At 7:18 AM -0400 10/10/01, Charles Wankel wrote:
>Although this is self serving, I did like the way the people at Equis went
>about making their selection:
I'm confused. Is Equis the same as The Open University?
NO. EQUIS IS AN INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION BASED AT THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION
FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT. I SAID IT WAS SELFSERVING BECAUSE WE ARE ONE OF
THE FEW ACCREDITED. HAVE A LOOK AT THE LINK IN THE PREVIOUS EMAIL AS YOU
WANT TO DO SOME BENCHMARKING AND EQUIS WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A DIFFERENT
(TESTED) METHODOLOGY.
>My point is that the current idea of re-gearing programs to market is
>conspicuously avoiding a great opportunity to re-think what MBAs are for,
>what are they supposed to deliver and which groups (such as minorities or
>entrepreneurs) have been traditionally ignored.
Could you please say more about rethinking what an MBA is for, what
they are supposed to delive and how to serve underserved groups?
THE ISSUE OF "DELIVERY" RELATES TO THE ORIGINAL IDEA BEHIND THE CREATION OF
THE MBA AS WELL AS THE FIRST BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN HARVARD, STANFORD AND
PENNSYLVANIA. THE MBA WAS AIMED AT CREATING "LEADERS", "THE CREAM CROP",
ETC. THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF PROVIDERS AND GRADUATES REFLECTS THAT
ORIGINAL GOAL IS NO LONGER VALID. THERE IS SOME KEY WORK AROUND THIS ISSUE
BY ROBERT LOCKE (HAWAII), RICHARD WHEATLEY (MANCHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL) AND
OTHERS.
A RELATED SUBJECT IS WHETHER THERE IS A SINGLE BEST WAY TO MANAGE A FIRM AND
WHETHER THAT APPROACH SHOULD BE A US-BASED VIEW (CLEARLY SO CALLED "TOP"
EUROPEAN SCHOOLS SUCH AS LBS, INSEAD, IESE, ETC REPLICATE THE US FORMAT IN
AN EUROPEAN SETTING).
SECONDLY, THE ISSUE OF "UNSERVED GROUPS" AND THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT COULD
RELATE TO MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL. WHILE WE PREACH GLOBALISATION IN STRATEGY
ELECTIVES, GENDER STUDIES, MANAGEMENT HISTORY AND CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
ARE TYPICALLY ABSENT FROM THE CURRICULA. BUT MORE IMPORTANT IS WHETHER, ON
BALANCE, THE MBA IS GEARED TO "PRODUCE" LABOUR FOR THE LARGE CORPORATION
RATHER THAN SERVING THE LOCAL ECONOMY BY NOUTORING ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
>
>Sorry if I am imposing a "hobby horse" on the list but would be interesting
>to see what colleagues have to say.
Don't apologize. Some of the best posts have been from people
discussing why they think their programmes are the best.
CHEERS!