“Management” education takes place in MBA programs, which are remarkably standardized in content —across schools and around the world. Yet the MBA is more B than A, more about the functions of business than the practice of managing. In the name of developing general managers, therefore, it tends to train staff specialists. No wonder so many MBAs have for many years gone into consulting and investment banking — often more than 60% from the most prestigious American schools.
Education at every level divides subject matter into sharp categories — defined by how the knowledge has been created, not how it is used —as specialists in each field promote their own views of the world. In MBA programs, for instance, students get the word on shareholder value in finance, on empowerment in organizational behavior, on customer service in marketing. Somehow they are supposed to put this all together. They never do.
That is because management is neither a science nor a profession, neither a function nor a combination of functions. Management is a practice — it has to be appreciated through experience, in context. Management may use science, but it is an art that is combined with science through craft. In other words, managers have to face issues in the full complexity of living, not as compartmentalized packages. Knowledge may be important, but wisdom — the capacity... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this and all MIT Sloan Managmeent Review articles.
Buy this article. Purchase one or more copies of this article in PDF form.
Become a premium subscriber today to read this article and the entire archive of MIT SMR articles.
Upgrade your existing subscription to premium
Sign in if you are a premium subscriber.
Do you subscribe the MIT Sloan Management Review in print? Enter the email address and password you used when ordering. Don't remember? Lookup your subscription account information
- Register for free access to recent articles and the current issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Subscribe and read articles from the past three years online.
- Premium subscription give you access to the entire archive of articles.
