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THE FOX SCHOOL Executive MBA Top 25 in the World Graduate International Business Top 20 in the Nation MBA in Healthcare Management Top 35 in the Nation MBA Programs Top 70 in the Nation of Business and Management TEMPLE Making History in Philadelphia. Again. Financial Times Forbes Top 75 MBA Business Schools in the World U.S. News & World Report Undergraduate Risk Management and Insurance Top 10 in the Nation International Business Top 15 in the Nation Undergraduate Business Programs Top 100 in the Nation www.fox.temple.edu vides the potential for dramatically increasing the readiness of today's MBA graduates to accept and perform work assignments with greater responsibility and impact. ground now have a better chance of learning the basics of finance, accounting, and marketing while rapidly becoming equal partners with their classmates. The simulated environ- ment provides a context and framework within which vol- umes of information can be structured and better internal- ized. By the second year, the difference between equally bright students from different backgrounds is nearly indis- tinguishable. As a result, I believe this form of business education pro- The Challenge Why don't more schools create a "primordial soup" for their curricula, combining exciting simulated experiences with traditional academic learning? Randall Chapman, cre- ator of the Brandmaps and Links simulations, says that such a program requires a great deal of "heavy lifting." He explains, "It requires a big investment of time setting up the course and integrating what is learned in the simulation with what is taking place in the classroom. Such a program also needs someone familiar enough with it at a high level to truly lead the charge—which is tough to find." Chapman identified the final and perhaps most vexing demics have a bias against anything that may smack of train- ing or skill-building, despite its strategic underpinnings. Instead, they default to the academic credentialing deemed necessary to excel in the business world. I've certainly wres- tled with the training paradigm myself, as I am a great pro- ponent of holding extremely high academic standards for our colleagues and students. Yet my students have conclu- sively proved to me that we cannot rely on case studies alone to create a sense of savvy, hone decision-making qualities, and build a strong emphasis on delivering superior customer value. At the very least, by relying solely on case studies, we're leaving many talented people behind. The case method, established at Harvard 90 years ago, approach from being, as they see it, "diluted" by something like a computer simulation. I would take it one step further and say that some aca- has been the mainstay for conveying business knowledge and managerial skills to generations of business students. I believe this venerable educational method can be effectively enhanced when schools use advanced business simulations to create a truly integrated approach for MBA education so that students are better prepared to lead tomorrow's ever more complex and competitive businesses. ■ z problem as the protective instinct most academics feel for their courses. Many of them want to insulate the case-based Christopher Puto is dean of the University of St. Thomas College of Business in Minneapolis and holds the university's Opus Distinguished Chair for the Dean of the College of Business. BizEd MAY/JUNE 2004 49