Have business schools become irrelevant?

Rakesh Khurana, a Harvard Business School professor known for his histories of management knowledge, claims that business schools are facing a crisis of global irrelevance.

Khurana's warnings seem to have particular urgency. Most management schools are reporting a decline in the number of applicants for their two-year MBA programs; some students are flocking to one-year specialized degrees, and others are choosing to take courses online or on a part-time basis. This trend is driven in part by the impact of globalization on business success, argues the professor.  Aside from the sheer cost of earning a two-year MBA, management school graduates are finding that their skills and training are not ideally matched to the needs of global corporations that have undergone rapid changes. Many of these companies are looking for business leaders who can help them expand in developing markets where the rules of engagement are quite different from what they might be at headquarters. They need leaders who can build coalitions with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and social activists.
Another factor is the lack of quality and consistency in the development of general management knowledge. In an attempt to obtain academic legitimacy, especially at the research-based business schools, the faculty began to mirror the arts and sciences faculty. The social scientists hired into business schools established their careers by applying their specialty, but not by producing general management knowledge; instead, they just reiterated their previous perspective, says the professor.
Finally, there’s a shift in who is being taught. The orientation of most students has changed quite dramatically. Increasingly, students see an elite MBA as more desirable for its selection effect than its educational impact. If you get in, you’ll get a highly valued credential, but you’re not going to learn much along the way.

(03|2013) Source: stragy business