Range of Services from SMP St. Gallen

Practical Business Education with Distinction

Existing concepts and methods are applied to real problems during the seminars, tested for their applicability and constantly refined. At the same time, the current challenges of reality are the point of departure for the further development of management theory according to the St. Gallen approach to management. This tried and true organizational framework is being constantly adapted to new developments and combines many years of experience with current innovation.

This ensures that the current topics from real business are directly transformed into solid concepts and methods that are integrated into the seminar—a form of education is created, which teaches participants knowledge that they need to be successfully active in reality.

Because you as our customer correctly place high expectations on a SMP seminar, which we as a provider must properly fulfill.

CONCEPT

The Executive School St. Gallen was founded to impart the newest knowledge about specific topics in modern management theory by presenting them with the highest degree of practicability and quality, while being especially conscious of executives’ most valuable resource time.

Because time is the scarcest of all resources for executives and must be used effectively, management know-how is transferred in compressed form.

During a 2 or 3 day intensive seminar at the Study Center St. Gallen, small groups of no larger than 7 executives discuss and learn about recent topics, and address the concrete issues that face them in their businesses.

At the center of the seminar are not strictly defined contents, rather each seminar aims at addressing the specific needs of the participants, lending support in overcoming their pressing challenges.

Each seminar is led by a sole instructor, who is among the leading specialists in Europe for their area of expertise; aside from their academic activities, they are able to draw on a substantial practical experience.

METHODOLOGY / TOPICS

Each seminar from the Executive School St. Gallen treats one or more very strictly defined topic areas of management theory. This focus makes it possible to delve into detail about the subject and its application as would otherwise not be possible in a more general seminar.

The goal is to treat all important aspects of a subject so that the participants are able to apply the knowledge acquired directly in their environments, without having first to take an advanced course or make a large effort in translating the concepts into action.

Naturally, this requires a great deal of individual attention at the seminar along with the opportunity for all participants’ questions to be addressed in detail. In order to be able to provide this, group size is restricted to 7 and will generally be even smaller. Hence, a participant-specific content is possible in a way that no other form of external education can provide.

Degree Programs

A degree as proof of efforts made or existing management competence enjoys, especially in German-speaking Europe, enormous recognition. With our practice-oriented degree programs, we offer successful executives with little formal education in management the opportunity to target and extend their abilities within the context of a part-time program, and to document this achievement with a diploma from SMP.

All these executives, from successful salespeople to legal professors, have in common, that they have qualified themselves for their position and function through their own performance, and now increasingly want a comprehensive understanding of business management principles and methods. They must develop strategies, set limits, delegate tasks, and lead employees instead of fulfilling the role that they once had, and were so successful at.

These managers have very specific needs in the way of executive education: it must be holistic and comprehensive, and cannot take on the dimensions of a university degree. It can demand a great deal of intelligence and commitment, but not assume a great deal of previously acquired theoretical knowledge. It must clearly show the larger picture, instill concepts, and above all offer methods, tools, and concepts to solve concrete problems.

It is precisely these needs that we can meet with out practice-oriented degree program.

Master Programs

With our comprehensive range of modular master programs, we offer committed executives from all levels of management, the opportunity to acquire a valuable degree at the highest level, and thus improve their prospects for professional advancement.

The basic concept behind this innovative offer is the recognition that even large companies are ever less in a position to provide an extensive range of educational opportunities for their highly qualified employees. In contrast, smaller individual courses are still available for a wider target group of committed and performance-oriented executives.

In cooperation with personnel development experts from our largest clients, we have tried to find a solution for this disappointing state of affairs. As a result of examining this problem SMP developed a new concept—the SMP Master Programs. They offer a way for a larger number of qualified executives to acquire a valuable management education with a Master’s degree.

The modular makeup of the program allows the executive education program to be tailored to the specific needs of both the company and individual manager.

In doing so, it is possible for all participants, despite growing financial and time restrictions to provide a holistic management development solution.

Concept

Whoever is active in an international company as an executive, must measure his management competence in terms of global standard, such as an MBA degree. This trend towards standards concerns also European institutions and will fundamentally change the educational landscape of Europe by 2008.

As one of the leading European business schools, we take this challenge head on, and provide our solution in the form of a modular Global Executive MBA program. We thereby combine the strength of European management theory, i.e. integrated thinking and visionary strategies, with the advantages of the Anglo-Saxon educational system, i.e. learning from cases and direct practical relevance, thus forming an innovative concept.

Participants

The target group of the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program is managers with at least five years of professional experience in a leadership function, who have a solid command of English, and are ready to take on the challenge of this demanding part-time degree program.

The demands placed on the participants are significant, but those who successfully complete the dual degree program, acquire the academic title most sought after by managers today.

Program Structure

Global Postgraduate Certificate / GEMBA Stage 1

The Global Postgraduate Certificate forms the basis for acquiring the Global Executive MBA. The four central topics of management theory (strategy, marketing, leadership, and finance) are treated systematically and applied to real situations of executive management. The program design combines practical knowledge transfer during 19 days of required attendance in Switzerland, complemented with distance education in English.

Global Postgraduate Diploma / GEMBA Stage 2

The second stage builds on the content of the Global Postgraduate Certificate and deepens understanding through four additional program modules. Successful graduates earn the Global Postgraduate Diploma, the penultimate certification on the way to the Global Executive MBA.

The second stage also comprises four topics, which again are composed of seminars and distance education. This stage lasts anywhere from six to ten months.

Global Executive MBA / GEMBA Stage 3

The third stage builds on the contents of the Global Postgraduate Diploma, and refines students’ grasp of state of the art management knowledge through four distance education modules and three advanced seminars. The special emphasis of this last stage is on the specific demands on executive leaders in an international and global environment.