University MBA programs help executives sharpen their skills in a competitive and time-short world.

In today's competitive business world, it's clear that education pays off -- for both students and their employers. Because the prospective student is a busy executive with a successful career and little time, universities are offering innovative executive education programs to accommodate them. And they are taking advantage of new technologies and changed working styles.

Mark Panus of Duke University puts it this way: "We have degree programs that work the way the world works. Our Global Executive MBA is a combination of face-to-face learning and Internet-mediated learning. It's not one or the other; it's the combination of place and space that makes it unique. This program mirrors the way executives are working today -- in global teams across time zones and continents and oceans."

Meanwhile, Fordham University's program has attracted considerable attention because it presents such a minimal time imposition while ensuring a first-class MBA from an internationally recognized university. Students can live anywhere in the world as long as they can attend classes one weekend per month.

The Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina is offering managers an intensive two-week "mini-MBA" program called "Leading Inside the Global Enterprise." It is preceded by "Global Prep," an Internet program introducing the faculty and the curriculum.

At Florida International University, students spend four days at the beginning of each academic year undergoing intensive team building and leadership exercises, even climbing 40-foot precipices. "Instead of being a group of strangers on the first day of class, they already have a sense of community when classes begin," says Sherry Moss, co-director of the MBA program.

Here's an overview of several programs:

Duke University

Duke University's top-ranked Fuqua School of Business is helping companies develop business leaders who understand global issues through its groundbreaking Global Executive MBA ([GEMBA.sup.TM] program). Representing a new paradigm of graduate business education, GEMBA allows executives from around the world to purse their MBA while they continue to work full-time.

Launched in May 1996, GEMBA was created to meet the needs of high-potential managers and executives of globally oriented corporations. The unique format combines residential classroom sessions on four continents with distance education via advanced Internet-based technologies. During the 19-month program, students convene with Duke's world-class faculty at sites in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.

While maintaining a high level of productivity in the workplace, they learn the core function areas of business, as well as how to integrate them and how to think and manage globally. And because they interact as part of global teams, GEMBA students are exposed to a wealth of ideas and approaches to each topic. They also build an international network of business peers.

"The experience level of these students is very high," says Mark Panus, assistant director of communications. "These are people who have been in leadership or managerial positions for 10 to 14 years. Students learn not only from the faculty but from their classmates, who share their wealth of international business experience with one another."

University of South Carolina

Latin American students who earn international degrees at The Darla Moore School of Business (DMSB) at the University of South Carolina excel in getting jobs at competitive global salaries. Global companies such as Xerox, Citigroup and Compaq frequently offer jobs to Latin American graduates of the school's MIBS (master of international business studies) and IMBA (International MBA) programs.

"All our MIBS students are bilingual, many are multilingual, and all our students from Latin America have had six-month corporate assignments in the USA," adds Louis Dessau, MIBS assistant director. "They're very marketable."

The MIBS program celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The occasion will be marked by parties Oct. 23 in Brazil and on Dec. 3 in Miami, with additional festivities around the world. The gala on-campus event Nov. 13 will feature Darla Moore, Wall Street financier and USC alumna, for whom the business school was named.

Executive Education also rakes a global and cross-cultural focus. Managers participating in DMSB's two-week program, "Leading Inside the Global Enterprise," take away the business frameworks, tools, and applications they need to run a business unit in another culture. It continues with a 12-month Intranet link to professors and fellow participants.

"This is the future," says Victoria Emerson, director of international corporate relations. "Eventually, all our global programs will be technology-enabled."

Florida International University

Every class that enrolls in Florida International University's program attends a unique residency session that turns 36 strangers into six tightly bonded teams who will work closely together for the first year. Before classes begin, the students spend four days working on team building and leadership skills.

The Executive MBA Program at FIU's Ryder College of Business Administration was founded by Joyce Elam, now the dean. Classes meet one Friday and three Saturdays per month, leaving one weekend free.

Before the beginning of the second year of the program, another four-day residential session focuses on career building and development. And during the summer, students can journey to such destinations as the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, China and Brussels.

Sherry Moss, co-director of the program, points to three components that distinguish the FRI program:

* An international focus. All courses have an international focus and use international case studies to help students understand business from a global perspective. As the ultimate experience, students participate in a business simulation game, in which the class teams act as entrepreneurial start-up companies, competing with each other over the entire quarter for market share and financial performance.

* An emphasis on information technology. For example, students completing the program will know not only how to use technology, but how to use it strategically within their organization.

* The residency sessions, "where some of the interpersonal skills are developed," Moss explains. "If you look at the competencies that companies want their executives to possess (and we have studied them extensively), most of them are in the areas of the 'softer' skills -- leadership, teamwork and interpersonal relations."

Fordham University

Fordham University's executive MBA -- the Transnational MBA program --allows busy professionals to earn a fully accredited MBA in just two years without leaving their full-time job. Classes are held one full weekend per month in New York or at overseas residential sites.

One Transnational MBA group just returned from a three-day trip to Dublin, Ireland, where the group studied management of technology, incorporating visits to companies such as Ericsson, IBM, Lotus, Intel and Dell and presentations by DoubleClick.

While the TMBA program covers all traditional core courses expected of a premier MBA -- such as accounting, economics, statistics, finance, marketing, operations management and more -- all courses view issues from a global perspective. Other courses focus on transnational leadership skills, cross-cultural communications and "global mindset."

Technology plays a preeminent part in the program. Between sessions, students stay in touch with classmates and professors via a dedicated groupware system.

The program is AACSB-accredited and a full member of the prestigious Executive MBA council. Applications are currently being reviewed for October 1999 admission.

Conclusion

Professionals in every field can reap the benefits of an MBA program. Concludes Sherry Moss, from FIU: "We have people who are technical experts in human resources, finance, accounting or information systems, but who don't have a holistic view of business from a macro-global perspective. We don't make them experts in anything, but we give them a broad view of the organization and how it fits into the economy."