Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124472
Today's business schools are ignoring one of their biggest blind spots: They don't teach the relationship-building skills essential for contemporary business leadership. by J. David Pincus and Harold E. Rudnick Marti n Roe m e r /G etty Imag es A t an AACSB conference during the 1990s, a presenter discussed the results of a nationwide study about the role of communication education in MBA programs. The findings had revealed that most MBA programs gave scant attention to communication subjects, generally confining them to electives on writing and presentations. A standingroom-only audience of deans, MBA directors, and faculty crowded into the room because they wanted to add more communications courses to their curricula but didn't know how to go about it. They also were hoping for answers to various perplexing questions: • What communication competencies do future business leaders need to possess if they're to be effective? • How much should we teach theory versus strategy versus practice? • Where in the MBA curriculum should we include communication training? • How and where do we find faculty capable of teaching this subject? BizEd May/June 2013 41