Fewer officials, executives participate in EMBA programs

Professor Robert A. Burgelman from Stanford University delivers a lecture at an EMBA class in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on this Dec 13, 2013 file photo. [Photo/IC]

The number of government officials and senior managers of state-owned enterprises participating in costly Executive MBA （EMBA）programs has dropped sharply following the government's austerity measures, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

An employee of the EMBA admissions office at the Business School of Renmin University, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said that "many government officials do not dare apply for the business program after China introduced its eight-point regulation".

The regulation urges officials to "get close to the public" by eliminating "undesirable work styles", including extravagance, hedonism and excessive bureaucracy.

The EMBA is different from the MBA, which is popular in Western countries, as the EMBA course is aimed at senior administrators of large enterprises, and this course was previously popular among China's government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises.

A total of 35% of EMBA course students at Tsinghua University last fall were executives of state-owned enterprises, and 9% were government officials.

The tuition fee for an EMBA course is normally between 400,000 yuan ($64,000) and 1 million yuan ($160,000). Some officials and executives previously paid part of the tuition themselves – but some were totally financed by public funds.

The eight-point regulation has already greatly affected China's political and business sectors, including high-end restaurants and manufacturers of expensive liquor, which are tackling a huge loss of business. Some luxury dining establishments have started to offer discounts in a bid to attract customers.