Business School in 2010: How The Economist Misses the Mark
By Brandon Ray JGSM '10
Issue date: 12/1/09 Section: Perspectives
Every year The Economist likes to play soothsayer, dusting off its crystal ball to make bold predictions about next year's headlines. On the balance, they do a pretty good job. Looking back at "The Year in 2009," they hit the nail on the head with forecasts about increasing globalization and a quickening shift in power to the BRIC countries. You can hardly blame them for botched predictions like "Goodbye Guantanamo" and "Currency Comeback." Hindsight, after all, is twenty-twenty.
"The World in 2010" will likely be no different—a collection of home runs and strikeouts. But, if I had to make a prediction about their predictions, I would recommend they retract the article titled "The end of the affair," penned by Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway. In her essay, Kellaway anticipates the end of the love affair with the MBA. Using words uncharacteristic of the otherwise polished Economist, she declares, "There has been a bear market in management bullshit since the credit crunch began… [And, in] 2010 the decline of the MBA will cut off the supply of bullshit at the source." Having seen her "Dear Lucy" column on FT.com, I think she runs the risk of being the pot that called the kettle black. Although she makes several valid points, especially regarding the rising importance of the public sector and regulation, I think her view of the MBA is antiquated at best.
Business schools, not unlike the venerated market-driven institutions they draft case studies about, are adaptive and customer-driven; MBA programs will not sit idly by and allow market forces to undermine their relevance. Take, for example, the growing importance of and demand for socially minded business education. According to The Aspen Institute's "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" survey of 149 business schools here and abroad, the number of schools that requires students to take a course linking business and social issues has doubled from 2001 to 2009, from 34% to 69%. The percentage of schools requiring core course content that demonstrates how business can be an engine for social change stands at 30% and growing. Moreover, 1,211 articles were published from survey schools in peer-reviewed business journals addressing social, environmental, or ethical issues.
"The World in 2010" will likely be no different—a collection of home runs and strikeouts. But, if I had to make a prediction about their predictions, I would recommend they retract the article titled "The end of the affair," penned by Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway. In her essay, Kellaway anticipates the end of the love affair with the MBA. Using words uncharacteristic of the otherwise polished Economist, she declares, "There has been a bear market in management bullshit since the credit crunch began… [And, in] 2010 the decline of the MBA will cut off the supply of bullshit at the source." Having seen her "Dear Lucy" column on FT.com, I think she runs the risk of being the pot that called the kettle black. Although she makes several valid points, especially regarding the rising importance of the public sector and regulation, I think her view of the MBA is antiquated at best.
Business schools, not unlike the venerated market-driven institutions they draft case studies about, are adaptive and customer-driven; MBA programs will not sit idly by and allow market forces to undermine their relevance. Take, for example, the growing importance of and demand for socially minded business education. According to The Aspen Institute's "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" survey of 149 business schools here and abroad, the number of schools that requires students to take a course linking business and social issues has doubled from 2001 to 2009, from 34% to 69%. The percentage of schools requiring core course content that demonstrates how business can be an engine for social change stands at 30% and growing. Moreover, 1,211 articles were published from survey schools in peer-reviewed business journals addressing social, environmental, or ethical issues.
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