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Volume 9, Issue 1, March 2008

Extraordinary People in Unusual Places

Matt Waller—News From Shanghai

Bob Smith*

Matt Waller** recently made landmark decisions in his professional and personal lives.  He has become the director in residence for the new Walton College of Business Executive MBA program in Shanghai, China.  This commitment has caused him and his family of six to relocate to Shanghai where he will reside during the next three years.  Preparations for such a move have included his entire family studying Chinese culture and learning Mandarin for two years (including having a an instructor giving private lessons in their home)—thereby placing Matt in the category of what we have termed “extraordinary people in unusual places” (Smith, 2007).   This article provides some specifics on Matt and the program he will be leading in China.  But first, let me share some background on executive MBA programs in general and more particularly the unique program being developed through the Walton College, with its base in China.

As the name implies, executive MBA programs are designed for middle- and upper-level managers of corporations—profit and non-profit.  The programs typically have specialty components such as travel to different sites and other quality features that justify tuitions above the norm.  For example, it is not uncommon for an executive MBA program to cost $50,000-100,000 for a one-to-two year degree, often delivered in unusual formats (e.g., weekend days, partial web delivery of courses) (College Journal, 2008).  The cost of such programs is often born by the student’s company, whose officers expect a return on investment based on the expertise that the graduate will bring to their firms.  In the case of the Walton College Program, each student (working with their respective sponsoring company) must commit to completing a firm-related specific project based on the China EMBA program curriculum that will either reduce costs or increase profits by $250,000 in their employing company.

Besides cost and modes of delivery, executive MBA programs are typically characterized by business specific emphases (e.g., management, finance, high technology business development, entrepreneurship) and frequently have international hubs and institutional partnerships for study—broadly defined.  In the case of the Walton College executive MBA program, the emphasis is on retailing, consumer products and logistics and involves a partnership with one of the best universities (and business colleges) in China (i.e., Tongji University [and the School of Economics and Management] in Shanghai).   As an aside, during a recent visit to Fayetteville by Professor Yao Ming (Director of the International Office in the Tongji School of Economics and Management), we learned that “tongji” means traveling as a group in a thin boat where all members bear responsibility but where all derive pleasure from the journey.  Walton Dean Dan Worrell interprets this meaning with the old expression, “we are all in the same boat.”  

As is true with most executive MBA programs, the China-based program supported by the Walton College works on cohort basis, with a class beginning in a particular semester and continuing collectively through the length of the program (i.e., assuming satisfactory progress by each enrolled student).  The Walton College program began with a class of thirteen and I recently had the opportunity to meet several of these “beginning students” as a part of their kick-off activities in Fayetteville.  The activities included lectures by UA faculty, visits to local corporations (including Wal-Mart and one of their well known Saturday morning meetings), and the Clinton School and Library in Little Rock.  The Walton executive MBA students work full time for corporations based around the world, although most have branches or centers in China, but not necessarily in Shanghai.  One student I met works in Milan, Italy where he “commutes” from to Shanghai and Fayetteville—as needed.

Recently, Walton College Dean, Dan Worrell, noted (UA Daily Headlines, 2008) that "Many U.S. companies do business internationally, and we want to prepare our students for the global marketplace.  This new Executive MBA represents one of several ways that the college is expanding its international footprint."  In so doing, the Walton College has not only provided a unique educational opportunity for skilled business leaders but also given one of our own—Matt Waller—the rare opportunity to become an “extraordinary person in an unusual place.”

Bibliography

Alsop, Ron.  “Exec M.B.A. Programs Saturate Some Markets.”  College Journal (from The Wall Street Journal) February 16, 2008; http://www.collegejournal.com/mbacenter/mbatrack/20041213-alsop.html (March 12, 2008).

Smith, Bob. “‘Extraordinary People in Unusual Places’—A New Feature for All Things Academic.” All Things Academic, 7 (1) 2006; http://libinfo.uark.edu/ata/v7no1/epupschafer.asp (March 13, 2008)

UA Daily Headlines, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, February 18, 2008; http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/12324.htm (March 12, 2008).

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*Bob Smith serves as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville

**Matthew (Matt) A. Waller is professor of Marketing and Logistics and holder of the Garrison Chair in Supply Chain Management, Department of Marketing and Logistics, Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville