Abstract/Summary

Does Executive Education have an impact? The focus of this research is to explore and identify the impact of executive education programs on Chinese managers. There is extensive research on the impact of obtaining an MBA or EMBA on graduates in a Western context yet relatively few such studies in a Chinese context. While many studies focus on the return on training for employees using data on wages, this research focuses on the characteristics of the individual and competency development after undertaking executive education programs. The effectiveness of the executive education programs that will be considered include both custom executive programs and executive MBA programs. This study addresses this by seeking to understand how Executive Education input factors influence postprogram outcomes; how Executive Education impacts job promotion, compensation and networking; how Executive Education impacts personal and professional competency development; and how these measures and outcomes may differ between participants, open enrolment and custom programs. Two leading business schools in China and one multinational corporation volunteered to participate in the research. This study followed a mixed methods approach utilizing both a custom survey instrument which measured competencies and relationships gained through an Executive Education program, as well as extrinsic outcomes achieved by the graduates. The contribution therefore of my proposed research is to both fill the void in measuring the impact of executive education in a Chinese context, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Findings revealed the executive education programs, both custom and EMBA programs, did enhance the competencies, relationships and extrinsic/intrinsic outcomes of graduates. There were some differences by gender and age group. Along with these findings, there was a recognition of Chinese culture, particularly through the lens of business management, leadership and learning.