In a BusinessWeek article, "B-School Reform: Better Late Than Never," James O'Toole and Warren Bennis discuss the recent measures b-schools have taken to implement much-needed, long-awaited change in top MBA programs.
For the last five years, explain the two authors of the BW article (who are also professors and co-authors of the controversial article "How Business Schools Lost Their Way"), b-schools have been failing to "(a) impart useful skills; (b) develop leaders; (c) instill high ethical norms; and (d) prepare managers to deal with complex, cross-disciplinary, nonquantifiable issues."
Year after the year these concerns became more serious and the call for reform became more obvious. O'Toole and Bennis' "modest proposal for reform" elaborates on the goal "to transform the institutions of graduate business education into true professional schools along the lines of those offering law and medical degrees." Just as good medical school professors transmit both the research and practical aspects of medicine, so too should business school professors. Teaching only "pure science" and not the practical ramifications of its research, will just not cut it if you're trying to produce thoughtful, creative, and impactful business (or medical) leaders.
In short, b-school professors should require the same commitment to rigor and relevance that is found among top medical school professors. Current b-school faculty members see themselves more as "discipline-oriented professors," researchers in their particular field (economics for example), than as professionals who know, care, and teach about practical business organizations and how to become a leader in such a business-oriented world.
For many programs, it took the recession of the last year to open their eyes up the need for reform. HBS's new Oath Project, an initiative to transform b-schools into professional schools, is an example of such an effort.
Professors and administrators in the business school world are starting to come around, explain O'Toole and Bennis. They explain that a professor, "one of the most vocal critics or our 'controversial' article," recently admitted: "For years I was outraged by your [article]. Then, a month or so ago, I read it. Actually, it's not all the unreasonable."
For two reformers who've put years into trying to get professors to hear them, a statement like that proves progress.
Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!
Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best
