Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62198
We're all in the same business. We're all selling MBAs. By borrowing each others' ideas and mimicking each others' practices, we pre-empt differentiation between programs. We create not a robust and vibrant community of unique MBA programs, but rather a widespread, indistinguishable sameness. course content tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of a specif- ic student group's profile. Class sizes might have to be smaller to achieve tailored learning objectives, and the same courses might have to move at different speeds for different groups of students. Even so, with so many potential student body profiles from which to choose, a school has a number of opportunities to establish a reputation for excellence in target- ed niches. Second, we can change our edu- cational philosophy, providing "just- in-time" (JIT) content instead of "just-in-case" (JIC). MBA programs are largely JIC in nature—that is, we say, "We think you should be able to calculate the capital lease lia- bility reported for a publicly traded U.S. company." After learning the skill, the student goes to work for human resources in a privately held company, never giving that calcula- tion another moment's thought. Under a JIT model, however, with similar JIT needs. They also would need to construct new meth- ods for assigning faculty to courses, determining appropriate faculty loads, and evaluating student per- formance. But the customization of course content would attract organi- zations who want to hire students with the profiles a school serves, further differentiating an MBA program from its peers. Third, we can create a more het- gram tailored to them, we could differentiate their degree as an MBALA. If we tailored an MBA program to students with an engi- neering background, we might award them MBAEN degrees. I'd like to make clear that I do recruiters hire students upon their admittance to an MBA program, not after graduation. Students learn skills that are immediately required by their employers, rather than skills that might be useful in the future. It would not be necessary for stu- dents to be on the hiring organiza- tion's payroll immediately, but their educational program would be determined, in large part, by the collaboration of the student, faculty, and the employing organization. This model integrates students' work experience with their learning agendas. Therefore, the time from course design to delivery would need to be shortened to respond to students' learning and working needs. Schools would need to devel- op a process for identifying students erogeneous landscape for the MBA through the creation of and adher- ence to meaningful certification standards. Too many MBA programs appear to be "cash and carry"—once a student is admitted, takes the course requirements, and pays his bills, he earns his MBA degree. But do we truly identify real differences in student mastery? Not all admitted students perform at equivalent lev- els. We do not do a service to our programs, our students, or those who hire our students by awarding largely undifferentiated grades and generic degrees. Indeed, it can be convincingly not advocate differentiation for its own sake. Not every MBA program can specialize, and not every busi- ness school can accommodate stu- dents with unique objectives. But I believe that many untapped oppor- tunities exist for MBA programs, and that thoughtful differentiation would rejuvenate the overall MBA community. The siren call of the GHP is lur- argued that the lack of differentiation among MBA graduates is the pri- mary reason there might be a market for an MBA certification exam. Few programs have assessed and reported student performance in a meaning- fully discriminating way; therefore, a certification exam would be a way for business schools and employers to evaluate student competencies. Such an exam, however, would not be an issue if business schools imple- mented a system to assess student performance, one that better com- municated a student's competencies to prospective employers. Finally, we can differentiate the degree itself. If undergraduate liberal arts majors complete an MBA pro- ing us to a land of commoditized programs, degrees, and graduates. It's time to acknowledge the GHP at work in our MBA programs before our programs become no more than mere commodities. Rather than funnel a diverse student body through a one-size-fits-all MBA program experience, let's be more boutique-like in our student segments, offering more customized programs and providing truly value- added educational experiences. Let's be more discriminating, partnering with employers to offer JIT curricula that students with a specific "need to know" can immediately put to use. Let's seize the opportunity to be different and to define our programs in a more meaningful way. If we can do this, I believe the constellation of MBA programs has ample space for many stars to shine. ■ z Mark E. Haskins is a professor of business administration at University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, Charlottesville, Virginia. His colleagues Phil Pfeifer and John Rosenblum contributed to this article. BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 55