The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program announces there is still time to submit an application for the next cohort beginning January 2015 for the unique Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in CIM. The program, which began in August 2012, is offered through the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). The Jennings A. Jones College of Business, with one of the largest faculties in the United States, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.
This customized MBA is a rigorous, highly interactive degree program that thrives on diversity of cultures with mutual benefit to participants and sponsoring companies. Its major themes are operational excellence, leadership, strategy and execution. The program takes participants beyond basics to a true understanding of forces that will shape the concrete and construction industry. Successful graduates will immediately impact their businesses with a unique global, strategic and operational perspective and be ideally equipped to tackle the most pressing industry issues and help chart a future course of action. Participants will be shown skills needed for leadership and team building, as well as motivational skills to create synergy and energize their teams with the aim of achieving excellence throughout the organization.
“The CIM Executive MBA is an excellent opportunity for companies to invest in their future leaders by sponsoring their participation in a program of higher education that is specifically designed for the concrete industry,” says Eugene Martineau, Executive Director of the CIM program. “In developing this program, we wanted to ensure we were offering an advanced degree that was truly unique and not simply an MBA Program. While the program does offer many similar courses one would find in a typical executive MBA, the course content has been tailored to reflect on the issues important to managers and executives in the concrete industry.” Because of the distance learning aspect of the program, candidates pursuing this degree can continue in their full time employment responsibilities. With small class sizes, the student-to-teacher ratio is ideal maximize this unique learning experience.”
Beginning in January, the 15 month-long program will be administered in seven-week blocks. The format will include distance learning, webinars and on-campus visits to MTSU. This distinctive program will be a partner structure for networking and sharing experiences, while fostering a collaborative learning environment and allowing national recruitment with limited campus visits that are intensive and focused. The CIM MBA faculty have completed extensive internships in the concrete industry and have real exposure to the unique aspects of the industry and understand how issues and examples can be integrated into the courses they are teaching. Martineau says, “Since the candidates for the program are coming from many different aspects of the concrete industry, there is an excellent opportunity for individuals to gain a broad perspective regarding aspects of the industry they typically would not be exposed to.”
Industry professionals participating in the CIM MBA program will have a minimum of three years of experience in the industry and hold at least supervisory positions or above in their respective organizations. Academically, all participants will have at least an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education. While participants must have at least a bachelor’s degree, that degree does not have to be in business.
The cost of the CIM Executive MBA program will be $39,000 per participant. This fee represents the total academic cost of the program per participant.
If you are interested in learning more about the CIM MBA, please contact Ayaz Ahmed, associate professor and director of the MBA program for the concrete industry at [email protected], (615) 898-5715. Visit the website at www.mtsu.edu to submit an online application. For further information, please visit www.concrete-mba.com.
The CIM Undergraduate Program
Recognizing the need for people with enhanced technical, communication and management skills, the CIM program was developed in 1996. Receiving tremendous support from the concrete industry, the CIM program was the first of its kind in United States – a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management. The business-intensive program provides solid management skills developed specifically for the concrete industry. The program gives students many advantages including entering the concrete workforce with exposure to the industry early in their careers, unlike others coming in with generic business degrees. The program entails a broad range of courses, from English and history to science and mathematics. A series of required business courses such as finance, marketing, management and business law are also taken throughout the length of the program. The concrete-specific courses teach the fundamentals of concrete, properties and testing, concrete construction and more. All of these courses provide much more than what is simply in the text – they emphasize problem solving, quality assurance and customer satisfaction.
CIM currently has programs in-place at four universities including Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), the New Jersey Institute of Technology, California State University, Chico and Texas State University. The program has been successful for both the industry and the graduates. To learn more about the program, visit www.concretedegree.com.
