Today, the business world is more global and competitive than ever. Women
are being placed in increasingly responsible positions within companies
and need to have the proper skills necessary to do the job.
With more options available to pursue a
Master of Business Administration, this is
easier than ever to do, says Melanie
Spangler, assistant professor of business at
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
(MVNU).
Smart Business spoke with Spangler
about what skills women can expect to gain
by earning an MBA and what options are
available to accommodate their busy schedules.
Are there more options today for women to
pursue an MBA?
MBA programs seem to be more accessible to women than they historically have
been. Most colleges and universities, especially those with outstanding programs,
have begun to structure their programs
around the needs of the nontraditional
MBA student.
Are there MBA programs tailored more
toward women than men?
While I don’t believe it’s the intent of program creators to design an MBA tailored
specifically to women, there are MBA programs that seem to have the ability to better meet the needs of female students.
Students in our program meet one night a
week for four hours and take one class at a
time in six-week blocks. The majority of
students can complete the program in 22 to
24 months. The night that students attend
class remains consistent throughout the
program. The program’s design allows
female students to balance the demands of
their professional, personal and academic
lives. I’ve had students say that they appreciate how MVNU’s program is designed
because they only have to be away from
home and their children one night a week.
Offering an MBA program at several locations also seems to be beneficial for
women. Instead of requiring students to
travel to our main campus, they’re able to pick from several satellite campuses that
offer an MBA. This design is beneficial to
the female student as she’s able to pick the
campus, including Cincinnati, that best
meets her needs.
What value does a woman obtain in the work
force and in her professional career from
earning an MBA today?
It’s beneficial for a woman to obtain her
MBA due to the number of opportunities
that having one creates. With an advanced
degree, such as an MBA, you have the
opportunity to work in a variety of settings.
These settings include the private sector,
public sector or nonprofits. A leader in any
of these economic sectors needs the skills
for developing business plans, understanding financials and managing resources.
Quality programs also offer the benefit of
establishing contacts and networks that
become important for students after they
leave school. Our MBA program is
designed on a cohort model, which means
that the same group of students will go
through the entire program together. The
students form a strong bond with one
another and form strong networks, which
they may use for future resources.
The MVNU program is also designed to be student-centered so that students are presented with the opportunity to apply the
concepts talked about in class to real-world
situations. They engage in exercises that
require them to analyze the current practices being followed at their companies and
design suggestions for improvement.
What sort of skills can a woman attain
through participating in an MBA program?
A female student will obtain a multitude
of skills through participating in an MBA
program. Some of these include quantitative skills in the areas of accounting,
finance and statistics; forecasting and planning skills; strategic management skills;
and resource management skills. An additional skill, and one that’s emphasized at
MVNU, is servant leadership. This concept
is biblically based but also becomes an
excellent tool to use in the workplace. It’s
one’s job as a manager to come alongside
your employees and give them the tools
and support they need to truly succeed.
Loosely paraphrasing Henry Ford — ‘You
may only need an employee’s hands to do
the job, but you get the whole person.’ Our
MBA students are given the tools to identify what motivates their employees as well
as how to design systems that encourage
employees to perform their best.
What financial aid and other options are available?
Federal Stafford Loans and private student loans are available to finance an MBA.
Some institutions offer Direct Lending programs where you borrow money from the
school versus a private lender. Private
organizations also offer financial assistance to students. Money from private
organizations isn’t guaranteed, and awards
are made on a competitive basis after a
review of a variety of factors. One of these
factors could be a person’s gender.
For more information on financial aid
call (800) 839-2355 ext. 4737.
MELANIE SPANGLER is assistant professor of business at
Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon. Reach her
at (740) 392-6868 ext. 4750 or [email protected].
