Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56805
headlines New Deans On the Block AS BUSINESS SCHOOLS grow more global, more complex, and more like corporate businesses, universities are hiring a new kind of dean for the b-school: someone who's as much a CEO as an academic. That's the overall finding of a report published last fall by executive search firm Korn/Ferry Insti- tute and authored by Ken Kring and Stuart Kaplan. Future Is Bright For Business Grads A NEW STUDY from the Gradu- ate Management Admission Council (GMAC) offers an optimistic job outlook for grads with master's degrees in busi- ness. According to respondents to GMAC's 2011 Year-End Employ- ers Poll, companies are planning to hire more staff in 2012 than they did in 2011, across all cat- egories of workers. The poll of 229 hiring managers worldwide was conducted last November. Specifically, 74 percent of com- panies polled plan to hire MBAs in 2012, compared to 57 percent in 2011. Similarly, 59 percent plan to hire graduates with spe- cialized business master's degrees, and 51 percent plan to hire master in management graduates in 2012. Those numbers are up from just 38 percent and 35 per- cent respectively in 2011. Overall, a quarter to a third of companies plan to increase 10 March/April 2012 BizEd base salaries, and roughly two- thirds plan to keep salary levels similar to those in 2011 for all new hires, including those with direct industry experience and those with bachelor's or master's degrees in business. In addition, 69 percent of respondents say they will be offering paid MBA internships, and 22 percent will be increasing the number of internships offered. "For the past few years, companies have been pushing to improve performance and productivity, expand the cus- tomer base, and launch new products, while at the same time reducing costs and overcoming economic challenges," observes survey research manager Rebecca Estrada, who conducted the poll. "At some point, companies have to up their hiring to meet their new goals. This poll suggests that 2012 may be the year they do." According to the report, "Business schools must innovate, refocus, and restructure, or risk falling behind their academic competitors. Just like private enterprise, they are undergoing a fun- damental transformation in response to changing student 'buyer' values, the Inter- net, globalization, shifting demographics, and unprecedented economic pressures." To lead today's business schools, say the authors, universities are looking for new kinds of leaders: those who possess strategic skills, experience in innova- tion and enterprise management, and the ability to effectively manage people and relationships. That's because the demands on them will be many and varied: They must be adept fundrais- ers and shrewd financial overseers; they must skillfully manage a wide range of stakeholders, including the very hands- on parents of the Millennial generation; they must recognize the need for cross- disciplinary education and be able to implement it in their own curricula; and they must have a deep understanding of real-world business. The full Korn/Ferry report can be found at www.kornferryinstitute.com/ files/pdf1/The_business_school_dean_ redefined.pdf.