別也很明顯。一年制的項(xiàng)目會(huì)把一個(gè)原本10次3小時(shí)的課程壓縮成16個(gè)90分鐘的小節(jié)。而兩年制的MBA課程，如西班牙Iese商學(xué)院開(kāi)設(shè)的MBA課程，卻有時(shí)間堅(jiān)持哈佛商學(xué)院(Harvard Business School)的模式，即每節(jié)課都圍繞一個(gè)商業(yè)案例展開(kāi)討論。這意味著時(shí)間較短的MBA課程不會(huì)花時(shí)間來(lái)復(fù)述材料。學(xué)生在教科書上可以找到這些材料。

　　這兩種學(xué)習(xí)模式的關(guān)鍵性區(qū)別是在校外。兩年制項(xiàng)目的核心，是第一學(xué)年和第二學(xué)年之間長(zhǎng)暑假中的一次實(shí)習(xí)。這份夏季工作可以讓學(xué)生們暫時(shí)放下學(xué)習(xí)，嘗試一份為期12周的不同職業(yè)。

　　倫敦商學(xué)院(LBS)的大衛(wèi)?辛普森(David Simpson)表示，一些學(xué)生能夠成功完成不止一份實(shí)習(xí)。

　　“這些日子我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，實(shí)習(xí)多于一份、分別在兩家完全不同的公司里工作一個(gè)月或者更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的人數(shù)在不斷上升。”另外，倫敦商學(xué)院的學(xué)生在第二年必須與外部一家公司完成一項(xiàng)為期2至4個(gè)月的有償咨詢項(xiàng)目。而一年制課程由于極大的時(shí)間壓力，減少了這些與外界組織實(shí)踐和互動(dòng)的機(jī)會(huì)——盡管不是完全沒(méi)有。

　　另外一個(gè)重要的差異是學(xué)生的動(dòng)機(jī)。那些有明確的目標(biāo)、不需要時(shí)間來(lái)琢磨和思考的人會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，一年制課程沒(méi)有什么可抱怨的。而需要時(shí)間來(lái)思考、體驗(yàn)自己職業(yè)道路的人，可能想要兩年制課程額外的靈活性，以及在不同行業(yè)公司工作的額外機(jī)會(huì)。

　　對(duì)于那些不想選擇的人，還有特別選擇。自2005年開(kāi)始，倫敦商學(xué)院為學(xué)生提供了提前學(xué)習(xí)、完成較少的選修課、在15個(gè)月內(nèi)結(jié)束課程的機(jī)會(huì)。這個(gè)選擇受到那些已經(jīng)建立了一項(xiàng)有前途的業(yè)務(wù)、可能成為企業(yè)家的學(xué)生們的歡迎。

　　美國(guó)哥倫比亞商學(xué)院(Columbia Business School)提供了一個(gè)16個(gè)月的變更選擇。那些不想實(shí)習(xí)的學(xué)生可以在1月份開(kāi)始上課，整個(gè)夏天都學(xué)習(xí)，在9月份與其他同學(xué)一同入學(xué)，開(kāi)始他們的第二學(xué)年。

　　兩年制課程與一年制課程最大的不同是地理位置。對(duì)于大多數(shù)人而言，他們的選項(xiàng)是美國(guó)的兩年制課程和歐洲的一年制課程。美國(guó)班級(jí)的同學(xué)年齡往往比歐洲的同學(xué)年輕一些，國(guó)際化程度也弱一點(diǎn)。幾乎所有的美國(guó)商學(xué)院里面，至少三分之二都是北美人。但對(duì)那些想在美國(guó)工作的人，這里能讓你極好地洞察美國(guó)的商業(yè)文化。

　　對(duì)比是可笑的，因?yàn)闆](méi)有人會(huì)兩條路都選。兩年制的項(xiàng)目會(huì)提供謀劃調(diào)動(dòng)的空間以及更多交際的時(shí)間。一年制的課程把學(xué)習(xí)精簡(jiǎn)為瘋狂的快跑，在患難與共之中建立友誼。至少，你學(xué)會(huì)了很好地管理時(shí)間。

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