中国高管缘何青睐美国MBA课程

    37岁的翟宁（音译）已经拿到了一个MBA学位，目前在上海高新技术企业一瑞电子（EasyWay Electronics）担任总经理，职业生涯顺风顺水。那她为什么还要不辞辛苦飞行7,300多英里来到北卡罗来纳州的小城教堂山学习商业课程呢？

    翟宁（英文名艾米）意识到亚洲的商业环境正在发生变化。她认为自己需要不断的学习制造、全球供应链和国际市场方面的新鲜知识，才能保持竞争力。因此她报名申请了由北卡罗来纳大学（the University of North Carolina）凯南-弗拉格勒商学院（the Kenan-Flagler Business School ）和清华大学（Tsinghua University）合办的双学位高层管理人员工商管理硕士（EMBA）项目：全球供应链领袖双学位课程（Global Supply Chain Leaders Program）

    翟宁说：“当初拿到自己第一个MBA学位的时候，我还年轻。工作一些时间后，我感觉到MBA可以提高我的职业素养，让我提升到国际视角的高度来思考问题。”

    翟宁并不是第一位到西方学习管理课程的高管。亚洲职场对高端商科学位的需求正在兴起。美国和欧洲的商学院正和东方的院校合作提供EMBA和其他项目。中国经济的快速发展引发了一系列问题，其中就包括高级管理人才的短缺，亚洲的商业精英希望通过参加EMBA项目学习来弥补这一不足。

    美国西北大学（Northwestern University）凯洛格管理学院（Kellogg School of Management）和香港科技大学（the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology）合办的EMBA课程连续四年蝉联英国《金融时报》（Financial Times）最佳EMBA排行榜榜首。美国马里兰大学（University of Maryland）和亚利桑那州立大学（Arizona State University）的商学院是为数不多的与中国高校合办EMBA项目的两所商学院。其他国家的商学院也紧随其后。欧洲工商管理学院（INSEAD）和加拿大西安大略大学（University of Western Ontario）也在与中国高校合办面向中国高管的国际EMBA课程。

    2012年10月，清华大学-北卡罗来纳大学合办的双学位EMBA项目迎来了首批24位中国高管学员，其中有4位是女性。和翟宁一样，多数学员都是有丰富经验的专业人士，平均拥有21年的从业经验。学员在北京完成其中三分之一的课程，每月一次课，上课时间为周五至周日。余下的课程通过全球游学和两期为期各16天的教堂山集中学习完成。

    这个项目收费六万美元，不含住宿费用。但是这个标价并没有吓退任栋（音译）。现年42岁的任栋在中信国际物流公司（CITIC International Logistics）担任经理。他说：“这是我的梦想。我认为这笔投资很值。”任栋是自费参加该项目学习的。他的目标是开一家自己的公司。

    Why would Ning Zhai fly more than 7,300 miles to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for business classes? The 37-year-old already has an MBA and a successful career as the general manager for EasyWay Electronics, a high-tech manufacturer in Shanghai.

    But Zhai, who also goes by Amy, recognized that Asia's business climate was changing. She believes she needs fresh knowledge about manufacturing, global supply chains, and international markets to stay competitive. So she enrolled in the Global Supply Chain Leaders Program, a dual-degree executive MBA program at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

    "I was young when I got my first MBA," she says, "but after working, I felt this program would improve me professionally. It would help improve my thinking from an international viewpoint."

    Zhai isn't the first Chinese executive to turn westward for an executive education. The demand for advanced business degrees is growing among Asia's professional set, and American and European business schools are partnering with institutions in the East to offer executive MBA and other programs. China's rapid economic development has sparked a series of growing pains, including a shortage of managerial talent. Asia's business class is eager to fill that void and enrolling in EMBA programs.

    The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University teamed up with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to offer an executive MBA program that has snagged the top spot in the Financial Times' EMBA rankings for four years in a row. The business schools at University of Maryland and Arizona State University are among a handful of other American institutions that have established ties with China to offer EMBA programs. B-schools in other countries have also embraced the trend. INSEAD and the University of Western Ontario in Canada offer Chinese executives the opportunity to grab an international EMBA.

    The UNC-Tsinghua program welcomed its first class of 24 Chinese executives, including four women, in October 2012. Similar to Zhai, the majority of students are experienced professionals -- they have an average of 21 years of work experience. For one-third of the program, students attend class in Beijing once a month from Friday to Sunday. The remaining portion is taught through global residencies and two 16-day sessions in Chapel Hill.

    The program will set executives back $60,000, not including residency costs. But the sticker price didn't dissuade Dong Ren, 42, a manager at CITIC International Logistics. "It's a dream for me," he says. "I don't think it's too large of an investment." Ren is paying his own way through the program and aims to start a private company.