Not All MBA Courses are Equal

Good MBA schools are expensive to attend and provide an excellent education. The majority of MBA schools however are of a poor quality and are quite simply a waste of time (i.e. job advancement after attaining an MBA won’t be forthcoming and the course content will be inadequate). When selecting a MBA school to attend it is always a good idea to attend one of the best. There are two means of discovering the worth of an MBA school; rankings and accreditation;

• Rankings: Ranking of MBA schools and programs is a contentious issue as the means of ranking and interpretation of data is sometimes questionable. The most respected rankings are those by the Financial Times, The Economist and Businessweek. Choose a school or program ranked in the in the top 50 to be guaranteed of a good MBA program.
• Accreditation: There are three major MBA accreditation bodies; EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB. Accreditation by any of these three guarantees a reasonable standard of education (a few Schools such as Henley Business School are accredited by all three).

What Defines Usefulness of a Certificate or Diploma?

Unfortunately a Certificate IV in Business, Diploma of International Business or any other Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualification from the Business Services Training Package will not directly assist in attaining entrance to a reputable MBA program. What the Business Services qualifications will provide however is the means to further advance the students career and communicate the intent that the student is actively attempting to further their skills and education.

The good MBA programs are always oversubscribed with applications. What distinguishes one potential applicant from another may well come down to attitude and ambition. Having attained a certificate, diploma or advanced diploma can only work in the favour of the applicant therefore indirectly providing a likely benefit.

Ultimately a BSB07 (Business Services Training Package) qualification won’t be a major factor in attaining a place on a good MBA program. An Australian BSB07 certificate or diploma however is likely to demonstrate a positive attitude towards the students self advancement. The course training and assessment of the Business Services Training qualifications is also very useful in attaining better business and management related skills.

Australian Business Services Qualifications

Below are listed the AQF qualifications from the Business Services Training Package. These qualifications are well thought out and are aligned with industry needs:

BSB10107 Certificate I in Business

BSB20107 Certificate II in Business

BSB20207 Certificate II in Customer Contact

BSB30107 Certificate III in Business

BSB30207 Certificate III in Customer Contact

BSB30307 Certificate III in Micro Business Operations

BSB30407 Certificate III in Business Administration

BSB30507 Certificate III in Business Administration (International Education)

BSB30607 Certificate III in International Trade

BSB30707 Certificate III in Occupational Health and Safety

BSB30807 Certificate III in Recordkeeping

BSB30907 Certificate III in Business Administration (Education)

BSB31007 Certificate III in Business Administration (Legal)

BSB31107 Certificate III in Business Administration (Medical)

BSB31207 Certificate III in Frontline Management

BSB40107 Certificate IV in Advertising

BSB40207 Certificate IV in Business

BSB40307 Certificate IV in Customer Contact

BSB40407 Certificate IV in Small Business Management

BSB40507 Certificate IV in Business Administration

BSB40607 Certificate IV in Business Sales

BSB40707 Certificate IV in Franchising

BSB40807 Certificate IV in Frontline Management

BSB40907 Certificate IV in Governance

BSB41007 Certificate IV in Human Resources

BSB41107 Certificate IV in International Trade

BSB41207 Certificate IV in Legal Services

BSB41307 Certificate IV in Marketing

BSB41407 Certificate IV in Occupational Health and Safety

BSB41507 Certificate IV in Project Management

BSB41607 Certificate IV in Purchasing

BSB41707 Certificate IV in Recordkeeping

BSB41807 Certificate IV in Unionism and Industrial Relations

BSB41907 Certificate IV in Business (Governance)

BSB50107 Diploma of Advertising

BSB50207 Diploma of Business

BSB50307 Diploma of Customer Contact

BSB50407 Diploma of Business Administration

BSB50507 Diploma of Franchising

BSB50607 Diploma of Human Resources Management

BSB50707 Diploma of Business (Governance)

BSB50807 Diploma of International Business

BSB50907 Diploma of International Education Services

BSB51007 Diploma of Legal Services

BSB51107 Diploma of Management

BSB51207 Diploma of Marketing

BSB51307 Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety

BSB51407 Diploma of Project Management

BSB51507 Diploma of Purchasing

BSB51607 Diploma of Quality Auditing

BSB51707 Diploma of Recordkeeping

BSB51807 Diploma of Unionism and Industrial Relations

BSB60107 Advanced Diploma of Advertising

BSB60207 Advanced Diploma of Business

BSB60307 Advanced Diploma of Customer Contact

BSB60407 Advanced Diploma of Management

BSB60507 Advanced Diploma of Marketing

BSB60607 Advanced Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety

BSB60707 Advanced Diploma of Project Management

BSB60807 Advanced Diploma of Recordkeeping

BSB60907 Advanced Diploma of Management (Human Resources)

BSB70108 Graduate Certificate in Management (Learning)

BSB70207 Graduate Certificate in International Education Services

BSB80108 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

With the advent of the Internet a few free Online translators became available however their translation was invariably flawed.

A few days ago I received an email in a foreign language which required translation (i.e. it wasn’t spam). I first went to Google Translate which mostly did a good job of translating to English however there were a few sentences which didn’t seem to translate all that well. I then went to Yahoo Babel Fish and was very pleasantly surprised with the translation results.

It is really impressive how much better the free Online translators are than a few years back. I highly recommend both Google translate and Yahoo Babel Fish.

As example of the translation capabilities of both the Online translators here is some French text from the French Embassy in Australia:

UBIFRANCE, l’Agence française pour le développement international des entreprises, est désormais dotée de son propre réseau de collaborateurs multiculturels dans le monde dédiés à l’accompagnement des entreprises et en particulier des PME sur les marchés étrangers. Les Missions économiques-UBIFRANCE sont aujourd’hui présentes dans 28 pays. Fin 2010, les Missions économiques-UBIFRANCE seront présentes dans 44 pays et formeront le réseau mondial d’UBIFRANCE.

La Mission économique – UBIFRANCE en Australie, partie intégrante de la mission diplomatique française, est chargée de l’accompagnement des entreprises françaises sur le marché australien.

Yahoo Babel Fish translates the above French text to the following:

UBIFRANCE, the French Agency for the international expansion of the companies, from now on are equipped with its own network of multicultural collaborators in the world dedicated to the accompaniment of the companies and in particular of SME on the overseas markets. The economic-UBIFRANCE Missions are present today in 28 countries. At the end of 2010, the economic-UBIFRANCE Missions will be present in 44 countries and will form the world network of UBIFRANCE. The Economic mission – UBIFRANCE in Australia, integral part of the French diplomatic mission, is in charge of the accompaniment of the French companies on the Australian market.

Google Translate returns the following English text as a translation of the French:

UBIFRANCE, the French Agency for international business development, now has its own network of collaborators in the multicultural world dedicated to supporting businesses and especially SMEs in foreign markets. The Missions-UBIFRANCE are now present in 28 countries. Late 2010, the Missions-UBIFRANCE will be present in 44 countries and form the global network of UBIFRANCE.
Economic Mission – UBIFRANCE Australia, part of the French diplomatic mission is responsible for the support of French companies on the Australian market.

As can be seen, the translation isn’t perfect however it is certainly far better than a few years ago!