Explaining
a foreign company what a “Diplom-Kaufmann” (the German standard university
degree in Business Administration, which normally lasts about 4-6 years) is, can
be a quite difficult task. The
same is true for other Europan business degrees like Siviløkonom,
Carrera, Laurea and Diplôme. Normally, British companies treat a
Diplom-Kaufmann like a Bachelor in Business as it is the first degree (until
recently the Bachelor/Master degree concept has not existed in Germany), which
is however not correct, as the requirements for a Diplom-Kaufmann normally
exceeds the one for a Bachelor. In Germany the newly established Master programs
are treated equivalent to a Diplom-Kaufmann.
Surprisingly,
no business schools (even not the German ones) have (dis-)covered this market
niche. The business schools are normally very reluctant to give credits for
prior studies. The result is that if one Diplom-Kaufmann wants to get an MBA, he
has do all the basics/fundamentals again, which is normally a substantial waste
of time and money.
The
perfect MBA “upgrade” program for a Diplom-Kaufmann would be
part-time/modular (so that one can keep working while studying), be in English,
focus mainly on advanced subjects and include practical projects (as the
Diplom-Kaufmann is generally more theoretical). To add value, it should come
from a reputed academic institution, which is located not too far away from the
German border, e.g. the French HEC, which has opened an office in Düsseldorf,
or the Dutch Rotterdam School of Management would be well suited. Given the
fact, that the MBA “upgrade” program would be much shorter, the tuition fees
should be proportionally lower.
If any international business school would like to offer such an MBA “upgrade” program, the B-SCHOOL NET would be willing to support this initiative.
06.April 2003