Top 15 Part-Time MBA Programs in the US

1. Worcester Polytechnic, Worcester, Massachusetts
2. UCLA (Anderson), Los Angeles, California
3. UC Berkeley (Haas), Berkeley, California
4. Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
5. Michigan (Ross) Ann Arbor, Michigan
6. Elon (Love), Elon, North Carolina
7. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8. Rice (Jones), Houston, Texas
9. Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana
10. Drexel (LeBow), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11. Emory (Goizueta), Atlanta, Gerogia
12. Chicago (Booth), Chicago, Illinois
13. Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles, California
14. Case Western (Weatherhead), Cleveland, Ohio
15. SMU (Cox), Dallas, Texas

via BusinessWeek.com

Harvard Business School is the place where the chief executive officers, hedge fund stars and Goldman Sachs partners of tomorrow learn their craft. Now, in a break from tradition, a new course is focusing on the troubles of everyday consumers.

Consumer Finance, as it is known, will look at topics ranging from the best ways to boost the savings rate to how banks can deliver better products for low-income customers. Instead of proceeding along the conventional HBS path and delving into corporate case studies, students will focus on the financial lives of real middle-class families. In one exercise, they create a budget for a Boston family of average means, figuring in costs for such everyday staples as food, transportation and insurance.

“By the time our MBAs graduate, they will have looked at financial statements for hundreds of companies,” said Peter Tufano, the professor who teaches the course along with Howell E. Jackson, a faculty member at Harvard Law. “Other than in our course, they would have never looked at the financial statements of a single household.”

via www.Forbes.com

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
by Gary Vaynerchuk

Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, readers will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver’s manual for modern business.

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust
by Chris Brogan

How to tap the power of social software and networks to build your business
In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Today’s online influencers are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online.

The book shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Because trust is key to building online reputations,, those who traffic in it are “trust agents,” the key people your business needs on its side.

Delivers actionable steps and case studies that show how social media can positively impact your business
Written by authors with over ten years of online media experience
Shows you how to build and wield influence online to benefit your brand
Combines high-level theory with practical step-by-step guidance
If you want your business to succeed, don’t sit on the sidelines. Instead, use the Web to build trust with your consumers using Trust Agents.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly (Amazon’s Kindle Edition)
by David Meerman Scott

Though it may not yet have affected the value of 30 seconds of Super Bowl advertising, PR insider Scott argues that understanding the growing irrelevance of marketing’s “old rules” is vital to thriving in the new media jungle. Already apparent in newspapers and magazines (with sharp downturns in circulation and ads), radio (on the losing end of the iPod revolution) and direct mail (digitally replaced by spam), the imminent fall of traditional mass media marketing means new opportunities for legions of smaller companies and independent professionals who need to reach niche markets cheaply and effectively. The way Scott sees it, this is also good news for consumers: the online culture of integrity and information tends to produce quality content for less, as opposed to the vapid, one-sided and pricey advertising of print media and television. Scott provides the technical novice a thoughtful and accessible guide to cutting-edge media arenas and formats such as RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can’t substitute for a well-thought out marketing program. Besides emphasizing fundamentals like defining one’s audience, Scott also drills home the ethos and etiquette of the web, encouraging content that’s both useful and unobtrusive. This excellent look at the basics of new-millennial marketing should find use in the hands of any serious PR professional making the transition.

The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff
by Clara Shih

The ‘90s were about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking web pages. Today it’s about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the social graph. Online social networks are fundamentally changing the way we live, work, and interact. They offer businesses immense opportunities to transform customer relationships for profit: opportunities that touch virtually every business function, from sales and marketing to recruiting, collaboration to executive decision-making, product development to innovation. In The Facebook Era, Clara Shih systematically outlines the business promise of social networking and shows how to transform that promise into reality.

Shih is singularly qualified to write this book: One of the world’s top business social networking thought leaders and practitioners, she created the first business application on Facebook and leads salesforce.com’s partnership with Facebook. Through case studies, examples, and a practical how-to guide, Shih helps individuals, companies, and organizations understand and take advantage of social networks to transform customer relationships for sales and marketing. Shih systematically identifies your best opportunities to use social networks to source new business opportunities, target marketing messages, find the best employees, and engage customers as true partners throughout the innovation cycle. Finally, she presents a detailed action plan for positioning your company to win in today’s radically new era: The Facebook Era.

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
by Joel Comm

“For months I saw and heard the buzz about Twitter, but it wasn’t until Joel told me details about it that I fully understood its marketing implications. Now I can clearly see how this free site can help me further build relationships with my customers, and I am going to be ‘tweeting’ frequently! In fact, I have already started, thanks to Joel. So thanks for writing this book, Joel. It’s going to help a lot of people grow their business!”
Stephen Pierce (www.MakeRealMoneyOnTheInternet.com)

“Arguably, one of the best tomes…Twitter Power is jam-packed with clever ways to start and dominate a marketplace.” (Brandopia.typepad.com, March 23rd 2009) “…good comprehensive overview…Comm is at his best when discussing how to use Twitter as a marketing, PR or promotional tool.” (B2B Marketing, July 2009)

“I’ve been following Joel on Twitter for a while now and I’ll be frank—he annoys me . But in a good way. He always manages to grab my attention in Twitter, despite the limited words availablle within the microblogging platform. This clearly demonstrates that Joel understands how this new and powerful social media tool should be used. If you want to unleash the power of Twitter for your business, Joel is someone you should pay attention to.”
Yaro Starak (www.entrepreneurs-journey.com)

Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation
by Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones

The world of digital media is changing at a phenomenal pace.  Constantly evolving technologies, and their evolving uses, are transforming how we access information and how we interact and communicate with one another on a global scale.

Understanding Digital Marketing looks at the world of digital marketing: how it got started, how it got to where it is today, and where the thought leaders in the industry believe it is headed in the future. The book shows readers, in a practical and comprehensive way, how to harness the power of digital media and use it to achieve the utmost success for their businesses.  It explains how to choose online marketing channels in order to get products and services to market.  It explores in detail such areas as search marketing, affiliate marketing, e-mail marketing, creative online executions, and digital marketing strategies.

Including real-world examples of digital marketing successes and expert opinions, Understanding Digital Marketing will give readers the tools to utilize the power of the internet to take their businesses wherever they want them to go.

www.MBAOutlook.com

The Aspen Institute published the 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and popular alternative ranking of full-time MBA programs.

This only MBA ranking that looks beyond reputation and test scores to measure something different: how well schools are preparing their students for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day.

TOP 10 MBA Programs in the US

1. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
2. Yale School of Management, Yale university (New Haven, Connecticut)
3. Graduate School of Business, Stanford University (Stanford, California)
4. Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)
5. Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
6. NYU Stern, New York University (New York City, New York)
7. Columbia Business School (New York City, New York)
8. Darden School of Business, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)
9. The Johnson School, Cornell University  (Ithaca, New York)
10. The George Washington University School of Business (Washington, D.C.)

via www.beyondgreypinstripes.org

The Aspen Institute today releases the 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and popular alternative ranking of full-time MBA programs.

While many MBA rankings exist, only this one looks beyond reputation and test scores to measure something different: how well schools are preparing their students for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day.

This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in the ranking, leaded by Schulich School of Business.

Top 10 International Schools:

1. Schulich School of Business, York University (Toronto, Canada)
2. RSM Erasmus University (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
3. IE Business School (Madrid, Spain)
4. Nottingham University Business School (Nottingham, England)
5. Griffith Business School (Brisbane, Australia)
6. INSEAD (Paris, France)
7. Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University (Montreal, Canada)
8. ESADE Business School (Barcelona, Spain)
9. John Molson School of Business (JMSB), Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
10. University of Stellenbosch Business School (Cape Town, South Africa)

via www.beyondgreypinstripes.org

The Accidental Entrepreneur: The 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting a Business
by Susan-Urquhart Brown

Like many business owners, Susan-Urquhart Brown never expected to end up as an entrepreneur. Launching her own business spoke to her passions, but she soon realized there was much more to being a successful owner than she ever expected. In The Accidental Entrepreneur, she takes all the mystery out of going solo. For those who are just beginning to consider starting a venture as well as those who want to take their organization to the next level, she offers ad vice on what works and what doesn’t. With hard-won wisdom and empathy, she shows readers: the 8 questions everyone should ask up front * the top 10 traits of the successful entrepreneur * how to obtain a license and sellers permit * the best way to create a business plan * 10 simple ways to get referrals * the 6 secrets of marketing a business * smart tips for investing and finance * ways to avoid burnout * how to avoid the 7 biggest pitfalls in business Starting one’s own business should be exciting, not scary. This is the one book that will show readers how to create a successful and fulfilling venture they can be proud of.

Entrepreneur’s Notebook: Practical Advice for Starting a New Business Venture
by Steven K. Gold
Entrepreneur’s Notebook propels you on a whirlwind tour of the start-up process. It is an invaluable reference for new and experienced entrepreneurs that includes chapters on a wide range of topics, from entrepreneurial team building to business plans to financing. This excellent book provides an incredible amount of practical information that will help you make smarter decisions and avoid costly mistakes. The author, Steven K. Gold, is an accomplished entrepreneur who has co-founded and led five early-stage ventures. As an investor and mentor, he also advises many entrepreneurs and young companies. He earned his B.S.E. in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his M.D. from Brown University Medical School.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
by Mike Michalowicz

Never started a company before? Struggling with little or no cash? Have no experience, no baseline to judge your progress against? Thank God! You’ve got a shot at making this work.” So says Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, a business book that is so uniquely useful, so raw and entertaining, it reads like the brainchild of Steve Jobs and Chris Rock.
The founder of three multimillion-dollar companies, including Obsidian Launch, a company that partners with first-time entrepreneurs to grow their concepts into industry leaders, Mike Michalowicz knows what it really takes to spin your great idea into pure gold.

Whether you’re just starting out or have been at this for years, Mike’s “get real” approach to business is a much-needed swift kick in the pants. In this book, you’ll discover:
* Why a business plan is a total waste of your time.
* Why fulfilling your own needs is the first and last order of business.
* Which three sheets of paper you need to successfully launch, manage and grow your business.
* How to get started in business with little or no money.
* How to find and exploit resources that no one else knows about.
* How to stop procrastinating and take action NOW! 

The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship
by William D. Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis (editors)

The only book that offers a state-of-the-art education in entrepreneurship
. . . From an all-star team that includes:

William D. Bygrave, Babson College • Jeffry Timmons, Harvard University and Babson College • Abdul Ali, Babson College • Kathleen Seiders, Babson College • Andrew Zacharakis, Babson College • William Wetzel, University of New Hampshire • Joel Shulman, Babson College • Elizabeth Gatewood, Indiana University • Richard Mandel, Babson College • Joseph Iandiorio, Iandiorio & Teska • Steve Spinelli, Babson College • J. William Petty, Baylor University • Julian Lange, Babson College • Ed Marram, Babson College • Donna Kelly, Babson College

Starting your own business is an increasingly popular and feasible response to today’s changing job market, and the best entrepreneurial wisdom available is in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, Third Edition. Edited by William Bygrave and Andrew Zacharakis, two seasoned professors of entrepreneurship at Babson College, it covers all the fundamentals–from opportunity recognition to venture capital to formulating smart business plans. This revised volume of the 600,000-copy bestseller includes a wealth of new case studies, as well as updated tax and legal information. Geared towards both MBA candidates and aspiring entrepreneurs, The Portable MBA in Entrepreurnership guides the reader through the startup process and beyond, culling wisdom from the best and brightest in the field. If you’re ready to see what the entrepreneurial world has to offer you, this book is your ticket.

Engineering Your Start-Up: A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur
by James A. Swanson and Michael L. Baird

The economy may not be great, but there are still plenty of entrepreneurs around with great ideas for high-tech start-ups. If you are one of them, this book will help you succeed. It gives you all the basic information you need to make your great idea a business reality.
Updated for today’s business and economic climate, the new, fully revised edition of Engineering Your Start-Up is the complete guide to launching and growing a successful high-tech company. The authors, both successful veterans of many start-ups, focus you squarely on the fundamentals of making a new business work.

They demystify the start-up process with frank advice, insider’s tips, and in-depth analysis. On-point case studies show you what to do–and what to avoid. An expanded list of resources steers you to help when you need it. You’ll learn what it takes for you to create and manage a start-up, and the personal characteristics required for success in your new venture.

Engineering Your Start-Up offers a dose of reality for all aspects of the start-up world. Among the topics covered: securing funding (or surviving until you do), dealing with venture capitalists, writing a business plan, creating a management team, market positioning, stock ownership and grant practices, protecting intellectual property, and many other topics.

Engineering Your Start-Up is a distillation of the key lessons of the high-tech start-up world. As a new entrepreneur, you’ll find it a book you go back to again and again.

This is the ninth year the Financial Times has published its ranking of Executive MBA programmes, part-time MBA degrees for senior working managers.

In recent years the fashion has been to develop EMBA programmes that are taught in several different countries, often through partnerships between different business schools, as you can see in the ranking.

The list is compiled using data from two sets of surveys: one is completed by alumni who graduated from the respective programmes three years ago, in 2006; and the other by the business schools. You can read more about the ranking methodology here.

The TOP 30 EMBA 2009

1- Kellogg/Hong Kong UST Business School (China)

2- Trium: HEC Paris / LSE / New York University: Stern (France, UK, USA)

3- Columbia/London Business School (USA, UK)

4- University of Chicago: Booth (USA, UK, Singapore)

5- Insead (France, Singapore)

5- University of Pennsylvania, Wharton (USA)

7- IE Business School (Spain)

8- London Business School (UK)

9- Columbia Business School (USA)

10- Duke University: Fuqua (USA)

11- National University of Singapore School of Business (Singapore)

12- Washington University: Olin (China)

13- UC Berkeley/Columbia (USA)

14- IMD (Switzerland)

15- New York University: Stern (USA)

16- Iese Business School (Spain)

17- Northwestern University: Kellogg (USA)

18- Kellogg/WHU-Otto Beisheim School (Germany)

19- Chinese University of Hong Kong (China)

20- University of Michigan: Ross (USA)

21- City University: Cass (UK)

21- Essec/Mannheim (France, Germany)

23- Kellogg/York University: Schulich (Canada)

24- Purdue, Tias, CEU, GISMA (USA, Netherlands, Hungary, Germany)

25- ESCP Europe (France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy)

26- Ceibs (China)

27- OneMBA: CUHK/RSM/UNC/FGV São Paulo/EGADE (China, Netherlands, USA, Brazil, Mexico)

28- UCLA: Anderson (USA)

29- University of Toronto: Rotman (Canada)

30- University of Western Ontario: Ivey (Canada, China)

via Financial Times

IESE, a Spanish Business School, tops The Economist’s eighth annual ranking of full-time MBA programmes. You can read more about the ranking here.

TOP 30 full-time MBA ranking:

1. IESE Business School – University of Navarra, Spain
2. IMD International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland
3. California at Berkeley, University of – Haas School of Business, United States
4. Chicago, University of – Booth School of Business, United States
5. Harvard Business School, United States
6. Dartmouth College – Tuck School of Business, United States
7. Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States
8. London Business School, Britain
9. University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School, United States
10. Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Belgium
11. University of Cambridge – Judge Business School, Britain
12. York University – Schulich School of Business, Canada
13. New York University – Leonard N Stern School of Business, United States
14. HEC School of Management Paris, France
15. Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management, United States
16. IE Business School, Spain
17. Melbourne Business School – University of Melbourne, Australia
18. Cranfield School of Management, Britain
19. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT Sloan School of Management, United States
20. Columbia Business School, United States
21. Henley Business School, Britain
22. Warwick Business School, Britain
23. INSEAD, France / Singapore
24. University of Virginia – Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, United States
25. University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business, United States
26. Mannheim Business School, Germany
27. Yale School of Management, United States
28. Duke University – Fuqua School of Business, United States
29. ESADE Business School, Spain
30. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – School of Business and Management, Hong Kong

via The Economist

Entrepreneur magazine published their 8th annual ranking of top graduate colleges for entrepreneurship. This is the TOP 10:

1- Babson College
F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business
Arthur M.Blank Center for Entreprenership
Babson Park, MA

Enrolled students: 1,559
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 96%
Scholarships: $327,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 9
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $35,000

2- University of Southern California
Marshall School of Business
Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Los Angeles, CA

Enrolled students: 1,342
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 82%
Scholarships: $5,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $60,000

3- Drexel University
Bennett S. LeBow College of Business
Entrepreneurship
Philadelphia, PA

Enrolled students: 78
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Scholarships: $350,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 6
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $90,700

4- Tulane University
Freeman School of Business
Levy Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship
New Orleans, LA

Enrolled students: 120
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Scholarships: $200,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $50,000

5- Rice University
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business
Entrepreneurship
Houston, TX

Enrolled students: 227
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Scholarships: $210,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 5
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $810,000

6- Temple University
Fox School of Business and Management
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute
Philadelphia, PA

Enrolled students: 396
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 75%
Scholarships: $56,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $29,500

7- University of Washington
Michael G. Foster School of Business
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Seattle, WA

Enrolled students: 410
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 74%
Scholarships: $157,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 11
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $75,000

8- University of Arizona
Eller College of Management
McGuire Entrepreneurship Program
Tucson, AZ

Enrolled students: 50
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 74%
Scholarships: $100,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 10
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $10,000

9- DePaul University
Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
DePaul University Entrepreneurship Program
Chicago, IL

Enrolled students: 237
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Scholarships: $50,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $25,000

10- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Steven M. Ross School Of Business
Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
Ann Arbor, MI

Enrolled students: 1,600
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 50%
Scholarships: $100,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 7
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $100,000

via www.Entrepreneur.com