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| Korea University Business School entered the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking for the first time this year at 86th place. / Courtesy of Korea University |
By Kim Da-ye
Here's a round-up of the major news stories from Korea's business education scene in the first half of 2013 that you might have missed.
Korean B-schools perform better on FT rankings
In the Financial Times' 2013 Global MBA Ranking published in January, Sungkyunkwan University's SKK GSB came 51st, the highest position a Korean business school has ever reached. SKK GSB made the first entry to the FT list last year, getting ranked 66th. Korea University Business School entered the FT ranking this year for the first time at 86th place.
Harvard Business School was named the top business school in the world, followed by Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
In May, the newspaper announced another set of rankings for executive education. Executive education programs — non-degree programs for working managers — are different from Executive MBAs (EMBAs). The FT ranked separately the programs that are open to any applicants and those customized to a client organization. The newspaper says that the rankings are "based on the satisfaction of participants and client organizations, diversity of participants and faculty, and the school's level of international engagement."
In the "Open" category, KAIST College of Business was placed 28th with its ranking unchanged from last year. KAIST was the top Asian executive education intuition in this group when European or American schools with branches in Singapore and institutions in Australia are excluded. The Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore was the only other Asian school in the ranking.
IMD in Switzerland came on the top of the list, followed by IESE Business School in Spain and Thunderbird School of Global Management in the U.S.
For customized programs, Yonsei University School of Business came at the 61st place, up seven ranks from last year. Yonsei University was the only business school headquartered in Asia when European or American schools with branches in Singapore and institutions in Australia are excluded.
In this group, Duke Corporation Education operating in the U.S., South Africa, the U.K., and India secured the top position. It was followed by HEC Paris in France and IESE Business School.
The EMBA ranking, which was released last October, will be announced in the second half. The Financial Times also publish rankings for masters in finance, online MBAs, masters in management and European business schools.
Doing MBA recognized as working
A steel company employee who suffered a brain hemorrhage while working in the day and studying for an MBA in the evening won on June 12 a lawsuit against Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KWCWS) that refused to recognize studying for the degree as part of his job.
The 41-year-old employee known as his last name, Hong, registered to a part-time evening MBA program at Korea University in 2009. His employer encouraged selected managers to do an MBA as part of its plan to foster key talents. The company paid the chosen employees' tuitions and any related expenses. It will also recognized an MBA degree as an additional year of experiences and prioritize the graduates for promotions. In return, the MBA candidates had to submit transcripts and copies of their reports.
Hong complained of a severe migraine and collapsed in November 2010 after visiting his client and was diagnosed with cerebral infarction and a brain hemorrhage. He applied for recuperation pay to the KWCWS, claiming that he studied until late night on weekdays and on weekends, so was overworked. The KWCWS decided that there was no relationship between his illness and work-related circumstances.
The court decided in Hong's favor. The judge wrote in the ruling, "It is correct to see the complainant's MBA studies as part of his job under his employer's supervision and management rather than as his own efforts at personal development." The judge cited the employer's talent-cultivating policy to having selected employees study an MBA, cover their tuitions and expenses and demand them to submit their transcripts.
New deans
Major Korean business schools inaugurated new deans earlier this year. Seoul National University appointed Kim Byoung-do, professor of marketing, as the new dean in February. Korea University chose Lee Doo-hee, professor of management, who spearheaded the creation of Asia-Pacific Association for International Education. Ewha Woman's University picked as the new dean Kim Seong-kook, a professor of management and an expert on human resources and organizations. Sogang Univeristy chose Park Young-seog, professor of financial management.
