In the old economy, an MBA in marketing, management or finance was really all you needed to break ranks and move ahead. But that other economy — the one that existed before lap-top computers, before the Internet, before the stock market hit 9,000 — wasn’t as technologically sophisticated or globally integrated as the one that exists today. Ten years ago being "high-tech" meant you had a 286 computer and a fax machine.
    Moving toward the 21st century in business requires more specialized preparation than ever before. Just getting an MBA with a general business focus may no longer be enough, especially with the growing prevalence of MBA-degreed professionals themselves. What to do? Easy — pick a specialization.
    For example, at the University of California Irvine's Graduate School of Management, executive MBA students can choose to focus in health care management or information technology. The health care focus is usually undertaken by health care professionals, but that doesn’t mean only doctors and HMO reps. "We have health care lawyers, dentists, and people from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, too," says Ann Lightbody, assistant dean, marketing admissions.
    "Our executive MBA program is taught largely by the case-study method and for health care, 30 to 50 percent of those cases come from the health care arena." Lightbody says UCI draws students from all over the country, largely because of the positive press the program received when it began in January 1996. After getting a health care management MBA, many doctors move into the lucrative consulting field. "Other professionals see administrative or management opportunities that they didn’t see before participating in the program," says Lightbody.
    The information technology focus reflects the increased importance of IT in business, says Vijay Gurbaxani, associate dean of academic degree programs at UCI's Graduate School of Management. "It’s still an MBA in the

sense that we want people to be managers, but we want to enhance their understanding of how technology can improve job performance. Information technology is transforming the practice of management," he says.     The program employs the use of electronic classrooms and lap-top computers; each seat is equipped with network and power connections and homework assignments can be downloaded daily. Students learn how to use technology in today’s business world. "We were one of the first business schools in the country to introduce SAP/R3, which is an enterprise resource planning system developed by a German company called SAP. It’s being implemented by most large organizations today. The job market for people who understand this technology is phenomenal," says Gurbaxani.     The University of Phoenix in Murphy Canyon offers its own version of the IT MBA, a combination focus in technology management and information systems. But Charlita Shelton, director of academic affairs at the school, says that focus changed the degree to an MS/CIS. "It’s a business information system-based graduate program," she says.     The school's other MBA specializations include health care management and global management, though the latter isn’t fully in place yet. The health care management MBA is a kind of hybrid, says Shelton. "There are a number of traditional business courses but many of the other courses deal with health care, like health care finance, for instance, or negotiation and conflict resolution in health care. Sixty-five percent of the courses are business-based and the rest are health care-based," she says.

Charlita Shelton, director of academic affairs at the University of Phoenix, says the focus of the school's MBA offerings has changed.

Mink Stavenga, dean of business administration at USIU, has tailored the MBA according to industry needs.

Mink Stavenga, dean of the college of business administration at United States International University, says his school will offer an MBA concentration in information and technology management in fall 1999. "This program was created in response to industry, particularly here in San Diego. We held focus groups with industry experts to see if we were on the right track with course development, and they said they would like to have graduates from the program tomorrow," says Stavenga.     The school's strategic management focus boasts world-famous management expert Egor Ansoff, who Stavenga says is known as "the father of strategic management." This specialization looks at business from a resources standpoint — human and otherwise.     But USIU probably is best-known for its international programs, and its business

school is no exception. For those interested in taking a global-oriented approach to business, the school's MIBA — Masters of International Business Administration — offers just that. Stavenga says the MIBA degree didn’t have name recognition until the mid-1980s, although it’s been available at USIU since 1972. Especially in the 1990s, he says, the MIBA degree is recognized worldwide.
    "Every single course has an international — or transnational, as the business community terms it — component. We also emphasize multicultural and multinational components," says Stavenga. And with 75 percent of USIU's student body hailing from countries overseas, students get the opportunity to learn from one another as well as from their instructors. "Last year’s US News & World Report said that among colleges in the United States we have the largest percentage of international students. Over 80 nations are represented."
    San Diego State University's Graduate School of Business also offers an MBA concentration in international business management, aimed at those who work for international firms. "Given our location in San Diego, it makes a lot of sense, with our proximity to Mexico and the Pacific Rim," says Ken Marino, associate dean and director of the Business School. "This is the largest of the four specializations we have and is supported by our Center for International Business Education and Research, CIBER."
    SDSU's other specializations include entrepreneurship, with courses focused on new product development, financing an emerging enterprise and developing business plans. It is aimed at those interested in self-employment or planning to work as a service provider to entrepreneurs, such as lawyers, accountants and venture capitalists.
    The health services administration specialization is geared toward those working at hospitals and insurance companies. Marino says students take many of their courses through the school's College of Public Health. "That's how our specializations usually work — four or five courses through a particular college," he says. And for real estate brokers and those involved with development, urban land use or land planning, there's a concentration in real estate.
    Marino says the school hopes to develop a specialization in regulatory affairs by next year, in conjunction with SDSU's chemistry department. "Those courses would focus on FDA compliance and regulation, in terms of marketing and manufacturing. This is especially appropriate for San Diego, with its pharmaceutical and biotech industries," he says.

Judi Myers is associate dean at the University of Redlands' San Diego campus, where MBA students can choose the information systems specialization.

At the University of Redlands' Friars Road campus, MBA students can choose the information systems specialization. San Diego campus Associate Dean Judi Myers says, "This concentration deals with organizing and handling information, how it flows. For example, what to do after the accounting is done. How will the information be used?" Courses include applied software development, database management and design, system analysis and design for management. In fall 1998 the school begins a concentration in international business, involving economics, banking systems, global strategic planning and marketing.     A plethora of MBA specializations are available at National University, such as technology management, global management, health care administration and international business. Some less common specializations include electronic commerce, environmental management and law.

    Electronic commerce teaches MBA students about commerce on the Internet and the World Wide Web, as well as online marketing strategies, Web site construction and programming languages. The environmental management focus is designed for students wanting to specialize in the field. Courses deal with environmental law compliance, air pollution and control management, quality water and treatment management and solid waste and hazardous materials management.
    The MBA with a law specialization is aimed at those interested in exploring the wide range of legal issues facing business today. Within this area, students can hone things even further by focusing on a particular area of law, such as human resources, health care or technology.
    The University of San Diego’s School of Business has four areas of specialization: project management, real estate finance, supply management and venture management. The real estate option focuses on the management, financial and legal issues associated with real estate. Supply management applies to industry, government and nonprofits, says Charles Teplitz, the school's dean. "The focus here is on procurement, and companies are clamoring for these students. In fact, the average student graduating from this program gets offers from five or six Fortune 500 companies. The degree enables them to deal with suppliers and vendors in a way that ensures quality and timeliness of delivery," he says.
    The venture management specialization emphasizes the various roles in managing a start-up business and is aimed primarily at entrepreneurs or those employed by a company undergoing rapid expansion. And the project management option provides students with the skills to lead a project team, says Teplitz. "Traditional management courses teach students how to keep a business ongoing. We focus on how to close out a project by a certain date. This is particularly good for engineers and those who work on a per-project basis, and it stretches across virtually every industry. Everyone treats everything as a project these days," he says.
    At California State University San Marcos, MBA students can tailor the program to their needs. "We group our students into cohorts of 25 to 30 people with similar backgrounds. So depending on the pool of students, they can make the program fit their needs," says Kiera Friedrich, MBA program coordinator. If a group of students wants to focus in on health care or decisions-support systems, the school will arrange it. "We look at industry sectors rather than disciplines and try to take a holistic approach," she says.
    Choosing a specialization doesn’t mean you'll spend more time in class. All schools reported the length of time to complete an MBA does not change because of a specialization and neither does the cost. In fact, the only change appears to be in a graduate's marketability. That, all the business school experts agree, is a change for the positive.