(Kindly sent in today by the International Press Officer of Grenoble Ecole de Management on behalf of Dean Thierry Grange)
Did the crisis have a consequence on job opportunities for graduates? No. Whilst in emerging countries, economic growth continues to create jobs, in Western countries, demography means that there are still many jobs for graduates.
Did the crisis have a consequence on student recruitment? Again the answer is no. The crisis meant that more and more people were interested in Business Education and student recruitment numbers have thus risen.
The major consequences of the crisis have been on Business Schools’ resources, both human and financial. Human: with regards to faculty shortage. With present numbers of Phds in Business Administration enrolments, faculty retirements and rising student enrolments in management education, it is estimated there is a shortage of approximately 1000 Doctorates of Business Administration in Europe. Financial resources may shrink due to budget cuts and low economic growth rate.
What will change the most is the restructuration of Business Schools towards mergers and acquisitions because schools are going to be below minimal resources, below break even size, schools are going to have to ally to survive. Of course, everyone is talking about mergers but in reality there has been very few mergers over the last 30 years and there will be very few in the future. On the other hand, there will be many acquisitions taking place.
Why? Schools in good shape for competition do not intend to merge, on the contrary, they intend to ‘absorb’ some academic capacities: faculty, facilities and corporate relations to be stronger than their next darling competitor.
Further to the first consequence on Business Schools resources discussed above, the other consequence I predict is on the investment that Business Schools will put in Innovation to modernize knowledge delivery, techniques and curriculum content. This is will probably be called Business Schools 3.0. It is good news: Business Schools will improve the relevance of their programs, research activities, and services to the community.
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