Higher-level degrees in business have a long history in the West, but are still something of a novelty here in Russia. Many successful businesspeople here have never gotten one, after all. However, their popularity is increasing as people seek them out to improve their skills and salary drawing power and companies request them from their employees. This week, The Leader takes a look at the past, present and future of getting a Masters of Business Administration degree in Russia and the pros and cons you should look out for as you develop your business-education credentials.

Business education is new in Russia. In fact, the concept of a Masters of Business Administration, the top business degree in the West, has only begun to take root in Russia over the last four years.
However, schools offering Western standards are few and far between, it is also questionable just how badly Russian corporations need the same skills that it takes to work in a major international corporation.
James Roberts, a professor of economics at Moscow’s Touro University, which offers MBA programs in English, said that Russian management skills were still a long way in coming.
“There are still some things they don’t understand that come naturally to Westerners. Most of our clients are about 30 years old, have been working for five years and are aware that there are some management skills they lack compared to their Western colleagues.” He said that most were more interested in boosting their business knowledge than improving their salary.

“Russian management skills are very technical, but not financial,” he added.
The Russian Ministry of Education insists that professional education is essential for “30 percent of the population,” according to their Website. In a report on the effectiveness of business education in Russia, the Website said, “The curriculum offered by most schools is not in line with the demands of the labor market.”
Improving these standards has been difficult. However, professional organizations like the Russian Association of Business Education regularly conduct conferences and seminars in an effort to improve professional education standards and, in some ways, are able to pick up the slack.

Yet, most Russian recruiters maintain that big companies are not as interested in graduates with expensive degrees; they want people with real-world work experience instead.
“Usually, if students need an MBA, the company will help their workers get it,” said Tatyana Baskina, a consultant specializing in financial and legal sectors at ANCOR, a recruitment company. She added that in most cases “professional training courses were more useful.” However, she was careful to point out that, for high positions in a Western firm, an MBA is important.

Roberts of Touro disagreed. He said, “There may not be a lot of demand for the students now, but in the future there will be.” He believes that the Russian market is becoming increasingly competitive and that the degree matters.
But enforcing standards for business schools is a tricky and fuzzy process. Most professionals say that the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and other internationally recognized organizations, which work to draw up standards for business schools, are better at assessing the quality of MBA programs.
American and European MBA programs are generally regarded as the best and most prestigious, and most professionals agree that a degree from a “name school” is an excellent route to a good job.

However, professors recommend that students choose a school located in the geographical region they are interested in working in, rather than rushing into a top-ranked program in a far-away country.
“If the student intends to pursue a career path in Russia, then a domestic program may be more suitable. Where you study will influence who your network of contacts becomes, which in turn can lead to career-change opportunities in the future,” said Gary Wishniewsky, coordinator in Moscow for the California State University of Hayward program.
Of course, the primary reason most students choose to take the MBA path is in pursuit of a bigger salary. According to the Website BusinessSchoolAdmission.com, MBA graduates from the 25 top-ranking American schools can boost their incomes by 138 percent to 211 percent, but things in Russia are much less predictable.

According to research by the California State University Hayward program in Moscow, their students enter the program with salaries of $200-$2,000 and enjoy increases in the $2,000-$4,000 range.
ANCOR’s Baskina warned that there are no certainties in the employment market, only tendencies.
“Sometimes, I have someone who’s been studying for their MBA overseas call me up and say I have such-and-such an education, I’m coming back and I want to make no less than $5,000 a month… Pretty soon, they call back asking for $3,500 and so on,” Baskina said.
She said that most companies who feel their employees need an MBA will help them get one and added that “Training programs are often more useful.”

Whether or not Russian MBA programs will reach the sophistication of Western programs in the near future is unlikely. In the West, MBA programs emphasizing health-care management and other specific fields are the norm, while most Russian programs remain general, according to Roberts. He said that although most government business schools were behind the times, private institutions were rushing to fill the gap.
“It’s still not clear whether or not the Russian system will develop along European or American lines,” said Roberts, explaining that “European schools tend to be more academic and centered around big government institutions, while American education has always been less centralized.”
“Russia’s such a vast country; they may develop their own standard.”


EXPERT REFERENCE:


Gary Wishniewsky, coordinator for the California State University Hayward program in Moscow
Are there any special things a student should look for when selecting a program of study?
Does the program have accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB)? This is most important if the student considers going on to teach business at an AACSB-accredited school. Also, don’t forget to ask if on-the-job, part-time internships are possible while also studying full-time.


Alexander Tumanov, administrative director for the MBA Center for the Moscow University of Management
Should Russian students leave the country to study?
Of course, there is still no Harvard in Russia. But there are still good, strong schools that are every bit as good as in the West.
What kind of salary can a Russian MBA graduate expect?
Unfortunately, Russian MBA graduates can expect much lower salaries than in the West. Our employers are not ready to use the full capabilities of an MBA. Nor are they ready to pay for it.
How much should a student pay for their education?
Paying for your education is an investment. And it should come back to you. That’s why you should pay exactly as much as you think will be returned to you in the first two or three years after graduation.


Michael Glatts, business law professor at Moscow’s Touro University
What should students look for when they are selecting a school?
Students should not select a school. They should select a specific subject area and then choose the school that is strongest in that particular area.
Should Russian students look for a program overseas, or something closer to home?
Often the student studies overseas, where he studies material for which he has no frame of reference. For example, all Westerners understand how mortgages work because many Westerners have mortgages. If a Russia student studies in a Western MBA program and the class discusses 30 year fixed-rate mortgages, the Russian student will get no benefit from the discussion.