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B-School Curriculum T INew andmproved he dizzyingly fast pace of change in the business world has been mirrored by an equally head-spinning rate of change in management education. For business schools to prepare students to do business today, they must keep up with the global, technical, and cultural trends in the real world. "Until recently, nearly all undergraduate business curricula were built upon an educational model that grew out of the 1950s," says James M. Danko of the Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania. "Those curricula focused on the manufacturing economy and compartmentalized learning into discrete business disciplines." Even though most schools made minor updates to their b-school pro- grams, the time for incremental change has passed, Danko says. "Curricula must be overhauled to prepare students for the competitive realities of global business." Lawrence R. Glosten of the Columbia Business School in New York City notes that today's MBAs are promoted quickly, change jobs often, and switch careers fre- quently. "To remain relevant, management education must go beyond merely teaching a set of functional skills, such as finance, marketing, and leadership," says Glosten. "MBA programs must impart to future executives a mindset that allows them to analyze, decide, and lead in a truly global marketplace." But it's not a simple task to convince all the stakeholders that a curriculum overhaul is essential. "It can be like trying to move a cemetery out of the way of oncoming development," says Chuck Williams of the College of Business Admin- istration at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. "Many people will question the need for the change. And the whole exercise will require extensive discussion and thorough planning." They speak from experience: All three schools recently have completed mas- sive overhauls of their business school curricula. While Villanova focused on its undergraduate program, Columbia on its MBA, and Butler on both, all three schools have undergone complex and ambitious restructurings that have left them stronger, more flexible—and ready to do business. 44 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 Three schools radically revamp their programs to stay relevant in the complex and quick-moving world of business.