Kommersant. Business Guide supplement (St. Petersburg), February 24, 2010

WHO ARE THE JUDGES? Gennady Belyakov

Choice of an educational institution is a difficult matter. Along with this, the "price of a mistake" is much higher in business schools because of costs of education. We advise those who wish to get high-quality education to look at the lecturers better. "Human resources determine everything" — many people agree with this brilliant statement of a very ambiguous historic figure. It is applicable to education too. How is it possible to disagree with it when even in remote educational programs, where personal contact with the lecturer is often excluded, educational programs are prepared by people anyway. Definitely, it depends primarily on them how much knowledge and skills a student will master, as well as what the student will tell his acquaintances when they ask him about the place of education. A businesslike approach For business education at the stage of establishment such word of mouth advertising is very important. Although MBA degree is familiar to many people, so far this is not a mass product even in its small niche but, we put this straight, an elite one. In such narrow circle personal recommendations have a special weight and serve as an important reference point due to absence of an established practice of business schools selection. Lecturers are remembered for a long time and hence increased requirements are set for them. No matter if it is business education or any other kind of education, the main skill of a teacher is an ability to transfer knowledge and for lecturers of MBA programs this skill should be on a special height. Students do not have very much time and for majority of them it is really worth its weight of gold. Alexey Popov, director of EMBA General Management program of Stockholm School of Economics in Russia, says, "We invite Russian lecturers too but this is possible not in all disciplines. A lecturer in a modern Executive MBA program should be able to work with an international audience where practice of business in different countries and different market systems is discussed. Independent from the native language such specialist should be able to work in the English language and be demanded in business schools of various countries." Stockholm School of Economics in Russia has an EMBA program in the Russian language that goes with simultaneous translation and lecturers arrive from abroad. Along with this, Popov stresses that competition on the international market has formed mobile lecturer who can adjust the content and the form of presentation to peculiarities of the audience accurately even taking into account specific of the country or separate company of the customer. According to him, there is no competition of such kind on the Russian market among Russian-speaking lecturers because majority of lecturers work in one business school. In any case, everyone has different experience of communication with foreign specialists. Thus, Stockholm School of Economics, Russia has a happier experience probably due to the Western origin or orientation at the international approach to running of business. Those who try to build Russian business education are in a more difficult situation. Ragin complains, "Foreign "star" lecturers do not know the business context and do not wish to know it with rare exceptions. Haughty attitude to local peculiarities of running business is not only the Russian problem. Managers of Chinese and Latin American business schools speak about the same things. Along with this, big developing countries have a specific context that will remain in the future unlike, for example, the countries that have entered the European Union later and where their own models of running business will be destroyed by the West European ones as "wrong." According to him, only a few foreign "star" lecturers are ready to modify their educational materials for peculiarities of the countries and regions business contexts of which will never be identical to West European or North American one. Instead of this they prefer acting as mentors and heralds of "correct" business. Ragin says, "This makes them not very useful, sometimes inadequate and always less competitive on the domestic market of lecturers for executive education." Rare species Where from can the people who bring up new masters of business education appear if it is not always possible to bring them from abroad and if there are not enough Russian lecturers? New people come to the profession in different ways. Popov speaks about his observations, "Good lecturers in the leading international business schools may have different background. Some of them are researchers in the field of business disciplines. They study experience of companies and publish articles in scientific journals. Some others come from business and open their own consulting where there is place for teaching too. In any case, they are distinguished by permanent contact with the business environment, permanent studying of experience and practice of business and good awareness of the current international trends in the field of business disciplines, new concepts and theories." Top managers who do not go away from daily management of a real business can be good lecturers too. In any case, the expert considers such cases exceptions from the rules. Demand and supply There is demand for practicing lecturers but their quantity does not grow bigger because of this. One of the obstacles is the fact that practical experience alone is not enough to become a lecturer. Popov points out, "First of all, a good lecturer always causes interest in himself on account of captivating manner of teaching, live dialog and a special level of contact with the audience. These are special qualities that deal not as much as with the content of the material as with the form of its presentation." The level of income is an important factor that influences the quantity of businessmen who wish to become lecturers. It is impossible to get much money there comparable to revenues from business and the expert says that those who choose teaching do this not for the sake of money for sure. Popov adds, "Of course, the best lecturers cost very much but who have told you that you will become the best? Along with this, the most successful and demanded lecturers of the international level maintain an amazing rhythm of life that not everyone can bear. They permanently move from one city to the other, from one country to the other, teach businessmen and students, advise businesses, develop research projects, write scientific articles, publish them and speak at conferences and their schedule is busy for years ahead."