The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - October 1, 2007 http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/10/01/focus2.html

Little-known certification gaining fans, appreciation The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - by Mikel Chavers The Business Journal Serving the Greater Triad Area

Not only has the certified business manager distinction helped David Norman attract more business as a management consultant, but he's also seen the certification help his clients.

Take one of his family business clients, for example.

Norman was working with one of them recently to help prepare for a generational transition. The second generation had literally grown up within the confines of the family business and had no other perspective, Norman says.

The certified business manager program has kept him current in business management, having gotten his MBA more than 30 years ago. And, armed with that knowledge, Norman, of David Norman & Associates in Charlotte, was better equipped to coach the family through the transition.

No one in the Triad has yet achieved the designation. But Norman, who is also president of the Institute of Management Consultants Carolinas chapter, estimates that a quarter of his client base is in the Triad. During the past
34 years, two-thirds of his work has been in the region, he says.

As the number of certification professionals grows, it's likely only a matter of time before it arrives in the Triad. The Association of Professionals in Business Management offered the first exam in 2005, and today more than 3,000 professionals are certified business managers.

The association expects the number to grow to 3,200 by year's end and more than 3,500 in 2008.

Still, the certification has not yet gained enough critical mass to have certified business managers in every metro in the United States, says Devi Vallabhaneni, president and CEO of the Chicago-based educational service organization. And in terms of those certified, 30 percent are located outside the United States, she says.

The certification requires four exams, of four hours each, that candidates usually take several months apart. The broad-based certification, like getting a mini-MBA, offers more of a practical, generalist business certification -- a niche the sponsoring Association of Professionals in Business Management organization wanted to fill.

"When we start our careers, we start out as a specialist. But when people move up in an organization, they need more generalized skills," Vallabhaneni says.

Norman sees the need for the certification in the clients he works with.
Most law firm's practice administrators would benefit from this certification, he says, as well as banks who hire graduates from a broad range of academic fields and want them to become business advisors.

The certification might also be useful to managers at health care practices, such as those at the front desk, whose positions have evolved from managing appointments to compliance and quality issues.

"These types of people benefit from having a broad-brush education that the
(certification) offers," Norman says.

Vallabhaneni says the Association of Professionals in Business Management, formed in 2000, was responding to several trends. Overall, there are many certifications used in today's workplace -- from certified public accountants to certified internal auditors, but no certification that catered to the need for a true general business manager and more than that, no certification caters to the need for a professional standard in business.

Just as law school graduates must pass the bar, and accountants must pass the CPA exams, the certified business manager could serve as the professional standard, Vallabhaneni says.

Vallabhaneni says the certification doesn't aim to usurp the MBA. In fact, research from the Association of Professionals in Business Management indicates that only about one-third of the certified business manager candidates earn the certification in lieu of an MBA, another one-third earn the certification after an MBA and the remaining one-third earn the certification before considering an MBA, Vallabhaneni says.

"We believe the (it) cannot replace an MBA because the (Certified Business
Manager) is a certification, and the MBA is an academic degree, just as the CPA can never replace an accounting degree," Vallabhaneni says. "The two go hand in hand."

But over time, the MBA has become more specialized, and more than that, there's no way for employers to compare one MBA to another because there are so many facets and variations to MBA programs, she says. The certified business manager can offer an objective and measurable standard to employers looking to assess candidates, Vallabhaneni says.

"MBA degrees at various universities are of various quality. Employers may decide to use the CBM as a way of getting some assurance that they have mastered this body of knowledge. The CBM would demonstrate that expertise,"
says Rakesh Khurana, an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.

"MBAs are getting (the certification) to round out their skills,"
Vallabhaneni says. "There is a common body of knowledge that all managers need to have, regardless of whether they have a career in law, accounting, manufacturing or some other profession."

Employers should not use the Certified Business Manager designation as a replacement for an MBA, but rather as a validation of a person's proficiency in business management, she says.

The certification takes between nine and 12 months to complete, a much shorter period than an MBA program. It is also less expensive than an MBA.

The cumulative cost for the certification is about $2,300, including registration fees, preparation guides and membership fees.

That contrasts sharply with the cost of an MBA, which ranges from $416 for each credit hour at Elon University to as much as $984 per credit hour at Wake Forest University. Consider also that the typical MBA program takes two years.

Certified business managers must re-certify annually for a maintenance fee of $48 an complete 120 hours of continuing education.

Contributing to this report was Jennifer LeClaire, a freelance writer for the Boston Business Journal, a sister publication.

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