EMBA 2.0 When then-dean, Thomas (Tim) Monahan, PhD, the John M. Cooney Endowed Professor in Accountancy and Information Systems, launched the Villanova Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 2000, he did not simply reformat the traditional MBA program. He envisioned the EMBA curriculum to provide a different level of learning. Executive MBA students typically have more years of professional experience than traditional MBA students. The curriculum needed to offer skills to educate the next round of senior leaders. To determine the best way to meet that objective, Dr. Monahan met with a variety of CEOs and asked them what Villanova should be teaching their top talent. The consistent answer was the need to teach future leaders to think differently; to approach issues from a holistic standpoint; to give students a framework to correctly identify issues and create solutions that worked throughout their entire organization. Dr. Monahan then created an EMBA program to teach upcoming leaders, regardless of their specialty or area of responsibility, how to look at an organization as if they are the CEO – a discipline called Systems Thinking.
At VSB, Systems Thinking is led by one of the original contributors to the concept—Jamshid Gharajedaghi. Systems Thinking equips students with an interdisciplinary, strategic approach to problem solving, encouraging them to think beyond functional silos and appreciate how their actions affect an organization as a whole. The transformative, problem-solving approach that Systems Thinking provides enhances the skills that students take back to their organizations – and is unique to VSB’s program. Although the EMBA program was updated periodically since its introduction, over the past two years, Dr. Monahan spearheaded a critical reevaluation of the EMBA curriculum. Incorporating EMBA alumni feedback and advances in new business topics, new content streams were introduced to ensure integration with Systems Thinking. New courses in buyer behavior, negotiation, corporate governance and analytics were incorporated. Best-in-class courses from other colleges within the University, such as a sustainability course from the College of Engineering, are being considered for cohorted
EMBA Curriculum:
Six content streams are woven throughout the 21-month EMBA experience to ensure holistic learning.
1 Systems Thinking and Design 2 Leadership Development 3 Measurement & Performance Systems 4 Global Markets & Environment 5 Technology, Innovation & Growth 6 Ethics & Corporate Responsibility
26
Villanova Business