Mintzberg’s keynote role at a conference on the MBA is a worry, but his latest foray into strategy is too serious to let pass. In Management by Reflection in S+B he continues his age-old mantra that teaching MBAs to work stuff out is pointless if not dangerous. He once sneeringly noted that MBA really stands for ‘Master in Business Analysis’. Well, he got his wish Continue reading »
Jun 092009
An otherwise great column in HBR It’s Time for the 3-D MBA about improving MBA programs starts well by urging more breadth and depth, then calling for more ‘dynamics’ than static prespectives. [I'd hardly disagree with that!]. But it then asserts that “The vast majority of value created in business comes not from applying existing models, but from creating new models that do not now exist. It comes from creativity; from innovation.” – which is either completely false, or else meaningless, depending on how you take it.
In any year, the vast majority of value is created by companies exploiting business models they have had for years or decades, rather than ones they just invented. On a longer view, though, all value ever created comes from business models that were new at some point in time. The article seems to be taking the first meaning – implying that most value is created by recently-new business models – and urges business schools to focus MBAs on innovation. This may be useful in some cases, but should not take precedence over strategy delivery. If this comment leads to MBAs learning less about how to deliver strategy as a result of focusing on innovation, it will be a great example of how an entirely false premise can lead to fundamentally wrong strategic choices [and this from a business school that is supposed to be teaching the rest of us how to do strategy well!]
So … when reading an article that seems persuasive, do put on your ‘skeptical’ hat and just check that it’s built on accurate foundations.
Dec 112008
Following a couple of posts on sustainability, it’s interesting to find at least one dedicated MBA in the topic, at Presidio School of Management [who also offer shorter executive classes]. I don’t have any information on its quality, so would be interested to hear feedback on this or any other such program.
Nov 192008
Whilst business schools are seeing more applications by analysts and execs being down-sized from banks and other sectors, I see from the Economist [Giving advice in adversity] consulting firms are not faring so well. I hope they were expecting this and prepared their staffing plans for it over the last couple of years, as it’s exactly what happened after the dot-com bubble. Last time round some messed up so badly they withdrew MBA job offers within weeks of making them, and I am told Harvard B School actually banned some from hiring there as a result – now there’s strategic mastery!
Anyone experienced similar this time round?
