<blockquote>Based on your knowledge, what is MBS known for in the international circuit?</blockquote>
Well, it's listed on this site in this list of top b-schools for marketing:
http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/21/marketing

It looks like they base it mainly on the school's research capacity and the fact that FT rates it highly for marketing.

But Businessweek data says that a lot of grads go into financial services and technology - so, its grads seem to be pretty well-rounded.

Thanks for the message Ralph.

Also, the Financial Times ranks Manchester Business School 10th in the World in the area of International Business and 9th for Marketing.

I was wondering how is MBS ranked in Europe or globally for its focus on entrepreneurship? For example,Babson is known for it focus on entrepreneurship and of course all great schools (e.g. Stanford, INSEAD) are highly focussed on entrepreneurship and in generating entrepreneurs these days (and maybe since long).

Do you have any idea on MBS' focus on entrepreneurship? For example, I heard that have some special visa scheme for entrepreneurs.?

Thanks.

Dear Duncan

I understand that in the past few years many B-schools have focused on introducing entrepreneurship courses (e.g. specific courses on how to do business in a flat world, how to do business in emerging markets etc.).

MBS Masters seems to have a lot of courses on Innovation and entrepreneurship. Do you have any idea on whether the same holds true for the MBA course also?

Thanks.

Have you looked at the curriculum?

MBS doesn't have a huge offering of entrepreneurship electives, but you can choose to do an MBA project in entrepreneurship - where you can either build your own business plan or study that of a client organization.

If you're interested in entrepreneurship, maybe check out the Cambridge program, which features a concentration and a more startup-oriented focus.

Ralph's not quite right: MBS has a massive range of entrepreneurship courses, but they are almost all in its Masters of Entrepreneurship programmes http://mec.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Studywithus/Postgraduatedegreeprogrammes.aspx MSc http://www.mbs.ac.uk/masters/courses/inno-manage-entrepreneurship/ and in the Global MBA.

Thanks Ralph and Duncan.

As per https://mec.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Enterpriseforstudents.aspx
MBS indeed has a lot of entrepreneurship courses, but they are almost all in its Masters of Entrepreneurship programmes.

Also, as pointed out by Ralph, the MBA program also as an elective focused on Entrepreneurship (maybe there exist more - I will research those).

I need to figure out if and how the MBA students get the opportunity to participate in such events held by other programs such as Masters.

Thanks.

Hi Duncan

Since I plan to join Manchester Business School (more of a general management program rather than a program focused on finance or consulting or marketing), I am trying to get a better idea regarding a career in "general management" post MBA.

Professionally, I have played various roles such as market research, presales, digital marketing and communication in the global business research industry. I have not specialized in any specific function till now.

This work experience has provided me the opportunity to understand how the global market research industry operates. I have also developed a good understanding of multiple industries due to a business-research driven role.

I want to understand how I can leverage my current experience and my future MBA knowledge to make a transition to a "general management" profile post-MBA.

During my own research on "general management careers" post MBA, I found that ~ 10% students take up general management jobs post MBA (as indicated by the employment stats of several schools that I researched).

Also, different schools have their own definitions of "general management".

For example, IESE says this ->
http://www.iese.edu/en/mba/general-management-perspective/

On the other hand, INSEAD has a specific program on General Management (and many more like these.) ->

http://executive.education.insead.edu/transition_to_general_management

Usually, people talk a lot about finance and consulting roles offered post-MBA and I could find a lot of online literature on these 2 topics. But I could find very limited information on general management profiles.

Can you recommend the best way to learn more about the general management roles offered post-MBA?

There are very few jobs called 'general manager', but a general management position is one where the person is a manager in the traditional sense of someone who has to use all the general management tool kit: is not a consultant or a functional specialist (finance, operations etc). Generally functional manager move up into general management roles. Entrepreneurs and leaders are also often general managers.

So, when looking for a general management role, the question is: what sort of business unit could you successfully lead. I think most MBAs from top schools could easily lead a business is that is like an MBA study group: five or six people. People in these roles have various job titles and at Insead, for example, alumni in these roles are typically said to be 'in industry'. Insead is a school for consulting and IB, so it's not really optimal for general management.

So, you'd move into general management either
- by taking a supervisory role in an organisation, perhaps initially of a small team or
- by working in consulting or a functional role and then moving into a management/partner type position.

Thanks for the response Duncan.

One of the MBS students with whom I interacted recently mentioned that "For internships, some good general management roles are on offer if you're interested in getting into Industry".

For now, I understand that general management roles exist in companies (start-ups/medium size/large) from any industry (e.g. healthcare, telecom, media etc). For such roles, students are required to have a holistic view of that given business (e.g. leadership, good understanding of finance, marketing etc). and should be able to integrate all these
skills and apply them.

I will do some more research to understand what type of general management roles are offered in internships in what type of companies (as they may lead to full time job opportunities).

Remember that a general management role in a large firm will tend to go to a senior person, because the role is responsible and mission critical.

I should also add that general management is more, or less, idiomatic in different places. In Italy, for example, the name of the leading school, the SDA, is 'school of general management'. Here in the UK, no-one really talks about 'general management'. We talk more about supervisory management (or just management).

Yes, I agree that general management is more, or less, idiomatic in different places.

For example, a general management role in a small/mid-size firm (with < 100 employees) may have less stringent criteria in terms of "seniority". In case of a start-up where the average age of the employee is (say 26), the general manager/supervisor may also be relatively young (say 30). But am not sure though whether small/mid-size firms have any requirement for general managers/supervisors in the UK. In India, start-ups (say 100-200 employees) hardly have dedicated openings for a General Manager (as opposed to openings for a Sales or a Marketing Manager).

However, large firms may logically have more openings for such roles as opposed to small firms.

Also, I find a lot of overlap between the role of a general manager (any industry) and a business consultant (any industry). They are not specialists, yet need to understand and have a holistic view of how any business/industry/ company operates.

Hi Duncan

Can you comment on the type of industries and companies in which Manchester MBA's work? I did check Linkedin but could not find any specific trends regarding alumni base of MBS.

LinkedIn will show you the companies and industries. Also look at http://www.mbs.ac.uk/mba/transform-your-career/full-time-careers-service/post_mba.aspx

<blockquote>Regarding securing full time offers from internships, international exchange programs or international projects, are you aware of the factors that are MOST important for employers these days? For example, is it past work experience, past salary, GMAT score, MBA grades etc?</blockquote>
I seriously doubt that an employer is going to ask for your GMAT score, or even your grades. Hands-on experience through internships and projects, and your business school's reputation, and especially how you carry yourself in an interview are probably the most important factors.

Thanks for the inputs.

hi duncan,

Amongst the two Msc. marketing courses, Imperial and Cass Which one is better?
1) in terms of brand value (ranking) ?
2) in terms of employability?
3) in terms of alumni?

What should I go for?

Post-masters I want to get into digital marketing/branding/consulting or related field.

Since the Cass course has no alumni, I think you can answer this yourself.

But ranking wise Imperial was not there in the list of business schools. What would you suggest?

And also, could you please share the link of the correct ranking for Msc in Marketing?

I need to make a decision. Please help me