Announcing Purdueʼs New Executive MBA in Food and Agricultural Business

December 12, 1998

PAER-1998-17

Jay T. Akridge, Program Director

Leading food and agribusiness enterprises into the next millennium will place unparalleled demands on the capabilities of tomorrow’s managers. The globalization of markets, explosion of new technology, fragmenting demands of consumers, rapidly evolving role of governments, and intense competitive pressures combine to create a food and agribusiness marketplace which rewards only the visionary and innovative.

In such an increasingly competitive global food system, strategic alliances have become an important strategy for success. At Purdue University, a strategic alliance between the Krannert Graduate School of Management and the School of Agri-culture has led to the development of the first Executive MBA (EMBA) in food and agricultural business in the U.S. This is a bold, innovative graduate management program developed to prepare future leaders as they assume the challenges of directing their organizations to success in the food system of the 21st century. The EMBA offers an innovative alternative to the traditional part-time executive MBA in its focus on the unique management challenges of the food and agricultural marketplace, and the use of distance education technology which allows participants to pursue their degree while maintaining on-going responsibilities in their respective organizations. The first class in this new program will begin in August 1999, and applications are now being accepted.

The stronger the partners, the stronger the alliance and this new degree clearly brings resources from two of the best to students in the program. Business Week magazine recently named the Krannert School one of the top 25 business schools in the U.S., and Purdue’s School of Agriculture is widely recognized as one of the best in the world.

This fully accredited EMBA pro-gram spans a two-year period, beginning with an orientation session in August of the first year. The pro-gram is distinctive in that the on-campus instruction is concentrated into a one-week orientation session plus four, two-week residency sessions spread over the two years. The orientation session and three of the two-week residency sessions are held on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. The fourth residency session is held on the campus of an international partner institution. This schedule makes it possible for participants to be drawn from a wide geographical area, minimizes conflicts with normal job responsibilities, and eliminates the problem of interruptions in the program due to job transfers. The international residency session is an exciting dimension, and reflects the international perspective running throughout the program.

This program is a “cohort” program – that is, all students in each class enter together, take the common set of courses together, and graduate together. Due to its expected national and international, rather than local, student population, the program will provide an unusually rich environment for interaction among the participants. Students will develop important relationships with other future leaders from across the food system, a key benefit of the program.

Participants in the EMBA pro-gram will be food and agricultural business firm managers who want to earn the MBA degree while continuing their employment. Three core groups will be represented in the program: agribusiness managers, food firm managers, and commercial agricultural producers. The program will offer numerous benefits to participants including helping to pre-pare them to assume greater general management and leadership responsibility and providing insights into the dynamic economic, social, and technological, forces which shape corporate decision-making in the world food business.

By sponsoring participants in this program, food and agribusiness organizations make a major commitment to high potential individuals in their firm. Sponsorship of a manager to the program is a powerful investment in the company’s future, and a fundamental statement to that individual about the company’s interest and commitment to their career development. Other benefits for the sponsoring company include exposing participants to the varied functional areas of management and to the many facets of the food system, helping them attain a broader perspective of the organization and its competitive environment. In addition, the program will facilitate the exchange of experiences and ideas among the participants, bringing fresh ideas to the sponsoring organization.

The EMBA in food and agricultural business is a state-of-the-art program of advanced study in management. A large portion of the coursework will be delivered using distance-learning technology. The emphasis on an electronic instructional linkage between the University and the program participants will allow participants to complete the program with minimal time away from the job. In addition, technological advances in distance learning technologies have made possible the creation of a virtual classroom which has proven effective in capturing many of the elements of face-to-face contact. The design of the program is consistent with the standards of the International Association for Management Education (AACSB), and the program is fully accredited by that national accrediting body for management master’s programs.

The program is built around a set of core courses in the functional areas of management including marketing, finance and accounting, human resource management and organizational behavior, production and operations management, and strategy. Each of these courses will be oriented to the food and agricultural markets through selection of topical material and use of food and agricultural business case studies. At the same time, considerable emphasis in these management courses will be given to other, non-food and agricultural firms and industries to insure that participants have the opportunity to learn from situations outside the food and agricultural markets.

These core management courses will be complemented by a set of courses focusing on the economics of the business environment facing food and agribusiness firms: international trade, government policy and regulation, and market structure and coordination. This set of courses will take participants deeply into conceptual material and issues that have both immediate and longer-term relevance for doing business in a global food and agribusiness market.

Classes in the EMBA in food and agricultural business will be taught by faculty of the School of Agriculture, faculty of the Krannert Graduate School of Management, and by selected faculty from partner universities in Europe and North America. Full technical support is provided for both off-campus sessions and residency sessions. The Distance Technology Staff will have extended service hours and are equipped to allow questions to be addressed quickly. On-line help resources will be available for off-hours assistance. On campus, the Program Manager monitors all dimensions of the residency experience so that the value of these residency sessions is maximized. Similar support will be pro-vided for the international residency.

We would appreciate the opportunity to tell you more about this exciting new program. Additional information can be obtained by contacting: Dr. Jay Akridge, Program Director, or Barbara Sales, Program Manager, Executive MBA in Food and Agricultural Business; Purdue University; 1145 Krannert, Suite 554; West Lafayette, IN 47907-1145; Phone: 765.494.4262; Fax: 765.496.1224; e-mail: sales@agecon.purdue.edu; URL: http://www.emba-agbus.purdue.edu.

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