Co-author Paul Danos is dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
Co-author David A. Pyke (@deanpyke) is dean of the University of San Diego's School of Business
There was a time when a student could graduate from business school with the basic MBA tool kit and knowledge about a single industry or job function and be reasonably confident that he or she was well positioned to launch a career. But now, with the constant stream of data, news and opinions that needs to be sorted through, having a depth of knowledge is no longer enough. Today, mastery of business requires the ability to filter and synthesize information from multiple sources in order to make effective business decisions.
In the mid-1990′s, when use of the Internet was growing by leaps and bounds at colleges, many business school faculty noticed a shift in the way information was being gathered and processed. Students, for the first time, had access to high-speed Internet connections and a wealth of information that made the computer lab an extension of the library. Textbooks, which for generations served as the definitive study reference, became just one of a vast array of information sources.
In hindsight, we can now see that a large-scale adaptation was taking place. When faced with information overload, students—and businesses—became more nimble at sourcing, sorting, analyzing and applying data to solve problems. Eventually, business schools caught on, in large part because the market (employers) told them that their graduates needed to come equipped with more agile information integration skills. Our schools, The Tuck School at Dartmouth and the University of San Diego’s School of Business, are among many programs that revised curricula and innovated to address these issues.
Business schools also recognize that their screening of candidates needs to adapt to reflect these changes. It is no longer enough just to test for quantitative, verbal, and writing skills; schools realize that they also need to understand how well applicants synthesize information to solve problems.
Co-author David A. Pyke is dean of the University of San Diego's School of Business
We are pleased to see that the Graduate Management Admissions Council has worked with business schools to change the way these new skills are measured. The Council surveyed 740 business school faculty members and identified specific questions that reveal how well students can use different data sources to analyze information and identify relationships to solve interrelated problems.
The result: On June 5, graduate business schools will welcome the Next Generation Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) with a new section called Integrated Reasoning. The older version of the test, which includes two 75-minute sections—one quantitative and one verbal, had two separately scored 30-minute essay questions. One of these essays will be replaced by the Integrated Reasoning section. The Graduate Management Admissions Council will report Integrated Reasoning scores separately on a one-to-eight scale that, like the essay question, will not be included in the total GMAT score.
Schools, like students and businesses, are constantly adapting to the proliferation of information. When considering a large number of applicants for a limited number of seats, we too must sort through mounds of data to try to determine which candidates are the best fit. We...
Article of The Chinese Weekly ("English" option top-right) Via @PabloSunLi
@scibus, The media network for research, industry and policy; dedicated to help Europe innovate (on Facebook)
Article of 22 March 2012, [Entrepreneurship, Business schools, culture]
Business schools can spur entrepreneurship through curriculum and culture. The key is to create an environment that encourages team learning and student initiative, allowing the entrepreneurial mindset to blossom, says INSEAD dean Dipak C. Jain
Entrepreneurship is a mindset. It is a way of engaging the world that joyfully explores the possible rather than surrendering to the inevitable hurdles in the road...
MIX Maverick Rich Lyons discusses why it's important to be explicit about what the right competency model is for your organization and to identify and demonstrate the value that the younger workforce can bring. (2:57 mins)
Meet the Dean, Fiancial Times, Della Bradshaw, January 31, 2012
Alison Davis-Blake rattles off the statistics as if she has known them all her life. The University of Michigan has 43,000 students; 7 per cent of them are studying a business degree or business major; the university receives 5 per cent of its funds from the state...
Bridging Theory and Practice, February 2nd, 2012
The January 30th edition of Financial Times featured a profile of Kenneth Freeman, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean at Boston University School of Management:
Kenneth Freeman made his reputation as a turnround expert, steering Quest Diagnostics from a problem-plagued start-up to a leading medical testing company. In a study published last year in Harvard Business Review, he was rated one of the best-performing chief executives in the world. Now, as dean of Boston University School of Management, he aims to bring that real-world sensibility to the school’s 99-year-old business programme...
Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 by Melissa Korn (Via @SantiagoIniguez)
Choose Your Own Adventure' at IE
Madrid-based IE Business School is overhauling its portfolio of part-time degree programs to offer students greater flexibility in how often they take classes, where and with whom.
(IE Business School Program combinations for part-time M.B.A. and part-time executive M.B.A. students under the new plan.)
To do so, the school is trimming its part-time catalog from 12 degrees, including M.B.A.s and specialized masters degrees, to just two: the Global M.B.A.+ and the Executive M.B.A.+.
Beginning in the fall semester, students will be able to mix and match online and in-person course formats, choose how often their classes meet and opt for English or Spanish instruction. In all, there will be about 90 unique course combinations.
"Recruiters and corporate sponsors are questioning the one-size-fits-all programs as they seek to develop and recruit experienced talent for specific organizational needs," said David Bach, a strategy professor and dean of programs at IE....
Financial Times, February 13, 2012
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According to Erik Schlie, who runs (Associate Dean of ) MBA programmes at Spain’s IE business school, learning from the mistakes of the past is essential.
The IE programmes encourage participants to “look at certain scandals of the past” in order for them to develop a “broader sense of responsibilities”. Ethics and corporate social responsibility are on the agenda everywhere, with an emphasis on reflective practise.
“I ask participants at the very beginning of the programme: ‘what kind of manager, what kind of person, do you want to be?’,” says Prof Schlie.
For many, this has meant a shift away from the traditional MBA path of a career in the not-so-sustainable financial services industry.
For the current generation, “there is more to care about than getting your next investment banking job,” says Prof Schlie, noting that more and more of his students are seeking careers in not-for-profits and social enterprises
...
At IE, Prof Schlie runs “change modules”, where students work with real businesses to help them improve their performance.
One of this year’s exercises is to help a Brazilian business, a beauty salon company catering for “base of the pyramid” consumers who live on less than $2-$3 a day. This example is emblematic of another theme in the business education of the future – globalisation.
“The future is more blended, more global,” notes Prof Schlie. Indeed, as well as offering international experience, most good MBA courses include a placement abroad.
U.S.News & World Report, January 23, 2012
When I view the economic prospects through my business school lens, I am encouraged, as opposed to the pessimism engendered by the reading of most professional economists' forecasts. If one believes in rational employment markets, last summer's strong demand for top MBA graduates should be an occasion for optimism. Last summer 97 percent of Tuck's 2011 graduates had firm employment offers within three months of graduation and total compensation increased 7 percent over 2010. As an indication of next summer's demand 85 percent of the class of 2012 had job offers coming from their 2011 summer internships...
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