Industry | Benefits of Executive Education | History of Executive Education

Executive education developed in the 1980s and 1990s as the increasing pace and scope of global business demanded higher levels of education among mid to senior level employees beyond just the MBA degree. This concept spread rapidly and globally, and companies soon recognized the advantages of educating their management workforce.

The technology boom further changed the scope of the U.S. business landscape by favoring employees and organizations who were quick to adapt and capable of change. As longstanding business concepts became obsolete, it became important that continual training was necessary.

Today, the participation of the most prestigious universities around the world has lent credibility to executive education, unlike other non-degree/certificate programs that may or may not be recognized as valuable.  The emphasis on learning new concepts throughout one’s career is only beginning to take shape.

The Executive education programs started out as Open Enrollment programs. Companies have an array of function and industry specific classes they can chose to send their management to train in. Over time, the need for Custom Programs became evident as each company faces rapid change and its own set of unique challenges

Program Types

Open Enrollment

An open program curriculum includes an array of pre-arranged classes to be taught in a specific business functions and industries.

Custom Programs

These are often pre-planned, pre-negotiated and extremely tailored company-specific seminars. These classes are crafted by well known professors (often specializing in that function or industry) working with the senior management team of the particular client. The sales cycle for custom programs, therefore, if often longer than open enrollment programs. However it is also more expensive due to the degree of difficulty, time and energy to craft custom programs.

The Future?

In the next decade, we will see even more integration between theory and management, as well as build in real in-field experience and mobility. The increasing rise of custom programs illustrates the importance of a strong focus on the client, and the ongoing testing of managment philosophies in real world business situations.