Why an MBA?

"Job security," replied Ian Millar, country general manager and managing director of Johnson Controls. He has an MBA from Manchester Business School.

Millar decided on the degree when the company he was working for in 2006, York, a home heating and cooling manufacturer, became a subsidiary of Johnson Controls.

"It was the trigger. In the end I did not lose my job. But I kept doing my MBA as it was helping me, in any case, to do my job," said Millar.

He added "most recruitment companies insist managers have an MBA. I want to stay in Asia, in Thailand, and with my MBA I have more opportunity and more job security. It also takes me to another level of my job, a much higher level".

Michiyuki Miura, who obtained an MBA from Manchester Business School 10 years ago, is now general manager in the accounts and finance department of Isuzu Motors Co (Thailand).

Working for a construction company in Malaysia, he decided to take the MBA to improve himself and his career path. He already had a bachelor's degree in geology from a university in Tokyo.

It took him seven years to get the MBA part time, studying while working in Burma and then back in Japan.

After graduating he started working for the carmaker. A year later, he was promoted to the Thailand unit.

"Don't keep your money just in the bank. Invest in an MBA for future benefit. Why not?" he said.

MBA programmes include various business management areas, such as marketing, economics, accounting, finance, human resources, business law and research.

Everyone takes a MBA for different reasons. Apart from getting better careers, they want to broaden their knowledge and seek connections.

"Networking is most important. Students can develop lifelong friendships," said Chris Higgins, a country manager at Manchester Business School.

Sompon Ekteerajit, chief executive officer of Lease IT, a subsidiary of SVOA, took an MBA at Thammasat University because he wanted to broaden his knowledge, even though he already had a master's in accounting.

He said the MBA helped him to draw a broad picture of business management using his new skills blended with his 20 years of workplace experience.

"The content has given me more understanding, which benefits my management skills. If I did not have the MBA, I would be a manager with narrow views," he said.

For example, learning organisation behaviour taught him employees want acceptance and teamwork as well as money.

He now knows how to motivate front office and back office workers.

Before taking the degree he did not know how to handle staff properly.

Sompon believes taking a MBA in Thailand is better than studying abroad. Thai universities have comprehensive case studies of local companies and an understanding of the country's economic and social environment.

It is cheaper, too.

Similarly, Ekkapob Makeguljai, institutional sales manager at Citibank Thailand, said he took the degree to sharpen his knowledge. "This is the next step of learning," he said.

He is an another Manchester MBA student and is now one of the youngest managers at the big company.

Millar found a MBA helped him do his job better. "Practically, it also helped Johnson Controls achieve significantly better financial results. I can learn something this week and apply it this week," said he.

He said he has undertaken his MBA part time so he does not have to put his job on hold.

Meanwhile, Voraya Chattanrassamee, vice president of the MBA 2007 student committee at Chulalongkorn University, Sasin Graduate Institute of Business, is majoring in entrepreneurship in her degree.

"This is to run my family business, www.thaijobcentre.com or other interesting companies".

She chose Sasin instead of going abroad because she wanted to stay close to her parents after spending seven years at high school and university in the United States.

MBAs are becoming more important to managers.

Even in Thailand, demand for MBA degrees has been on the rise. Many local universities have formulated their programmes to match the needs of students.

At Sasin, considered a leading local business school, degree modules were developed in collaboration with other international universities.

Recently, Sasin joined the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton in developing MBA programmes.

Sasin has cross registration with 18 other universities in the US, European Union, Japan, Korea and Australia.

Six of every 10 professors teaching the Sasin programme is from Kellogg. Each programme is designed to fit the demands of both Thai and foreign executives. The school revises the programme yearly to keep it current with the prevailing business environment.

The school can admit only 95 to 100 students a year.

Sasin focuses on case studies and teamwork.

Obtaining a MBA in Thailand backed by an international school is another option.

Manchester Business School has tried to penetrate the Asia market, including Thailand and is bullish about its prospects in the region.

The school was ranked by the Financial Times as the fourth best school in the UK, the ninth in Europe and the 20th of 1,500 MBA programmes in the world.

Established in 1965 the school has 3,000 students and has a network of over 5,000 former students in 130 countries. Many students are from overseas. Most foreign students are from Asia followed by Western Europe.

Higgins of Manchester Business School said the school has a representative office in Bangkok recruiting students.

"We have 20 MBA students here half way through their course," Higgins said.

Distance learning is growing in popularity.

Higgins said Manchester's MBA programme comprised three elements: course modules which direct students through the subject matter; residential workshops in Manchester or at one of its overseas support centres (Hong Kong, Singapore, Jamaica, Malaysia and Dubai); and the project stage, in which students cover a work-related management issue.

It has MBAs for engineering and for financial managers and financial professionals.

"The programmes were designed for adults. We do not recruit post graduate students," he said.

MBA students are required to have a minimum of three-years management experience and be aged not less than 27.

Tuition is 14,400 British pounds (Bt995,130) including tutorial support, workshops and exam fees, plus all study material.

Anoma Srisukasem

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation