Schools have to emphasize information, innovation and integration.
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently noted that in many cases, “old-fashioned corporate decision-making hasn’t caught up with new Information Age tools.” Indeed, companies must increasingly function as nodes in vast knowledge networks, and it is obvious that many of them are not up to the challenge. The problem, in part, is that business schools do not seem to be researching and teaching how to best make use of networks, optimal links and information. A Web search on the topic of organizational networks identified only four U.S. business schools that have made this a priority. Since there are approximately 1,000 schools offering MBA degrees, it appears that many business schools have missed a turn in the road to the new paradigm.One of the reasons for this can be traced to the history of business schools. The rapid growth of the economy after World War II created a demand for executives with MBAs. But in the 1950s, studies of the curricula produced strong criticism by the Ford and Carnegie Foundations that courses were too descriptive and lacked analysis.