declined at 7 out of 10 US business schools offering the two-year degree

qualification in 2018 even elite institutions such as Harvard Business

School and Stanford were hit. And some high ranking institutions such as Iowa's

Tippie School of Business closed their courses as a result but look east

particularly to China and demand for this business degree is rising as fast

as the overall economy. The dominance of the MBA market by US business schools

meant that the American losses canceled out the growth in Asia and elsewhere as

a result global application numbers were flat in 2018 but it could be said that

their MBA market has been pausing to take breath before a new era of growth

begins driven by Chinese business schools. Universities in China have been

investing significantly in improving their appeal to local and international

students with a range of business education courses including ones taught

in English the quality of their output is reflected in the Financial Times

annual ranking of MBA courses worldwide. When the FT published its first MBA

ranking in 1999 it included the top 50 programs worldwide but no Asian schools

this year there were 13 including 4 from China. The rise of China as an MBA

superpower is not surprising given the size of the market but the leading

Chinese MBA providers do not want to teach their students about strategy

based on the experiences of Western companies. They are developing their own

case studies looking at Asian businesses. A new era of growth beckons for the MBA

but it is likely to result in the qualification with more of an Asian

flavor