MBA一年還是兩年英語美文

　　ONE YEAR OR TWO?

　　Like practitioners of extreme sports, MBA students go to great lengths to persuade friends, family and future employers what a punishing experience they are undergoing. Business school is – we find ourselves saying – “intense”. This incantation obscures the fact that some MBA courses, including almost all those in the US, take two years, while most in Europe take one.

　　Apart from length, what is the difference? Neither format dominates the business school rankings. Employers do not seem to discriminate. Course syllabuses look similar. Nonetheless, all courses are definitely not the same.

　　There are, for a start, degrees of intensity. It would be unwise to expect class-free Fridays and work-life balance on a one-year course. The compression of the programme leaves little fat and no chance to catch up if you fall behind. At Insead, the school that pioneered the one-year MBA format 50 years ago, classes start at 8.30am, often finish at 7pm and go on regardless of public holidays.

　　In this format, core courses are largely dispatched in a four-month sprint at the start of the year. Engineers and business graduates may be able to treat subjects such as statistics or accounting as refreshers, but those without either a quantitative background or business education face a mountain to climb.

　　The composition of the classes may be different too. One-year courses may have more sponsored students and may be older. Average ages for some European one-year courses are distinctly higher – often about 29 or 30 – meaning participants have more workplace experience. More experienced students may find discussions of leadership frustrating in classes where few have ever managed other workers.

　　In terms of what happens in the classroom, the differences are clear. A one-year programme might squeeze a course of 10 three-hour sessions into 16 90-minute slots. Two-year MBAs, such as that at Iese Business School in Spain, thus have time to stick to the Harvard Business School model, where every class revolves around a discussion of a business case. This means shorter MBAs do not waste time rehearsing material students can find in textbooks.

　　The critical difference between the two modes of study is off campus. At the heart of the two-year programme, in the long summer break between first and second years, is an internship. This summer job on steroids allows students to subsidise their study and try a different career for 12 weeks.

　　Some manage to cram in more than one, according to David Simpson from London Business School.

　　“These days we are seeing an increasing number of people taking more than one internship, working for a month or more for two completely different companies.” In addition, LBS students must complete a two- to four-month paid consulting project with an external company in their second year. These opportunities to experiment and interact with outside organisations – while not absent – are reduced on a one-year course by sheer timetable pressure.

　　Another important differentiator must be the motives of those studying. Those who have a definite goal and do not need time to ruminate and explore will find little to complain about on a one-year course. Anyone who wants time to think and feel their way into a career, might want the extra flexibility of a two-year programme and the extra opportunities to work with companies in different sectors.

　　For those who do not want to choose, there are à la carte options. Since 2005, LBS has offered students the chance to front-load their study, complete fewer electives and finish the course in 15 months. This option is popular for would-be entrepreneurs who have found a promising project.

　　Columbia Business School in the US offers a 16-month variation, whereby those who do not want an internship can begin the course in January and study through the summer, beginning the second year in sync with the September intake.

　　The biggest difference of all is geographic. For most, the choice is two-year study in the US versus a year in Europe. US classes tend to be slightly younger than those in Europe and they are often less international. Almost all US schools are at least two-thirds North American. But for anyone wanting to work in the US, this offers an excellent insight into US business culture.

　　Comparison is tricky because nobody takes both paths. A two-year programme offers room for manoeuvre and more time to network. A one-year course strips study down to a frenzied sprint, where friendships are bound by shared adversity. At the very least, you learn good time management.

　　MBA：一年還是兩年?

　　和極限運動參與者一樣，MBA的學生費盡唇舌讓他們的朋友、家人以及未來的雇主相信，他們正經歷著一次相當累人的經歷。商學院是緊張的——我們發現人們都這么說)。這個口頭禪模糊了一個事實：包括幾乎所有美國MBA課程在內，很多MBA課程都是兩年制，而大多數歐洲的MBA課程都是一年制。

　　除了時間長短外，還有什么區別呢?兩類課程的時間并非決定商學院排名的主要因素，雇主似乎也沒有厚此薄彼。課程提綱看上去也很相似。不過，所有的課程顯然不會一樣。

　　首先，兩者的緊張程度存在區別。在一年制的課程安排中，你別指望會有沒課的周五，也別指望工作和生活的平衡。整個項目的壓縮，給你留下了很少的空閑時間。如果你落下了，就沒有機會再追趕上去了。作為50年前開創一年制MBA的先驅，在歐洲工商管理學院(Insead)，早上8:30開始上課，下午7點結束。節假日也是如此。

　　在這種模式中，大部分核心課程被安排在最初4個月的沖刺期內。工科和經濟學科的畢業生們可能會覺得某些課程是小菜一碟，比如統計學和會計學，而對那些沒有數學背景或者沒有接受過經濟學教育的學生來說，它們卻難如登山。

　　班級構成也是不同的。一年制課程的班級里，委培學生可能會更多一些，學生的年齡或者更大一些。歐洲的某些一年制MBA班級，學生的平均年齡明顯大一些——通常大約29或者30歲，這意味著他們擁有更多的'工作經驗。經驗較豐富的學生可能會發現，在一個很少有人曾有管理經驗的班級里討論領導力，會讓他們有挫敗感。

　　至于課堂內容，區別也很明顯。一年制的項目會把一個原本10次3小時的課程壓縮成16個90分鐘的小節。而兩年制的MBA課程，如西班牙Iese商學院開設的MBA課程，卻有時間堅持哈佛商學院(Harvard Business School)的模式，即每節課都圍繞一個商業案例展開討論。這意味著時間較短的MBA課程不會花時間來復述材料。學生在教科書上可以找到這些材料。

　　這兩種學習模式的關鍵性區別是在校外。兩年制項目的核心，是第一學年和第二學年之間長暑假中的一次實習。這份夏季工作可以讓學生們暫時放下學習，嘗試一份為期12周的不同職業。

　　倫敦商學院(LBS)的大衛?辛普森(David Simpson)表示，一些學生能夠成功完成不止一份實習。

　　“這些日子我們發現，實習多于一份、分別在兩家完全不同的公司里工作一個月或者更長時間的人數在不斷上升。”另外，倫敦商學院的學生在第二年必須與外部一家公司完成一項為期2至4個月的有償咨詢項目。而一年制課程由于極大的時間壓力，減少了這些與外界組織實踐和互動的機會——盡管不是完全沒有。

　　另外一個重要的差異是學生的動機。那些有明確的目標、不需要時間來琢磨和思考的人會發現，一年制課程沒有什么可抱怨的。而需要時間來思考、體驗自己職業道路的人，可能想要兩年制課程額外的靈活性，以及在不同行業公司工作的額外機會。

　　對于那些不想選擇的人，還有特別選擇。自2005年開始，倫敦商學院為學生提供了提前學習、完成較少的選修課、在15個月內結束課程的機會。這個選擇受到那些已經建立了一項有前途的業務、可能成為企業家的學生們的歡迎。

　　美國哥倫比亞商學院(Columbia Business School)提供了一個16個月的變更選擇。那些不想實習的學生可以在1月份開始上課，整個夏天都學習，在9月份與其他同學一同入學，開始他們的第二學年。

　　兩年制課程與一年制課程最大的不同是地理位置。對于大多數人而言，他們的選項是美國的兩年制課程和歐洲的一年制課程。美國班級的同學年齡往往比歐洲的同學年輕一些，國際化程度也弱一點。幾乎所有的美國商學院里面，至少三分之二都是北美人。但對那些想在美國工作的人，這里能讓你極好地洞察美國的商業文化。

　　對比是可笑的，因為沒有人會兩條路都選。兩年制的項目會提供謀劃調動的空間以及更多交際的時間。一年制的課程把學習精簡為瘋狂的快跑，在患難與共之中建立友誼。至少，你學會了很好地管理時間。

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