商界之中:中國高管緣何青睞美國MBA課程

But Zhai, who also goes by Amy, recognized that Asia's business climate was changing. She believes she needs fresh knowledge about manufacturing, global supply chains, and international markets to stay competitive. So she enrolled in the Global Supply Chain Leaders Program, a dual-degree executive MBA program at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

自己需要不斷的學習製造、全球供應鏈和國際市場方面的新鮮知識，才能保持競爭力。因此她報名申請了由北卡羅來納大學（the University of North Carolina）凱南-弗拉格勒商學院（the Kenan-Flagler Business School ）和清華大學（Tsinghua University）合辦的雙學位高層管理人員工商管理碩士（EMBA）項目：全球供應鏈領袖雙學位課程（Global Supply Chain Leaders Program）

"I was young when I got my first MBA, " she says, "but after working, I felt this program would improve me professionally. It would help improve my thinking from an international viewpoint."

翟寧說：“當初拿到自己第一個MBA學位的時候，我還年輕。工作一些時間後，我感覺到MBA可以提高我的職業素養，讓我提升到國際視角的高度來思考問題。”

Zhai isn't the first Chinese executive to turn westward for an executive education. The demand for advanced business degrees is growing among Asia's professional set, and American and European business schools are partnering with institutions in the East to offer executive MBA and other programs. China's rapid economic development has sparked a series of growing pains, including a shortage of managerial talent. Asia's business class is eager to fill that void and enrolling in EMBA programs.

翟寧並不是第一位到西方學習管理課程的高管。亞洲職場對高端商科學位的需求正在興起。美國和歐洲的商學院正和東方的院校合作提供EMBA和其他項目。中國經濟的快速發展引發了一系列問題，其中就包括高級管理人才的短缺，亞洲的商業精英希望通過參加EMBA項目學習來彌補這一不足。

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University teamed up with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to offer an executive MBA program that has snagged the top spot in the Financial Times' EMBA rankings for four years in a row. The business schools at University of Maryland and Arizona State University are among a handful of other American institutions that have established ties with China to offer EMBA programs. B-schools in other countries have also embraced the trend. INSEAD and the University of Western Ontario in Canada offer Chinese executives the opportunity to grab an international EMBA.

美國西北大學（Northwestern University）凱洛格管理學院（Kellogg School of Management）和香港科技大學（the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology）合辦的EMBA課程連續四年蟬聯英國《金融時報》（Financial Times）最佳EMBA排行榜榜首。美國馬里蘭大學（University of Maryland）和亞利桑那州立大學（Arizona State University）的商學院是爲數不多的與中國高校合辦EMBA項目的兩所商學院。其他國家的商學院也緊隨其後。歐洲工商管理學院（INSEAD）和加拿大西安大略大學（University of Western Ontario）也在與中國高校合辦面向中國高管的國際EMBA課程。

The UNC-Tsinghua program welcomed its first class of 24 Chinese executives, including four women, in October 2012. Similar to Zhai, the majority of students are experienced professionals -- they have an average of 21 years of work experience. For one-third of the program, students attend class in Beijing once a month from Friday to Sunday. The remaining portion is taught through global residencies and two 16-day sessions in Chapel Hill.

2012年10月，清華大學-北卡羅來納大學合辦的雙學位EMBA項目迎來了首批24位中國高管學員，其中有4位是女性。和翟寧一樣，多數學員都是有豐富經驗的專業人士，平均擁有21年的從業經驗。學員在北京完成其中三分之一的課程，每月一次課，上課時間爲週五至週日。餘下的課程通過全球遊學和兩期爲期各16天的教堂山集中學習完成。

The program will set executives back $60, 000, not including residency costs. But the sticker price didn't dissuade Dong Ren, 42, a manager at CITIC International Logistics. "It's a dream for me, " he says. "I don't think it's too large of an investment." Ren is paying his own way through the program and aims to start a private company.

這個項目收費六萬美元，不含住宿費用。但是這個標價並沒有嚇退任棟（音譯）。現年42歲的任棟在中信國際物流公司（CITIC International Logistics）擔任經理。他說：“這是我的夢想。我認爲這筆投資很值。”任棟是自費參加該項目學習的。他的目標是開一家自己的公司。

Demand for programs like the one at UNC partly stems from China's growing status as an economic heavyweight. As companies expand into new markets, executives are opting to acquire skills to take their businesses to the next level. In Zhai's case, her company is eyeing international expansion, particularly in the U.S. Her employer is paying for her degree so she'll be able to bring global supply chain expertise to bear on the company's growth plans.

對於像北卡羅來納大學這樣的EMBA課程，相關需求在一定程度上源於中國經濟大國地位的崛起。公司開拓新的市場時，公司高管就想擁有更多的技能，讓公司更上一個臺階。像翟寧這樣，她的公司正致力於擴張國際業務，尤其是美國業務。她的EMBA學費由僱主支付。公司希望她可以把學到的全球供應鏈專業知識用到公司的增長計劃中。

Another UNC-Tsinghua student, Tiejun Liu, 39, saw value in broadening his global perspective. As the chief representative at Hong Kong Quam Securities, Liu has a wealth of experience in Asia's financial industry, but he wanted a better understanding of business theory. "It's a different way of thinking," he says. U.S. professors walk you through business cases, and their analyses offer a different viewpoint, he adds. The global residencies, which include trips to Dubai and Seattle, also provided opportunities to learn about different cultures and expand his worldview, Liu says.

劉鐵軍是清華大學-北卡羅來納大學雙學位EMBA項目的另一位學員。現年39歲的劉鐵軍是香港華富嘉洛證券（Hong Kong Quam Securities）在中國大陸的首席代表，在亞洲金融業有着豐富的從業經驗，但他還想更深入地研習商業理論。他說：“EMBA學習帶來的是一種不同的思維模式。美國教授向學員講解商業案例，對案例的分析會提供一個不同的觀點。”他還補充說：“全球遊學，包括去迪拜和西雅圖的旅行，也讓自己獲得了了解不同文化的機會，擴展了自己的世界觀。”

The UNC-Tsinghua EMBA program is rather unique in that it offers a dual emphasis on business and engineering, says to Jayashankar M. Swaminathan, associate dean of the program. Graduates walk away with a master of business administration from UNC and a master of engineering management from Tsinghua.

清華大學-北卡羅來納大學雙學位EMBA項目副主管賈亞尚卡爾•斯瓦米納坦說，這個項目相當獨特，因爲它對商業和工程並重。學員畢業後可以獲得北卡羅來納大學的工商管理碩士學位和清華大學的工程管理碩士學位。

The program initially focused on attracting students with a technical or manufacturing background who had assumed leaderships positions in business. But Swaminathan discovered that students with investment, finance, and marketing backgrounds were also signing up. "I think the program is going to be much broader than we initially thought," he says.

項目的初衷旨在吸引一些有技術或者製造業背景的企業高管。但是斯瓦米納坦發現，有投資、金融和市場營銷背景的高管也紛紛報名。他說：“我認爲未來課程的受衆領域將會大大超越我們的最初預想。”

The students are also a bit older than many of their American or European counterparts. The average student age at the UNC-Tsinghua program is 41. By comparison, the average age of American EMBA students in 2010 was 37.1, according to Executive MBA Council data. Swaminathan says that many students in China lacked access to cutting-edge management education after graduating from college. "Many of these people are not looking to make a career switch. They're looking to enrich their current careers even further."

這些學員比歐美EMBA學員的年齡更大一些。清華大學-北卡羅來納大學雙學位EMBA項目學員的平均年齡爲41歲。而國際EMBA協會（Executive MBA Council）的數據顯示，2010年美國EMBA學員的平均年齡是37.1歲。斯瓦米納坦說，許多中國學員大學畢業後缺少高端管理教育方面的學習機會。“他們中的很多人並不是爲了轉行，而是尋求在現有職業上取得更長足的發展。”

But the program has faced some hiccups. "Anytime you're talking about collaboration across continents, it's challenging," Swaminathan says. "UNC is the oldest public university and so we have processes in place that we must adhere to. On the other hand, Tsinghua has its own set of regulations and policies, so coming up with a process and program that works at both ends was extremely challenging."

但是這個項目也面臨着一些問題。斯瓦米納坦說：“無論何時，跨國合作總是具有挑戰性的。一方面，北卡羅來納大學是美國曆史最悠久的公立大學，我們必須遵循我們的現有制度。另一方面，清華大學有自己的校規和政策。要想出對雙方都行之有效的制度和項目極具挑戰性。”

Fortunately, the students seem to be adjusting just fine. Zhai says one of the highlights of the program has been the UNC campus and the cuisine. "I like the food better than in China," she says with a laugh.

可喜的是，學員們都適應得很好。翟寧說，這個合作項目的一大亮點就是北卡羅納大學的校園和美食。她笑着說：“相比國內，我更喜歡這裏的美食。”