A634.1.6.RB_The Buck Starts and Stops with You

I never really thought that business schools were teaching anything that would be considered harmful to graduates (or not prepare them to become strong leaders) and there places in the workforce but I believe that is because my first two college business classes had 300 students in each and I withdrew from both (business classes never truly fit me and maybe this is why).  I found that for me, it was hard to get engaged in the material but I suppose that will vary from person to person and school to school.  Management is a style and an art.  You cannot manage a group of individuals if you only see things from one perspective; you have to be multifaceted and open to change (adaptability).

I have been working in higher education for 7 years now and I have always been an advocate for high standards within the classroom but due to the ability for faculty to have academic freedom, it can be more difficult to monitor what is being taught and how that can affect both the student and the industry as well.  Also I don’t often find business schools changing their course curriculum or degree plans to accommodate changes within the industry.  It’s always been my thoughts that you want to teach business from an ethical approach and that applies to good business practices you have to teach other humanity studies in order to create culture mixes with business.  It is hard for me to think that the conventional way of teaching would harm today’s future leaders but then again it all relates back to how the information is taught and what the learner retains. 

According to the article, “business schools will never become part of the solution, until they reinvent themselves” (Podolny, 2009, p.1) this is extremely true if you think that the material being taught is out dated, irrelevant and or harmful to student and industry success.  Also in the article, Podolny states, “…that by studying the arts, cultural history, literature, philosophy, and religion, people develop their power of critical and more moral reasoning” (p.3) and due to my communications (humanities studies) background I think the more cultured and well-rounded you are the better you fit into the business world and or become a better leader due to a list reasons.  Being cultured make you more likely to want to see things from multiple perspectives there for altering you from making rash decisions which can affect you as a leader.  The change from a traditional approach to a more holistic approach will take a whole culture of change and unfortunately many of those running the top business school are under that “old school” methods and are not as likely to embrace substantial changes to the way things are run.

Below I have created an example of what I think would be the best way to start creating a culture of change within any business school or college/university that wants to office BSBA or MBA degrees.  The more we create well-rounded leaders, the easier it will be able to change and adapt to changes within most industries.

Example: If I was to be the Dean of a Business School I would require the following from each student in order to graduate

1. General Education Course Work – 60 hours (standard)
2. Business Core Curriculum – 40 hours
3. Business Core Electives/Specializations – 15 hours
4. Business Humanities Studies Courses – 15 hours

The example above I believe would prepare students for an Undergraduate degree in business studies that would allow for more well-rounded leaders and business professionals.