Manchester Business School (MBS) and Tecom Investments will soon release the results of a collaborative study, assessing executive education needs in the UAE by surveying companies across the country.
The report is set to be released at the end of the month, said Nigel Banister, chief executive officer (CEO) of MBS. However, the results are unlikely to be surprising.
"It will be no surprise that apart from standard subjects such as strategy and leadership… it'll be very much business-focused," he said. "We will see a focus on sales and selling, looking at new product development and new markets."
Due to increased market demand for certain skill-sets, MBS in true business style will launch a series of short executive courses at its campus in Dubai Knowledge Village next month.
"At the moment coming out of the economic times we've had, a lot of companies are looking for ways to be more competitive," said Banister. "They are looking to drive new products into new markets like China."
He added that shorter executive education courses will yield quicker results because of their more immediate impact on profit generation.
The world-renowned business school, part of Manchester University in the UK, is now ranked 29th — up from 34th last year — by Financial Times for its Global MBA programme. MBS has been operational in Dubai for over four years.
New tips and tricks
Banister believes specifically for Dubai there will be an increased focus on marketing, as companies seek to make up the losses sustained during the economic downturn.
"It'll be very marketing-focused, not necessarily for all time, but I think there will be a big bias over the next year or so," he said. "Companies coming out of a slight downturn are looking to find new ways to generate revenues." Given the altered dynamics of the global market, businesses and business executives will look to improve skill-sets themselves in new business tricks.
"When you have a major change in an economy, life returns but is never quite the same, it's always a bit different," said Banister. "So people have to think about new approaches because the way business used to be carried out is not necessarily going to be as successful going forward."
Given the current pattern of the world economy and the increasing growth of the Chinese economy and the weakening of those of Europe and North America, companies will inevitably venture to new business territories in the Far East. "They might have to look at places they might've not worked in before," said Banister. "So they are going to have to learn how to get into those markets and how to work with clients from those markets and other particular new business tricks." Who better to teach them than the business schools?
