The Business School Curriculum Debate

With more than 14,000 business schools worldwide, what is included in their curricula matters for how the economy and the corporate system are managed. Business schools should be subject to scholarly inquiries and critical reflection. While many studies of business schools examine its general role in the tertiary education system and in society more broadly, this volume examines how one specific theoretical perspective and a normative model derived therefrom were developed and gradually appropriated within the bushiness school setting. This volume demonstrates that agency theory, based on a daring conjecture that firms can be construed as bundles of contacts, rose to prominence in the business school context. It examines how the elementary proposition of agency theory, that the firm is to be considered theoretically and practically as a nexus of contracts, was never consistent with corporate law and contract law, and it was empirically unsubstantiated. Business schools are under pressure to teach practically useful theories and models, but also theories that are also scientifically qualified. Despite having this ambition, certain theories are widely taught despite failing to live up to such declared ambitions, which means that business schools may be criticized for including theories on ambiguous grounds in the curricula. This book examines how business schools seek to honour the ambition to both teach scientifically verified theories and practically useful concepts and models, and how the tensions derived from this duality may be problematic to handle. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of management education, organizational studies, and legal theory.

With more than 14,000 business schools worldwide, what is included in their curricula matters for how the economy and the corporate system are managed. Business schools should be subject to scholarly inquiries and critical reflection. While many studies of business schools examine its general role in the tertiary education system and in society more broadly, this volume examines how one specific theoretical perspective and a normative model derived therefrom were developed and gradually appropriated within the business school setting. This volume demonstrates that agency theory, based on a daring conjecture that firms can be construed as bundles of contacts, rose to prominence in the business school context. It examines how the elementary proposition of agency theory, that the firm is to be considered theoretically and practically as a "nexus of contracts," was never consistent with corporate law and contract law, and it was empirically unsubstantiated. Business schools are under pressure to teach not only practically useful theories and models, but also theories that are also scientifically qualified. Despite having this ambition, certain theories are widely taught despite failing to live up to such declared ambitions, which means that business schools may be criticized for including theories on ambiguous grounds in the curricula. This book examines how business schools seek to honour the ambition to teach both scientifically verified theories and practically useful concepts and models, and how the tensions derived from this duality may be problematic to handle. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of management education, organizational studies, and legal theory.

A clarion call to shut down the business school!

This book channels the debate on the relevance, value, and future of business schools. Could the Business School be like the Titanic, thought to be unsinkable, but ultimately doomed? And if it sinks, what of it? Or is it a ship which can adapt to the changing waters it sails in? In this book, authors from around the world debate the current and future legitimacy of the Business School from different contexts and perspectives. While some see very little or no hope at all to the future of the Business School as a legitimate centre for research and education, others remain critical, but see a way forward to rectify today’s concerns, such as around sustainability and inclusivity. This book highlights to readers thought-provoking complexities on the Business School playground and its legitimacy.

Business schools are facing ever increasing internationalization: students are far less homogenous than before, faculty members come from different countries, and teaching is carried out in second (or even third) languages. As a result business schools and their teachers wrestle with new challenges as these changes accelerate. Teaching and Learning at Business Schools brings together contributions from business school managers and educators involved in the International Teachers Programme; a faculty development programme started by Harvard Business School more than 30 years ago and now run by a consortium of the London Business School, Manchester Business School, Kellogg, Stern School of Business, INSEAD, HEC Paris, IAE Aix-en-Provence, IMD, SDA Bocconi Milan and Stockholm School of Economics. The book tackles themes both within the classroom - teaching across different contexts and cultures - and outside the classroom - leading and developing business schools, designing and running programmes, developing faculty members. The authors provide direction, ideas and techniques for transforming business education that are accessible to everyone.

In the mid-20th century, university-based business schools re-oriented themselves to increased alignment with the preferences of the university and decreased alignment with the preferences of business. This re-alignment has caused multiple observers to question the effectiveness of current-day business schools. For example, recent discussions have lamented that business schools are engaged in research that does not influence the practice of business. This book engages these debates, arguing that all judgments about the effectiveness of business schools are rooted in assumptions about what the purposes of the business school appropriately are and that many of those assumptions are unstated and not subjected to debate. The author weaves a unique blend of complexity theory, philosophy of science, and the nature of professions to articulate those goals and assess the effectiveness at meeting them. The book traces parallel discussions regarding the purpose of the university in the writings of Aristotle and Wilhelm von Humboldt and ties those discussions to current debates. This book will inform business faculty and administrators of the degree to which university-based business schools are balancing multiple purposes which include discovery of knowledge, creating knowledge that informs the practice of business, training professionals, and instilling ethical principles in its training of those professionals.

"Business Schools Face Test of Faith." "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" As these headlines make clear, business education is at a major crossroads. For decades, MBA graduates from top-tier schools set the standard for cutting-edge business knowledge and skills. Now the business world has changed, say the authors of Rethinking the MBA, and MBA programs must change with it. Increasingly, managers and recruiters are questioning conventional business education. Their concerns? Among other things, MBA programs aren't giving students the heightened cultural awareness and global perspectives they need. Newly minted MBAs lack essential leadership skills. Creative and critical thinking demand far more attention. In this compelling and authoritative new book, the authors: · Document a rising chorus of concerns about business schools gleaned from extensive interviews with deans and executives, and from a detailed analysis of current curricula and emerging trends in graduate business education · Provide case studies showing how leading MBA programs have begun reinventing themselves for the better · Offer concrete ideas for how business schools can surmount the challenges that come with reinvention, including securing faculty with new skills and experimenting with new pedagogies Rich with examples and thoroughly researched, Rethinking the MBA reveals why and how business schools must define a better pathway for the future.

Since the early twentieth century, American educators have been engaged in a heated debate over what schools should teach and how they should teach it. The partisans—"education progressives" and "education traditionalists"—have usually kept their disagreements within the walls of the nation's schools of education. Periodically, however, arguments have erupted which have generated headlines and attracted public attention, making clear the potential for bitterness and rancor in education politics. In the 1990s, progressives and traditionalists squared off in a dispute over reading and mathematics. Arguments over how best to teach these two subjects is detailed in The Great Curriculum Debate: How Should We Teach Reading and Math? This book includes contributions from distinguished scholars from both sides of the debate, as well as influential nonpartisans. The proponents of "whole language" and "phonics" present their opposing views on reading. Advocates and opponents of "NCTM math reform"—the agenda of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)—discuss their differing opinions about math. Although the authors disagree on many of the most important aspects of learning, they agree on one point: the school curriculum matters. Decisions made now about the content of reading and mathematics will have long term consequences, not only for students and schools, but for society as a whole. Contributors include E. D. Hirsch Jr. (University of Virginia), Gail Burrill (Mathematical Sciences Education Board), Michael T. Battista (Kent State University), David C. Geary (University of Missouri, Columbia), Roger Shouse (Penn State University), Adam Gamoran (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Richard Askey (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Diane Ravitch (New York University), Catherine E. Snow (Harvard University), Margaret Moustafa (California State University, LA), Richard L. Allington (University of Florida), William Lowe Boyd (Penn State University), a