The Masters in Business Administration (MBA) may have been an American invention, but it's now a global phenomenon. The latest research indicates that there are more people in Europe considering taking the qualification than ever before, and even the American schools are getting in on the act — as demonstrated, for instance, by the success of Chicago Booth's Europe campus in London.
And the business schools pulling in the students are very different to those of even a decade ago. Their programmes, methods of delivery, types of teaching and even names are in a constant state of flux. And even more change is anticipated.
"Over the next few years, business schools will see competition from global, for profit organisations with centralised design and distributed delivery, but with quality problems and an overemphasis on money," anticipates Kai Peters, CEO of Ashridge. "We will see single location universities which are too driven by » »the academic strictures of 'publish or perish'; a desperate search to fill seats on executive education programmes; and a big clash between the academic and training sides of the business school world." Interesting times.
The last year alone has seen a number of developments that may point to the shape of the business school of the future. First, the line between business and education will become increasingly blurred. Proof that the horizons of business schools are expanding can be seen at London's Imperial College Business School. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group there, along with the University of Queensland in Brisbane, set up the Think Play Do Group in 2005 with the mission of assisting both private corporations and public sector organisations to enhance their ability to innovate successfully. This is where innovation, entrepreneurship and academia mingle happily. Elsewhere in London, London Business School's newly launched Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship occupies a similar ground-breaking space.
Further afield, consider the creation of the Jack Welch Management Institute at Chancellor University in Cleveland, Ohio. Welch, the legendary former CEO of General Electric, stepped down from the top job in 2001. Since then he has become even more famous — and even wealthier — thanks to a series of best-selling books, magazine columns and public appearances all over the world. And now there's a business school in his name, backed by a $12m investment.
The plans are for the Jack Welch Management Institute to offer two accredited graduate-level degree programmes, an MBA ("an MBA that changes lives for the better") and a Master of Management. Delivery will be mainly online.
"We're trying to do something really different and exciting with this school," Welch explained. "We want to reach a lot of people, more than you can just reach in one class or at one school, with a » »management philosophy and set of practices we really believe in. We know they work. We think this school, with its fresh approach, reach, accessibility and flexibility, has the potential to change lives and organisations for the better."
The second big change affects content. Once upon a time, MBA programmes were all about the hard science of analysis and data. MBA students mastered the maths and often ignored the human side of enterprise. This legacy lingers.
"Clear thinking and effective communication are closely linked. Unfortunately, MBAs are frequently weak in these areas," say Srikant Datar, David Garvin and Patrick Cullen, three academics from Harvard Business School, and authors of Rethinking the MBA. They carried out in-depth interviews with more than 30 business school deans and an equal number of business executives. Communication was one of several areas of concern highlighted.
"Even the students we hire from the best schools can't communicate," one recruiter observed. Another added: "Communication skills are poor, and without them you can't lead."
Communication — along with leadership and other supposedly soft management skills — has been neglected in many schools. That is beginning to change as business schools incorporate personal skills development with academic learning to help students master the nitty-gritty of managing.
One of the first schools to take communications skills seriously was Cranfield School of Management, which includes a course on communicating in a crisis. Students are given an hour to master a brief and then they have to face hostile journalists in a mock press conference.
"At some time in their lives all organisations have to deal with a major crisis," says Stephen Carver, a senior lecturer at Cranfield who designed the course. "You need only look at the collapse of Enron or Lehman to realise that crises are part of business life. Most MBA subjects can be mastered by logic and reason, but dealing with hostile journalists in the press conference is often a bruising, illogical and even frightening experience. Survival depends on communication skills."
Elsewhere, other b-schools are also revamping their communications offerings. INSEAD, the international b-school based in Fontainebleau near Paris, now offers three different electives on communication: Communication and Leadership; the Art of Communication; and Advertising and Social Media Strategy.
A third big issue is that as programmes change, schools encounter problems in finding high quality faculty. With the success of business schools, professors are in short supply. "Shortages are more severe in some areas than others," says Rob Dixon, dean of Durham University Business School. "The root cause was insufficient investment
ten years ago in PhD programmes. This lack of foresight meant we did not attract enough younger talent to meet long-term resourcing needs."
According to Dixon, it will take at least five and possibly ten years to make up for lost time.
The talent shortages have led to b-schools using visiting professorships to boost their faculty roster — and even to poaching. "The current recession has not had a significant impact on reducing business school 'churn' of academic staff," notes Professor Frank Horwitz, director of Cranfield. "Those with sought after skills and experience remain globally mobile. The challenge for some schools at present is one of retention rather than attraction."
Surveys suggest that students prefer being taught by faculty who have a credible background in the subject they are teaching — even if they haven't published academic research in the area. But many in the academic world look down on practitioner faculty.
This tension has existed in business schools for many decades. The problem is most acute within the more elite (research-intensive) universities, where a clear pecking order is in place, based on academic credentials.
This is changing. Some schools, such as Manchester, have recognised this by creating a track to promotion for those focusing on teaching excellence. If a practitioner wants to be a regular member of staff, they can now be granted the same status as their research-focused counterpart. The key is the demonstration of excellence in the classroom and the dissemination of practical knowledge. Durham Business School also runs practitioner conversion programmes, to help practitioners move into faculty roles.
Like I said, interesting times.
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