What Is An MBA and Things You Should Know

Hours Categories Business Administration and Management

There’s no pathway more straightforward to success in business leadership than earning a Master of Business Administration degree. When companies look internally or externally for management and executive talent, those with an MBA degree typically move to the front of the line.

Professionals earning an online MBA degree accomplish two things at once. They learn the latest best practices for business success while also signaling to their own company or recruiters that they have mastered the complexities of business leadership.

What Is An MBA?

An MBA remains the gold standard for business professionals ready to move into organizational leadership. MBA graduates focus on maximizing profits while learning the fundamentals of finance, budgeting, and management needed to become an executive.

Earning an MBA can boost the careers of both young and mid-career businesspeople. Many students get some experience in the business world before pursuing their MBA. Companies in every industry fill C-suite offices with those who have earned an MBA. Executives also often choose MBA graduates as department heads and unit managers. Many MBA graduates use their business expertise to become entrepreneurs, launching their own business enterprises.

Online MBA Degree Concentrations Offer Students Career Options

Online MBA degree programs offer students concentration options, preparing them for success in their desired business career path. 

Touro University Worldwide offers students ten different concentrations through its online MBA program. There is no GMAT or GRE requirement to apply. Professionals can continue to work while earning their MBA online in one year.

The concentrations are:

  • Accounting
  • Artificial Intelligence Management
  • Cyber Security
  • Finance
  • Global Management
  • Health Administration Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Marketing
  • Nonprofit Management
  • Physicians and Healthcare Executives

The MBA program has six start dates per year. A recent survey of MBA graduates from Touro University Worldwide found that their median salary reached $112,500. That’s considerably higher than the median projected salaries for all MBA graduates nationwide – $87,966.

TUW also has a strong retention rate for students in the MBA and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programs.

What You Learn In An MBA Program

Every professional reaches a point where they consider earning an MBA. That’s especially true now that online MBA programs allow professionals to schedule schoolwork around their professional lives.

They also have plenty of reasons to earn the degree. As noted by the Harvard Business Review, earning an MBA gives graduates:

  • Leadership and management skills and best practices
  • Tangible evidence that they are serious about taking on high-level jobs and mastering the complexities of management
  • A chance to learn the latest, most effective business strategies in a connected world
  • The chance to network with fellow MBA students from across the country and around the world

MBA programs have a variety of curricula, depending on the concentration chosen by students. They all provide students with an education in the business fundamentals that lead to top leadership positions.

Economics: In addition to learning economic fundamentals, students examine why some countries are rich and others are poor, the inequity in pay between genders, and the use of data analytics to develop a deeper understanding of economic trends.

Finance: What are the options for raising capital for a new business initiative? What are the best choices for investing profits? Finance looks at the flow of money through an organization and the best ways to maximize every return on investment.

Accounting: MBA students learn how to account for cash flow through a business. They also learn government and industry standards for financial record-keeping and tax law implications. Graduates also understand the difference between managerial accounting (reports to managers) and financial accounting (reports to external parties).

Marketing: Students learn the elements of successful marketing campaigns, including digital marketing. MBA students learn the latest tactics and strategies in getting an effective message to the target audience.

Skills honed in an MBA program include communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, supporting teamwork, and applying leadership theories to practice.

Skills You Need in an MBA Program

U.S. News & World Report offers advice on succeeding in business school. The first bit of advice is attending all orientations and online “meet and greets.” Fellow students can become lifetime friends and business contacts.

Other tips include building and sustaining a strong network, brushing up on quantitative skills, and boosting reading habits (MBA students typically get assigned a hefty dose of reading).

The skills required for success in an online MBA degree program mirror those needed for successful business leaders. They include strong skills in communication, interpersonal situations, critical thinking, and problem-solving. A consistent drive to learn the latest best practices for business leadership is also a key trait for successful MBA students.

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