There are many reasons why group work is an integral part of the curriculum of the Masters of Business Administration program. This paper will explore four main reasons explaining the importance and benefits of the role of group work in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The first importance of MBA group work is that it stimulates a business environment. The second factor is that group work develops leadership and project management skills of all participatory team members. The third important aspect of MBA group work is the general learning experience it provides to members. Finally, group work provides a forum in which members from diverse backgrounds gain experience interacting with one another and accustomed to other styles of work, thought, and executing tasks. According to the University of Phoenix, “Learning teams will apply the principles of benchmarking throughout the program to research the most creative solutions to a problem. This will enrich the alternatives that learners consider in evaluating possible solutions to the problems” (University of Phoenix, 2008).
The first importance of MBA group work is that it simulates what it will be like in the work environment working on projects, business plans or proposals. In today’s business environment it is quite common to incorporate the work and ideas of others into projects upon completion. In an article discussing obtaining a Master of Business Administration the author states “In an online MBA program, the student works in an educational environment which more closely mirrors today’s business reality...a world-class executive must be able to collaborate with colleagues who are separated by thousands of miles and several time zones in order to achieve business goals” (Abboud, 2005). This demonstrates how it is common to collaborate with colleagues, regardless of whether they are located in the next cubicle or the next continent. Without collaboration many projects would not come to...