Business schools provide a rigorous and stimulating educational experience. Typical curricula contain a broad range of courses ranging from the highly quantitative to the "softer" courses, and from the largely theoretical to the mundanely practical. Notwithstanding the value of a classic business school education, not all is rosy within today's business schools. In my opinion, the greatest threat to the integrity of business education is the "students as customers" metaphor, which is now firmly rooted within the ethos of the business school halls. This leads to a broad range of problems, a few of which I highlight below:
1. Twenty years ago, the typical MBA program took two years of full-time studies to complete, with students taking five or six courses per term (for four terms). Severe competition for students between business schools has led to a positional arms race of an ever-decreasing number of required credits to obtain an MBA. Most programs now offer a one-year accelerated program, which is meant to reflect the "fast pace new market realities." Call me a purist but I do not see the pedagogic logic that would yield a reduction by half of the number of credits required for a degree from those required less than twenty years ago. Does this mean that twenty years ago, the students simply needed more material to learn but today's students are inherently more knowledgeable and hence require less training? Or perhaps today's students are inherently more intelligent as compared to the "slower" generation of students from twenty years ago? Of course, it is neither of these two cases. The operative force here is the manner by which administrators view prospective students. If they are "customers" then they should indeed be allowed to dictate the "product" that is offered to them. Not surprisingly then, "customers" end up favoring curricula and programs that are shorter in length (i.e., path of least resistance). I believe that the pursuit of knowledge and the enrichment of minds involve more than the commodification of "marketable" degrees.
2. Once admitted into business schools, "customers" are socialized into the "customer is always right" and "customer is king" mindset. Hence, they are likely to complain if they obtain poor grades as this might hinder their chances of landing an interview with Procter & Gamble; they complain if evaluative exercises are scheduled in a manner that conflicts with their work schedules; they complain if the posted office hours conflict with their day jobs (apparently professors should hold office hours in such a way that not a single MBA student is inconvenienced by the posted office hours). This is part and parcel of the mass customization movement that first appeared in the 1980s. Tailor your product offerings in such a manner that it caters to the idiosyncratic needs of each "customer." Finally, at one prestigious business school that I taught at, MBA students had complained that end-of-term teaching evaluations were insufficient as the feedback that they were providing to their professors could only be actionable for future groups of students (i.e., the current crop of students would not benefit from their own insightful feedback). With that in mind, the school in question implemented teaching evaluations both at the end of the term (as usual) as well as halfway through the semester. A group of class representatives would make their way to the professors' offices to provide them with face-to-face constructive feedback: "Professor Saad, you clearly know your material. On the other hand, you should make greater effort to incorporate company examples when discussing multivariate statistical techniques. That said we are very happy with you. Good job. Keep up the good work." In the politically correct world that we live in, it is apparently democratic and liberating both for professors and students to engage in extensive evaluative judgments of one another. "Traditional" modes of pedagogy wherein professors are assumed to have an inherent greater knowledge to impart to students are apparently outmoded elitism.
3. This third and final point is truer of American business schools as compared to their Canadian counterparts. Business school students are construed as sources of future revenue streams (via alumni donations), as such it becomes imperative that students are pampered in outlandish ways. Executive MBA students are particularly known for imposing extraordinary expectations regarding their "service providers" (euphemism for professors in the parlance of MBA students). For example, "service providers" are expected to attend all EMBA social functions. Incidentally, at some business schools, "service providers" are expected to call up prospective students to advise them that they are very much looking forward to having them enroll in the program. Apparently, this augments the prospective students' sense of self and in turn increases the likelihood that they will enroll in the program. It is perhaps not too far off into the future when professors will be expected to help students with their household chores. "Joe. I am done grading your paper. You'll be happy to know that I have given you the grade that you've instructed me to give you namely an A+. I have also finished the dishes, and your shirts are ironed for tomorrow's class. Will you need me for anything else tonight, or may I go home now?"
I should mention that the great majority of MBA students with whom I have interacted over the years have been nothing less than honest, hard working, and delightful individuals. I am critiquing here the "student as customer" metaphor, and not the MBA student population. "Market realities" should not continue to dilute the purity of the educational process.
Ciao for now.
Source for Image:
http://www.bullnotbull.com/gallery/images/george-bush-harvard-mba...
