The Future of Management Education: Change, challenges and opportunities

Abstract

To remain relevant, management education (ME) must reflect and address the realities that influence its subject matter, management. In the context of immense turbulence that has characterized 2020, an assessment of where ME stands and where it is going is timely, because even without the global pandemic ME stands at the crossroads of significant changes that require innovative solutions. The drivers of change are multifaceted, and include changing business dynamics; increasingly diverse and complex social and cultural contexts; shifting societal expectations; speed, complexity, and variety of technological developments; evolving and new roles for ME stakeholders; expanding policy, regulatory and accreditation influences; and issues related to environmental and sustainability concerns. While these factors have recently been overshadowed by the global Covid pandemic and its direct impact on the provision of ME worldwide, with rolling lockdowns and travel restrictions and the increased reliance on remote and digitalized teaching and learning, ME and business schools as the most visible actors in the ME space face questions about their future. The five papers in this symposium collectively question to what degree current models of ME practice may be sustainable and where they are not, and critically explore what may take their place. The World Market and the Global Ecosystem for Management Education Presenter: Geoffrey T. Wood; U. of Western Ontario Internal and External Narratives: Business School Histories and Strategies Presenter: Paul Hibbert; U. of St Andrews Presenter: William Foster; U. of Alberta Educational technology in business schools after Covid-19: Leveraging the technological pivot Presenter: David Lefevre; - Presenter: Leonardo Caporarello; Bocconi U. Beyond 'The School' as the object of Assessment: Changes to Business School Accreditation Presenter: Ulrich Hommel; - Presenter: Koen Vandenbempt; U. of Antwerp The Forgotten Subject of ME: Early Career Academics and the Future of Business Schools Presenter: Olivier Ratle; U. of the West of England Presenter: Alexandra Bristow; The Open U. Business School Presenter: Sarah Robinson; U. of Glasgow