Business Schools Forgetting Their Missions?
October 4th, 2007
In my other life, I was under daily (hourly?) attack by people who disliked attorneys. Until, of course, they needed one, and then they wanted to be my best friend.
From time to time I reflect back on the survey of the American public that the American Bar Association (ABA) did a few years ago on people’s perceptions of lawyers.
The ABA found that many people held lawyers in low esteem because, among other things, they perceived them as too hard nosed, too aggressive in their representation of clients, etc. But when the survey asked these respondents what qualities they/the respondents would most want in their own lawer, at the top of the list were items like, “I want him/her to be aggressive” and “I want him/her to be hard nosed for me”.
Go figure. Ahhh Americans …. they never cease to amaze me and prove time and time again that those darn economists may be right – maybe we are a people, no different or special than others, who are motivated by self interest and we respond to incentives that favor what we value in life (rational choice theory!).
Now that I am in a business school, I have found that my pain in this regard has not subsided.
My friends across the world have recently emailed me, over and over and over (will you people get back to work?!), the recent Wall Street Journal article, Business Schools Forgetting Their Missions?
Good article. It raises some excellent points. And it also raises a few points that don’t hold much water.
And yes, business brow beaters out there, I read the darn thing long before you emailed it to me. No need to send me another! Get back to work! I already have plenty of copies!
But like most things in life, at least in my view, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Your thoughts?
Brow beat away. But don’t look for me to argue back or try to counter. I have (finally) learned that there are some arguments in life one just can’t/won’t win with somone on the other side who has made up their mind. E.g., the abortion debate, creationism vs. evolution debate, “are there too many lawsuits in America” debate, “does the rest of the world need American style democracy” debate, the “school vouchers are a good/bad thing” debate, the “we need universal health care” debate, the “the UN does/does not do a good job” debate, ”China is corrupt and the devil versus it’s trying to move forward in good faith” debate, etc.,
I see this as another such issue.
But hey, let me try to close by accentuating the positive. I am doing what I can do make a difference. There is no question in my mind that taking a group of Orfalea College of Business graduate students each year to China, and now possibly India, is consistent with the core mission of our businesss school, higher education and a hands on eduction. Can we do more and do better? Of course. Of course. Of course.
And to further accentuate the positive that comes out of business schools and the professors who work in them, this weekend, if you stop by my house, you might just find me re-reading the book by fellow law professors Tim Fort of the George Washington University business school and Cindy Shipani of the University of Michigan business school’s, The Role of Business in Fostering Peaceful Societies.
Now, enough from me about this debate. I need to get back to work.
But I do welcome rational and reasonable thoughts on this subject. And I REALLY, REALLY welcome proposals for improvement that are practical, can actually be exeucted in a reasonable amount of time, and can be afforded and paid for in a resource constrained enviroment. If you can offer such a proposal, you are da’ man or da’ woman.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China, Misc.
16 Comments Add your own
1. China Law Blog | October 9th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I think these criticisms often arise from the fact that people expect too much out of a school. These days we expect everything to be rushed and we are unwilling to admit that there is oftentimes no replacement for experience. A school, any school, can only do so much to prepare its students for the real world and at some point the real world has to become the teacher.
That’s my two cents, discounted.
2. Chris Carr | October 10th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Hi Dan.
Thanks for checking in.
You raise a very good point.
Most of the valuable lessons I have learned in life that have stuck with me over the years involved me paying the price and my dues to learn the material at issue. The working world, and the intense competition therein, humble and teach all of us in ways a classroom cannot.
In my academic studies in law school, this involved arriving on campus and realizing that I was not even close to the smartest, hardest working or most savvy person in the class. That was a sobering, incredible learning and experience for me that I will never forget. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to me at that point in my life. I got my teethed kicked in that first year of law school. I needed it, it felt great (really!) and it forced me to grow as a person and professional.
3. Emily Schaapveld | December 15th, 2009 at 9:26 am
The wonderful thing about business school is that all of the students are not there for the same thing. Yes, there are the students who strive for no more than the six-figure job, regardless of where it is at or what they will be doing. Others, hope to apply their business skills to social change in a non-profit setting. However, more and more students seem to be striving for something in between. And then of course, there are those students who have hit a road block in their career and business school seemed like nice detour. Regardless, business school gives students what they decide to take away from it. With so many students with different career goals, it is difficult for a school to meet societies needs and satisfy the needs of its students. We can only hope that business schools do teach it students how to be responsible, ethical leaders…no matter what career path they choose.
4. William Ary | January 3rd, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Personally, I ended up in business school because I recognized that I hated most other fields of postgraduate study and an MBA gave me the flexibility to go where my likes and dislikes take me. I think it is pretty much impossible to know whether people will do the right thing with their business degrees or what motivates their behavior. I don’t know how many people are like me and went to business school by default, but I can be sure that it is probably the most flexible set of tools for making a career out there. Anyone who takes steps to help people deal with the realities of the world and contribute to society by filling a need is doing the right thing in a business school.
5. Matthew Perez | January 3rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Although I am unsure whether or not Emily’s comment is representative of all business schools, it certainly describes the situation here at Cal Poly. The Orfalea School of Business does its best to meet the needs of its students, such as the dual degree programs and international business trip, but still is unable to meet everyone’s needs. However, part of what determines how valuable business school is is one’s level of commitment. If the student puts the time and effort into learning what is taught here, he or she should become a responsible, ethical leader.
6. Lindsay Leaver | January 7th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
This article may be a little bit outdated. I think there has been a shift in the focus of business school. Maybe it was the current financial crisis that has prompted the change. Maybe a cultural shift in our youth spurred by President Obama or as a backlash to President Bush. Maybe people read Professor Khurana’s book and really took it to heart. All I know is that the Wall Street Journal has been printing different stories about Business schools in 2009.
The new buzz words around business schools are “sustainability” and “social change.” Next time your friends send you a negative article about biz schools, send them any one of these!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574469602649140462.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704782304574542074194289280.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574473583014558264.html
7. Erika Bylund | January 18th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
One of several reasons I came to business school was because my former boss told me I was capped on my income at my current position at the time, and I didn’t like that. So for me, coming to business school was partly money-motivated. However, I was also severely under-stimulated and under-challenged in the work force of the “real world.” I have frequently heard professors and others in the college community state that the “real world” is hard, standards are high, no one is going to baby you or walk you through it. I have not found that to be the case- at all. Chronic lateness, overlooked deadlines, sub-par writing ability, weak interpersonal skills, low expectations, lack of consideration for others and the company, and excessive threats of litigation are far too commonplace and have become the acceptable standard of most workplaces. I am not just talking about the industry from which I came. I’m talking about government jobs, private-sector jobs, non-profits, free-lance sector, and education. I often found myself questioning why my parents and I invested so much money and sweat in obtaining the best education available and why I worked so hard to learn the material thoroughly when the majority of the workforce doesn’t place a value on it. I am so happy to be back in school where creativity and thinking are appreciated, good writing and speaking is fostered, and ethics and integrity are not only encouraged, but enforced.
There certainly are a lot of B-school graduates whose primary objective is to land a high-power, high-profile, high-dollar positions- but law schools and med schools have a similar demographic. My two cents is that maybe it’s not the B-schools that are the problem. Maybe the problem simply lies in where we as a society place our premium- in the finance sector, in corporate law and litigation, in specialty medicine and treatments, etc. Who of you would turn down a six-figure salary in your ideal vocation? Not me!
It is a narrow critique to single out B-schools as notorious for producing increasingly “selfish” graduates. In my last few quarters at OCOB, I have met a large number of very altruistic, creative, and talented students, who I believe have an above-average social conscience. I also have quite a few friends pursuing their MBAs at Ivy Leagues whose sole ambition and measure of success is landing a high-profile executive and finance jobs. Ultimately it’s a personal choice, but I have yet to meet an old man or woman who at the end of his or her life said, “Yeah…I was very powerful and made a lot of money. So glad I got my MBA.” I have yet to hear of a person being honored and remembered for having a six- or seven-figure salary.
The people we remember are those who create, think, innovate, initiate and foster lasting change, and improve the condition of the world. It is the graduate, as much as it is the institution and the society, who must take responsibility for the character of people it produces.
8. Phil Hamer | February 7th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I was watching my favorite show CA$H CAB the other day, and one of the questions was “What graduate level degree has the students who cheat the most?”
The answer was of course MBAs.
Assuming CA$H CAB is correct (and how could it not be), it kind of falls right in line with this article and gives more insight into why our economy is the shape it is today. Maybe business students are driven too much by selfish purposes and not the greater good of the economy. Maybe there should be some changes made to MBA programs that can help future leaders be more concerned about how they personally can shape the economy for the better. I know that this hasn’t been a focus in my MBA program. But at the same time, I haven’t been taught the fastest path to riches either.
This article was written over two years ago and the economy has only gotten worse since it was written, so I’m curious what Professor Khurana came up with at Harvard and if those changes will trickle down to Cal Poly. I did like his idea of certification and lifelong CE to make the MBA more professional oriented like a law or medical degree. The economy is one of the hardest things that we have to deal with as Americans right now and anything that can be done in the “training ground” for corporate leaders that can help the future of the economy sounds like a good start.
9. Jay Ponto | February 11th, 2010 at 10:02 am
From the view of the schools themselves, steering recent MBA graduates into any sort of high-paying, high-influence job is obviously the strategy with the greatest possible return. I’m not criticizing B-schools, but Cal Poly would be anything but disappointed if another Paul Orfalea graduated from Cal Poly, made it big, and donated back to the program.
It is my belief that the mindset of having students enter “high-paying finance and consulting jobs without caring about… broader roles in society” rests more in the minds of individual students. Some students have the mindset that they want to go into one of these jobs. That is fine. Others are looking to go into nonprofit work or other completely unrelated directions. Next year I will be embarking on a course far different than any of my classmates by enrolling in a four-year Doctor of Dental Surgery program.
My point is this: the students are the ones graduating from the business schools and choosing these career paths. If the schools want a different image, they should alter their admissions criteria and accept different students. Once I graduate with my MBA degree, I will have the same ambitions and goals I had upon beginning the program. The only difference is that I will have a much broader understanding of business administration and management, and the keys it takes to succeed in a business environment (something fewer of my dental peers will possess).
10. John Barry | February 27th, 2010 at 1:15 am
I am of the opinion that the only responsibility business schools have is to hire as professors the most dynamic, sharp, qualified, and experienced business professionals, who incidentally happen to have a Ph.D. Secondly, it is tremendously helpful to have students with experience in different business sectors that one may learn from. The only thing that truly detracts from the purpose of a business school, is when the teachers don’t have vast amounts of industry experience in the fields they teach, and when students don’t have work experience, and think that business school is about taking exams. Otherwise though, I could care less if my professor is of the opinion that money is a means to an end or an end in itself, so long as they are people who have industry experience, success, and insight.
11. Michael Minasian | March 6th, 2010 at 3:13 am
This is a very interesting article. I came to business school for a variety of reasons. One of them was to bump up my potential paycheck. Another was a course correction from my undergraduate coursework. I want to be as well rounded as possible.
I recently attended a dinner at Dr. Carr’s house, and he spoke about another faculty as a transcendent leader, who only comes along every now and then. Do I want to make money? Sure. Do I want to gain power and respect? Of course. Do I want to be successful to the point that I can give back to the things that matter the most to me? Absolutely. But most of all, I want people to say, wow. I loved working with / for him. He demonstrated great foresight, and did great things for a great many people. Most importantly that he did things with ethics and integrity.
Can business school teach me any or all of these things? Perhaps not. But it certainly cannot hurt.
12. Catherine Kristensen | March 8th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
What a difference a few years makes….
This article focused on the MBA program’s mission of yesteryear to “produce far-sighted leaders who can help the economy run better.” In 2007, before the signs of the recession took hold, that seemed like a valid goal. I am grateful to be slightly removed from the era of heavy emphasis on investment banking and consulting with (as Lindsay’s links showed) a new focus on social entrepreneurship.
I am enjoying York’s (first quarter taught at Cal Poly) entrepreneurship course and wish I could take more courses like it. Lancaster’s sustainability focus is interesting, but, frankly, should be its own course instead of an accounting tag-along. What will the academic electives of 2012 look like? I have to say that I look forward to seeing the curriculum change with the times.
I almost feel like I am getting my MBA a little too early, as I would love to see what the future holds… I should be so lucky to have my MBA degree require lifelong continuing education (paid for by my future employer, of course!) with new courses in SEO, Sustainability, IPO Preparation, Software Development, Financial Crisis Management, or whatever else proves to be relevant as the times change!
13. Frederick Peemoeller | March 12th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I have to admit that I believe that most of the classes I am taking now are very useful, and I think I will be able to use some of the things I learned in the future. I am more upset that many of the classes I am taking now are similar to the ones I have taken as an undergrad, but now the emphasis is with business. I come to wonder why I didn’t learn more about regression analysis in my statistics class as an undergrad or managerial implications in my economics class. It seems that my undergraduate classes served little purpose for my future endeavors, whereas the classes I take now are much different. Although I have learned quite a lot in this program, it most definitely can continue to get better, but I am not fretting too much about this. Instead, I think the major benefit of this program is the actual degree and the networking.
14. Leslie Mann | March 18th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Perhaps another appropriate title for this blog and subsequent comments would be, “Students Forgetting Their Missions in Business School?” I agree wholeheartedly with Erika’s final comment that “it is the institution and the society, who must take responsibility for the character of people it produces.” We can blame universities for not offering their students qualified and dedicated professors, but we certainly cannot blame them for producing a graduate who, 20 years later, decides to throw ethics and integrity out the window to make a fast dime. These types of things can be taught to any student but it is in practice where they really matter. If business schools are able to give students the proper tools to enter the business world with success, it is ultimately up to the student on how that success will be pursued. Topics of sustainability and social change now; what lies ahead for the future? As Catherine noted, it will be interesting to see the types of courses Cal Poly’s MBA Program will offer in the next 5-10 years, and perhaps the other countries future MBA candidates will be traveling to (Brazil or Russia anyone?).
15. Chris Phippen | March 19th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
To agree with Fred above, I too see much future benefit in the course material we’re all learning in this program. Unlike some others in the program, I haven’t had many classes related to business in my undergrad career. My degree was in the sciences. After taking the classes we have to date, I think some of them should be mandatory for undergrads. I also agree that there is some room for improvement of our curriculum but the main benefits for me are without a doubt the networking and exposure to help me to be a more well-rounded individual.
16. Yuxiang Gao | March 19th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
This article is pretty interesting. There are two main reasons for me to came to business school .I believe these are main reasons for most of the students in this program.
One is skills, as a student, coming to the school is want to actually learn some things. From this point, it is responsibility for business schools to hire as professors the most dynamic, sharp, qualified, and experienced business professionals.
Different from engineering, the really business world is our lab, so the skill we have learnt in class should be more practic.
The other reason is connection, it is also another aspect makes business major different from the others.
I think calpoly should give more resource for the connection part
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