The world of Management education is a complex place. There is a vast range of types of course or program and a vast range of providers. In this introduction we aim to provide you with a simple map to this world.

The Terminology

The first thing to note is that the 'language' used in this world varies. Note that 'course' and 'program' usually mean the same thing, although 'program' is sometimes used to refer to rather longer things than courses. Notice that 'training', 'education' and 'development' are also often used interchangeably- however 'training' usually implies 'instruction' and the giving of particular skills perhaps over a short period of time. 'Education' is broader but still mainly the activity of a teaching type situation, whereas 'development' is broader still and implies the enhancement of a wider range of competences over a longer period of time. We will use all of these terms, since we must use those that the providers use to describe their activities.

Qualification and Non Qualification

Longer management programs often lead to a qualification. The best-known Management qualification is the MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree, but Diplomas and Certificates are also common. These are qualification programs. They are run for that purpose. They tend to be long and will normally be provided by, or in association with, a University or a Business School. We do not cover such programs here. They are covered in our associated site - The MBA Program Information site at http://www.MBAinfo.com, which provides details on over 2400 programs in more than 125 countries worldwide.

Here we deal only with non-qualification courses - which in general are shorter, have no academic entry requirement and do not require academic assessment on completion. For convenience - we refer to these as Management Courses. (Notice that in some cases such courses can count towards a qualification but that is not their main purpose - see Accreditation in the Glossary section).

Management Courses

This site deals only with open' or 'public' courses - i.e. those which any appropriately skilled and experienced person might apply to join. We do not cover tailored or Company courses and those run in company, specifically for a particular company or organization and only open to the staff of that organization, or tailored courses run for a consortium or group of companies for their staff only. There are many such courses, and many of the Business Schools, Universities and other providers that we list also work in this way with their corporate clients.

Types of Management Course

We categorise courses by structure, i.e. whether a course is run full time, part time etc; subject area i.e. the main subject focus of the course, length i.e. duration etc. Taken together these ways in which courses differ gives rise to an enormous range of course available to managers. We have not aimed to differentiate courses on their style - e.g. whether they are essentially taught, case study, or action oriented, etc. but this is an important dimension as it a main factor influencing the type of experience a course provides. Read the description of courses carefully to get this information- remembering that different people learn in different ways and work better on different situations.

The Providers

Whilst once the preserve of academic and educational institutions, management courses are now offered - provided or supplied - by a wide range of types of organization. They include not only Business Schools, Universities and Colleges but also Commercial organizations, Professional bodies, consultants, publishers etc. We have aimed to cover them all. For more details - see the Section 'How to Choose a Provider'

Key Trends

Perhaps the most noticeable thing is that over recent years courses have got shorter. Now there are few that will require the manager to spend more than 4 weeks away from the place of work. Also evident is the growth of modular and part time courses - both of which spread the time required to complete a course out over a longer period. All of this is because you - the busy manager- have less time to spare, even for something as important as your own development. The coming trend is not dissimilar - i.e. courses delivered directly to you, without the need for you 'attend' in the traditional manner. Such courses will be largely electronically delivered- available through the use of E-mail, the Internet, computer conferencing etc - where and when you need.

Outside the scope of this site, but of interest, is the growth of tailored- company specific course as referred to above.