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of the course prises a series of disjointed lectures entitled ‘Socialist uses
of workers’； ‘Kloinko for a glance’ （the authors’ sole imperative is explained
– we have wri。。en this because we have the urge to publish something now！）；
‘The Debt Crisis in Africa’ and ‘The New Enclosures – The Apocalypse of
the Trinity of Deals’！！
Any student on such a programme will have a rude awakening when
they actually have to devise and implement strategy for real。 They will
know as much about modern organizations and their actions as someone
reading up on how the Chinese discovery of gunpowder impacts on
intercontinental ballistic missiles。
The laborious case study method
Pioneered by Harvard and championed by schools such as Cranfield；
which hosts the European Case Study Clearing House； Bocconi （Milan）；
Esade （Barcelona） and INSEAD （Paris）； the case study teaching method is
Introduction 9
de rigueur。 Business schools use the case study as a vehicle for applying
and testing out the theories their students are studying in class。 The logic
for this is impeccable。 By studying a business at a particular moment in
time； students are forced to grapple with exactly the kinds of decisions and
dilemmas that managers confront every day。 The case method brings into
the classroom the opportunity to analyse a plex situation； where all the
relevant facts are not available； and persuade others to your point of view。
Of course； if you weren’t in the classroom you would be in your own
organization； evaluating a business opportunity if you plan to start a business；
or looking outside at other enterprises for new career prospects。 In
short； you would have no need of a case study。 You would even have to
hand an infinite supply of people； whose views differed from your own；
with whom to debate the options。
Case studies are o。。en dated and inappropriate and they have to be
known to the lecturer； so they stick to the limited range panies and
industries they know well or that have been prehensively covered in
teaching notes provided by the case writer。 Serious as these deficiencies
may be； the greatest problem is that so much time is spent both in and out
of class debating issues with people who may know as li。。le as you about
the business or the problems and opportunities being explored。 The real
learning to hours invested ratio is poor。
Much the same argument can be made for business games； Outward
Bound exercises and the like； which also set out to simulate the ‘real’ world
for a group of students who temporarily have elected to leave it。 If you
haven’t le。。 the real world you don’t need a simulated one。
None of this is to suggest that there is nothing to be learnt from studying
other businesses； their successes and failures。 Indeed in this book you will
see many such examples。 Rather it’s that too much time is spent on this
activity in business schools； the cases themselves are dated and in any
event you can glean the knowledge more efficiently yourself from books
and articles。
The missing lecturers
The prospectus of business schools will； where they have them； feature
their star faculty。 You can’t； however； be certain you will see much of them
while you are there。 In order to keep their stellar positions； such academics
have to lecture around the globe as visiting professors in other schools。
They need to a。。end several conferences a year； as that is the primary way
to keep abreast of new job opportunities。 In order to get to conferences in
the first place they have to publish papers in learned journals。
Learned journals are where academics display their intellectual prowess
to a very limited audience。 The average readership of a double…blind
10 The Thirty…Day MBA
referred article； that is； one that has been selected by a respected peer group
of academics that have not been given the author’s name； is three。 The
purpose of being published is to have sufficient high…quality citations to
ensure that your school maintains and improves its research rankings； and
so its position in the league tables； and to be eligible for promotion。
Except in so far as it polishes the business school’s brand； this activity
is of li。。le benefit to its current students。 Only a tiny fraction of 1 per cent
of the research published in journals results in useful knowledge。 That’s
not to devalue the activity totally； as knowledge about what works and
what doesn’t in business is vital； however inefficiently gained。 The problem
is that in the pursuit of this knowledge the student’s welfare can be neglected。
For example； it is mon practice for seminars to be run by PhDs
with li。。le or no experience beyond the walls of the classroom in which
they are teaching。 In fact； in some schools some subjects are not even
taught by a ‘warm body’。 Basic accounting； for example； from double…entry
bookkeeping through to ratio analysis； is o。。en covered using self…learning
so。。ware。 Nor can you even be certain that where you are taught； your
teacher will mark and access your work。 That job is o。。en outsourced； much
as with school external exams – GCSEs and the like。
In fact； the more successful the business school is at recruiting students
the less likely you are to be taught and evaluated by the best teachers
– unless of course you are on an executive development course； when
you will almost certainly be taught by the best faculty； who may also be
prospecting for consultancy assignments。
The overstated knowledge base
Universities in general and business schools in particular are repositories
of valuable knowledge。 What were once known as libraries； now o。。en
referred to as management information resource centres； are at the heart of
where that knowledge is housed。 The Baker Library at Harvard； the Judge
Business School Library at Cambridge； the Said Business School Library
at Oxford and the Goizeuta Business School Library at Atlanta are all fine
examples of modern business libraries endowed by； and named a。。er；
distinguished benefactors。 In Atlanta’s case it was Robert C Goizeuta； the
chairman and chief executive officer of the Coca…Cola pany from 1981
until his death in 1997； whose vision inspired and supported the school。
The role of libraries is not just to be a repository of knowledge but to be
able to disseminate it effectively。 Nothing so dramatically demonstrated
the shi。。 from repository to disseminator as the new Kings Norton Library
at Cranfield。 Designed by Norman Foster； it opened in 1992 to an audience
amazed by two facts。 It looked suspiciously like the aircra。。 hangars
surrounding it； and it was smaller than the library it replaced。
Introduction 11
The statement on Cranfield’s library website； which claims ‘access to
nearly 200 databases and 8500 electronic journal titles； most of which can
be searched from anywhere in the world’； demonstrates clearly the shi。。 in
strategic thinking by libraries everywhere。 You don’t need to be on a business
school campus to access most of the ‘knowledge’ residing there。 In fact；
as will be seen throughout the chapters in this book； you don’t even need
to be a paid…up student to find out as much as you require about business。
Many business schools make their latest research and case studies freely
available to anyone with the inclination to study。 For example； at Harvard’s
Working Knowledge （h。。p：//hbswk。hbs。edu） you can read thousands of
articles covering every business discipline； The Free Management Library
（managementhelp） has links to over 5；000 articles covering
650 business and management topics； and The British Library Business
Information Service （h。。p：//bl。uk/services/information/business。html）
holds one of the most prehensive collections of business information in
the world。 These are just three of hundreds of sources that the home student
can tap into to match or be。。er the resources in many business schools。
Once again； nothing said here is intended to limit the value of the knowledge
contained in libraries or the skill of librarians in cataloguing their
material。 It’s just that you don’t have to go to a business school to access
that knowledge or indeed even to get a ringside seat at the latest thinking
of the world’s best teachers。
CHALLENGES TO THE MBA DEGREE
Reading the numbers of people taking the GMAT； the recognized entry
test to get into a good business school （more about this in the appendix）；
you could be forgiven for believing that the classic business school method
of teaching the MBA is a continuing success。 According to the Graduate
Management Admissions Council （gmac）； the numbers； 96；000
or so； are growing steadily； 5 per cent or so a year in the United States and
22 per cent elsewhere。 Three pieces of evidence from the business schools
themselves seem to be challenging the idea that the traditional method
used to teach MBAs； that is； full time and in class； is right for everyone。
The online MBA
Looking a li。。le more closely at the GMAC figures； you can see that a large
proportion of the growth in applicants to take an MBA es from people
applying to take MBAs online。 There is a net 45 per cent of schools reporting
an increase （increase less those with shrinking numbers） in applicants for
online MBAs pared to just a 36 per cent net increase from full…time
MBA programmes。 Factoring in part…time and flexible MBAs； there is
12 The Thirty…Day MBA
certainly evidence that the full…time taught MBA model is in less than rude
good health。
MBA ‘Lite’
Business schools have not been slow to recognize threats to their core
product； the MBA。 One response has been to introduce what is in effect
an MBA Lite – the core disciplines with the frills stripped out。 Manchester
Business School； for example； offers ‘The Programme for High Value
Managers – for experienced managers who are looking for an alternative
to an MBA’。 Costing just ￡5；500； this programme is delivered in two 5…day
modules。 Kellogg School of Management’s programme； ‘The Best of an
MBA’； takes just 20 days spread out over 9 months； with perhaps another
10 days to prepare cases and readings between sessions。 Ergo – The Thirty…
Day MBA； as delivered by a business school in the world premier league
by any measure。
In fact； business schools have been offering alternatives to the MBA
addressing that programme’s deficiencies – too long； too theoretical and
too o。。en taught by inexperienced junior faculty – for decades。 Executive
education as delivered in business schools is almost certainly the best of
its kind to be found anywhere。 But only recently have schools added the
accolade of MBA to such programmes； albeit by proxy。
Value proposition questions
According to GMAC’s most recent surveys of corporate recruiters； with
responses from 1；382 recruiters representing 1；029 panies around the
world that hire MBAs or others with graduate business educations； they
expect to offer annual base salaries 28 per cent higher to people with
graduate business degrees than are on offer to new hires with other types of
graduate degree。 That statistic would support the value proposition of the
MBA if a salary hike was the primary reason for taking an MBA。 A study by
the Aspen Institute （aspencbe/about/library。html 》 Reports 》 The
2008 Student A。。itudes Survey） on what MBAs feel most important a year
a。。er pleting their studies put ‘Earning a high ine’ as joint fourth in
factors of importance； alongside ‘Having a positive impact on society’； and
well behind ‘Developing my career’ and ‘Enhancing my skills’。
In GMAC’s parallel study； ‘The Value Proposition – MBA Programmes’
by Gregg Schoenfeld； Associate Director； Research； at GMAC； Schoenfeld
shows that 9 in 10 graduates consider their degree as good to outstanding
value。 But looking more closely the figures reveal that 34 per cent of
MBAs did not consider their programme to be either outstanding or excellent
value。 In fact； over 1 in 15 thought their MBA programme only fair
or poor value。 And that’s from the very best business schools！ GMAC’s
Introduction