American Business Schools Research Articles

The American MBA Program

And for this I left my home, an almost completed dissertation, a position in the department, and a recently created company? My disillusionment knew no bounds. It was my first class in an American business school—Economics—and I felt like I had been transported many years back, to my very first lecture in my very first year at Moscow University. It wasn't just that the professor was talking about things with which I had long been thoroughly familiar; rather, it was that the students around me were taking in his words as practically a revelation, as if it were they and not I who had come from far-off Russia, where no one had ever heard of microeconomics. It seemed like everything was new to them, and the simplest problems threw them for a loop. I was saddened—what could they possibly teach me here? I felt like getting on an airplane bound for Moscow.

Achieving Synergy from Synergogy

In face of growing public disaffection with American business and American business schools, business faculty need techniques to improve student learning and performance. Unfortunately, most of the new teaching techniques designed to improve student learning are detrimental to student-teacher relationships. This study applied two Synergogy teaching methodologies to an International Business course, and the results were improved student performance as well as improved student evaluations of teacher performance.

The American MBA Program

And for this I left my home, an almost completed dissertation, a position in the department, and a recently created company? My disillusionment knew no bounds. It was my first class in an American business school—Economics—and I felt like I had been transported many years back, to my very first lecture in my very first year at Moscow University. It wasn't just that the professor was talking about things with which I had long been thoroughly familiar; rather, it was that the students around me were taking in his words as practically a revelation, as if it were they and not I who had come from far-off Russia, where no one had ever heard of microeconomics. It seemed like everything was new to them, and the simplest problems threw them for a loop. I was saddened—what could they possibly teach me here? I felt like getting on an airplane bound for Moscow.

The Evolution of Management Education and Development in Latin America

Formal management education and development in Latin America is a relatively recent phenomenon. Its present nature, and its evolution over the past 30 years in a number of Latin American countries, is examined. The issues are set, first, within the broader context of underdevelopment in Latin America. Second, the origins of management education and development are then analysed in terms of their relationship with the education and development of professionals in general. Third, possible links are explored between management education and the transition in Latin America from traditional to modern societies. This is followed, by a discussion of the foundation of a number of important Latin American business schools in the 1960s. Finally, the article speculates about the future of management education and development in the region.

Reinventing the MBA the European way

T he business school credential has begun to lose its luster. While enrollments remain healthy, American business and management schools appear frozen in time with anachronistic theory and programs. Questions of value and relevance are being raised with renewed generousness. Many business leaders c la im-some new techniques as ide-that today's business students receive much the same education they themselves received, despite vast changes in all aspects of the business environment. A number of educators reluctantly agree with such assessments, some adding their own stinging indictments. Noel Tichy of the University of Michigan pulls no punches in contending that business education is a disaster and needs radical transformation. He further notes that his colleagues' research is becoming so specialized and reductionistic that most finance professors can't hold an intelligent conversation with a vice president of finance. Ross Webber of the Wharton School warns that as the international climate increases in complexity, graduate schools of management have to rethink strategies to address America's weaknesses in product design, manufacturing, human resources management , and strategic vision. The recent major study of business education, commissioned by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), also produced disquieting conclusions. A key finding was that rapid growth and market success caused complacency among business educators about the traditional business school model; it was clear that this model is ill-suited to the needs of the next century. The authors state that if any single element of organizational culture ideally should characterize the U.S. business school in the next decade, it should be an ingrained, embedded, and pervasive spirit of innovation (Porter and McKibben 1988). In the 1990s we are, after all, in discontinuous transition and living through a massive restructuring of power relationships. Alvin Toffler (1990) notes that we are at the dawn of the Powershift Era: Power is shifting at so astonishing a rate that world ' leaders are being swept along by events, rather than American business schools must change the way they teach to regain their reputation and help U.S. business.

Moral Decision Making and Multinationals

American business schools are going international. Courses in international business are blossoming everywhere and international topics are being added to existing courses. Although business ethicists have addressed international issues for the past fifteen years or more, there has been no systematic book length treatment of international business ethics. Thomas Donaldson's entry provides an auspicious beginning to systematic reflection on international business ethics.

The problem of business ethics: Oxymoron or inadequate vocabulary?

Recently critics have faulted American business schools for failing to impart to their students an understanding of ethics and its role in business. In this paper, we agree and attribute this situation, at least in part, to the need for a vocabulary of ethics and a failure to communicate Adam Smith's moral orientation to capitalism. So long as business schools fail to recognize explicitly that Smith, whoseThe Wealth of Nations serves as an intellectual backdrop for business school curricula, did in fact provide a place for ethics in capitalist economic relations (indeed, some would argue a dominant place), they will continue to advocate implicitly the theory of amorality in business—the idea that ethics has no place in business. By examining Smith's ethical arguments we can explicate the moral underpinnings of stakeholder analysis, a currently popular approach to management decision-making.

Ethics, education, and corporate leadership

The purpose of this study is to determine the relative frequency of course offerings on social issues and business ethics in American business schools. Specifically, a random sample of the curricula of 119 American business schools were analyzed in order to gauge the importance given to coursework on ethics and social issues. The findings indicated that the incidence of such courses was generally low in American business curricula, particularly at the graduate level. These findings are discussed in light of the current concern for more responsible corporate behavior.

Ethics in Hospitality/Tourism Education: A Survey

All 113 CHRIE four-year institutions in the United States were administered a questionnaire containing a number of questions concerning the inclusion of ethics in their curricula. The purpose was to determine the extent to which ethics is included in the undergraduate curriculum and how that is being done. The results indicate that most undergraduate programs do include ethics in the curriculum. These results are similar to those found in a comparable survey of American business schools.

Foreign Languages and the Business Curriculum: What Do the Students Think?

of global competition, Copeland (p. 23) notes that multinational organizations must face the difficult reality that our workforce lacks international or intercultural competence. Although employers can take some steps to enhance their managers' international competencies, any broad-based solution to this problem must include an increased emphasis on internationalizing our educational system. In schools of business, there is growing acceptance among business educators of the position espoused by Steers and Miller (p. 21), that an international perspective is today . . an essential element of the business curriculum, and students must be exposed to the international dimension of business throughout their academic program. This view is already reflected in the curricular standards and requirements established by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).2 With broad latitude in AACSB requirements, accredited American business schools have made use of a range of approaches to begin internationalizing their curricula. Most have chosen to integrate an enhanced international component into existing business courses, while a few have created a mandatory international business course. A number of programs also have added the requirement that students take one or more internationally relevant courses in their nonbusiness (liberal education) coursework. Regardless of the approach adopted toward internationalization excepting a small number of schools with specialized international business foci--virtually no specific consideration or encouragement has been given to foreign language preparation or training in the business curriculum. Nationally, little is known about the extent to which business students possess second language competence or seek to acquire such competence through enrolling in college-level coursework. Similarly, little information is available concerning both the factors that lead business students to pursue or not to pursue foreign language coursework, and student perceptions about the relevance and usefulness of second language competence to their future careers. This study reports the results of a survey of undergraduate business students directed at expanding our awareness of student behaviors, motives, and reactions to foreign language study as a component of their business education.

Master‐minding the Thrust Abroad: An American Education for the Japanese

The global advance of Japanese firms has posed a problem: new international business skills are required on a massive scale. The solution has been to send potential international executives to American business schools. Now there are doubts about the consequences.

Integrating microcomputer software packages into the business curriculum

Instruction in American business schools is increasingly being influenced by technological developments. The development of specialized software has provided opportunities to integrate microcomputer applications into courses traditionally taught by using text material or case studies. Pressure to incorporate software applications in business courses has largely been a product of accreditation requirements and the demand by employers for students graduating from business schools who are computer literate. In addition, the use of software has provided an opportunity for instructors to vary the format of a course and for students to enhance their skills in the job market. This paper describes some current applications of software in business courses. Three areas of business—human resource management, production and operations management, and management information systems—are discussed from an instructor's perspective. Specific applications of software in the business curriculum are described, together with some of the limitations and educational implications of these applications.

The adaptation of American business school teaching techniques in Lesotho, Africa: A case study

This study deals with the transfer of American business school technology to the National University of Lesotho. The study considers the nature of the transfer process, the local innovations to the education program, and the role of the government of Lesotho in the transfer. Appropriate recommendations are offered to further improve the effectiveness of the educational package and its effect on the economic development of Lesotho.

Pacific Asian Business Programs in the United States

As Pacific Asia becomes increasingly important in the world economy, business programs are needed for preparing students who want to specialize in this region. This study develops a comprehensive listing of Pacific Asian business programs currently available in the U.S. It is found that the programs vary significantly in terms of length, structure and regional focus. Although there are a few programs of this kind available, the number may still be insufficient. The American business schools may need to do more in response to the Pacific challenge.

The effects of the transfer of American educational technology on business students and a comparison with practicing managers in Lesotho, Africa, in relation to those in the United States

This research involved a comparative study of managers and advanced business students in the United States and in Lesotho, Africa. The objective was to identify the managerial beliefs of students in comparison to those of practicing managers both within and without their respective countries. This study found that Lesotho students, after having been exposed to American business school techniques, moderated their thinking processes to be more consistent with both U.S. managers and students than the practices of local managers practicing in their own country.

Education for Entrepreneurship in American Business Schools'

Education for Entrepreneurship in American Business Schools'

GETTING ON THE FAST TRACK: RECRUITMENT AT AN ELITE BUSINESS SCHOOL

There appears to be a recruitment process in which recruits tend to look at people much like themselves, proceed with an uncertain feel for what defines a desirable candidate (while emphasising considerations of personal style over indicators of analytical‐technical competence), and concentrate efforts among those who have received a prestigious degree. Analysis of one American business school's recruiting procedures produces evidence that simply by being admitted to this school students ensure themselves of the opportunity to be considered for “fast track” positions in the corporate world, and, once entered into the contest, compete among themselves on the basis of their ability to convey a personal style in line with prevailing norns of “executive” behaviour at particular companies.

Public relations education and the business schools

In the Fall of 1980, a group of concerned public relations people—practitioners and educators—began work on a Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education project to attempt to interest American business schools in teaching courses in public relations. The philosophy behind the effort was that first-class citizenship as a profession today is best attained when you start with first-rate teaching and research in the field. As part of this project, Donald K. Wright coordinated a study to examine exactly what is being taught now in business schools. His findings clearly indicate that public relations is not being taught at most of the major schools, although many universities have courses such as public policy which tend to touch upon some elements important to the public relations process.

Where ignorance is not bliss

A number of professors from American business schools have, over the last few years, taken sessions on finance as part of management development courses run by the training centre of a major UK company. There is one consistent view expressed forcibly by these American visitors. Compared with equivalent managers in the States, there is a serious lack of basic financial knowledge among the non‐accountant group. Furthermore, in the opinion of UK teachers who have had contact with this company, the general calibre and level of awareness of financial matters of their managers is significantly higher than the average UK group.

Corporate Values and the Business School Curriculum

A recent view from Europe contends that American business schools are not a relevant model for realistic development of European schools. A strong counterargument has been made that American schools have adapted well to changing needs in business practice. The new realities are unremitting social and political pressures on the corporation, which require business schools to seriously rethink academic inputs and practical concerns.