MBAs: Find the right blend

As Reims appoints a champagne professor, Kathy Harvey tracks changes in specialist MBAs

The name is so synonymous with relaxation and celebration that it's easy to forget that livelihoods depend on champagne. And like many other businesses, it faces competition from the east.

"I am particularly concerned about China," says Francois Bonvalet, dean of Reims Management School, at the heart of the champagne district. "At the moment, the Chinese have 100,000 hectares of vineyards. Although we have managed to protect the brand name of champagne through international agreements, these don't exist in every jurisdiction.

"In 10-15 years time there is every possibility that China could be producing a perfectly acceptable sparkling wine, labelled as champagne, and selling for five euros a bottle."

This threat puts champagne promoter Patrick Ligeron's job in a new light. His employer, Champagne Gosset, is a family business producing more than a million bottles a year and employing 25 people. But it is keen to give its export manager the same strategic outlook as his peers in other multinational companies.

Hence Patrick Ligeron's presence on the Reims school's executive MBA programme. "As champagne houses, we are investing elsewhere - in California and Australia - making sure we have an international presence in the wine industry. We need management knowledge to do that, and an international perspective on business," he says.

Reims, part of the prestigious grandes écoles network, has always attracted a steady stream of champagne industry executives who, like Ligeron, want to hone their management skills. But Bonvalet is going a step further. He has appointed a professor of champagne, and is planning a "champagne track" suite of electives for MBA students. Summer schools and a Masters programme are also on the agenda, as part of a strategy to make the most of the region's connection with champagne.

However, Bonvalet is reluctant to label this idea a "specialist MBA". He says: "I'm not comfortable with that term at all. I prefer to say this is a sector MBA. People who come on this course will still receive a general management education, but the electives will address the challenges in their sector."

The fact that the champagne industry is so small and regionally based may be one reason why the dean is unwilling to construct too narrow an MBA programme. But other schools are also re-evaluating the way they market their specialist courses.

Cass Business School in London has just launched an MBA for the film industry and is negotiating with the Football Association about a similar venture for the beautiful game. But its associate dean, Chris Brady, says there is limited benefit in herding students into niche groups. "Ten years ago what I would call 'functional' MBAs, designed for one area of business such as marketing, were fashionable, but that idea declined and they are no longer very popular."

Instead, he argues, business schools are more inclined to go for the same kind of strategy as Reims Management School, attracting students from one sector via a series of electives, while offering them exposure to managers from other industries. "It works because the school doesn't have to set aside time to teach small groups, and the students gain from experience of the wider business world."

Cranfield School of Management recently changed the name of its MDA (Masters in Defence Administration) to MBA. The group captains and defence experts, who once studied exclusively at the Defence Academy at Shrivenham, now mix with executives from blue-chip companies at the Milton Keynes campus.

The Association of MBAs (AMBA), which accredits MBA programmes, is also noticing a shift in the way programmes are structured. "Specialisation is now being offered through a growing number of postgraduate Masters programmes," says AMBA's chief executive, Jeanette Purcell. "My feeling is that the 'specialist' MBA won't grow much further, though there is much more interest in targeting specific areas."

This makes sense, given the fierce competition for students. Schools with a regional focus are looking for ways to distinguish themselves from the competition. In Reims, the appointment of a champagne professor will bolster its reputation within the wine industry and, it hopes, kick start a research programme to benefit the champagne growers.

Threats from other global producers have encouraged some of the most famous names in champagne, including Pommery, Krug and Moët et Chandon, to contribute towards the appointment of a chair of champagne at the school. "We are not complacent," says Remi Krug, president of Krug. "We saw how the Bordeaux wine growers were affected by the threat from new world wines, and although we think we are doing the right thing to protect our brands and our heritage, we realise the importance of being open to new ideas."

The link between Reims and its most powerful regional employer is, says Brady, the model for the future. "If you lock yourself in with one industry or regulatory body, as we have done with the film industry, you can attract a lot of people. One reason we believe our MBA with the Football Association will work is because we will have high-profile people in the sport offering internships to our students."

Some professional associations, such as the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply, have AMBA accreditation for degree programmes that are marketed solely to specialists. Students such as Fabien Henry, of the champagne house Chanoine Frères, however, are happy to join a more general programme.

"What I wanted most was marketing theory and strategy to back up my own experience," says Henry, who moved from blending champagnes to a job in general management. "The company I work for produces 3.5m bottles of champagne a year, with a turnover of €55m (£39m). It's vital for me to have the broader picture of management."

The appointment of the professor of champagne at Reims is certainly evidence that the keepers of a hallowed French tradition understand globalisation. The post is going to a British-born academic currently lecturing on wine in Australia. Vive la différence!