Abstract
This three-part edited volume brings together an eclectic and diverse set of authors in the field of business and management education, and is drawn from a variety of cultural backgrounds ranging from Latin America, North America, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Singapore, Denmark, Poland and New Zealand. As such, the range of perspectives makes a much welcomed contribution to the debates and contemporary status of business schools and their place in society from both the Anglo-Saxon business education landscapes that have tended to be dominated by the North American business education model and rhetoric, and the oft forgotten voices of business educators who practise outside these confines. As Bernard Ramanantsoa notes in the foreword to the book, the intentions were to present a collection of reflections on past, present and future of business schools, and to discuss different voices on how business schools can, and should contribute to a better and more sustainable society. In this respect the book certainly delivers on its intentions, presenting as it does some well-informed accounts and perspectives of business education in the milieu of today’s global challenges for business and society alike. These challenges are highlighted by Mette Morsing and Alfonse Sauquet Rovira, where they question the notion of ‘Business schools as usual’ and raise the question as to what business schools teach, noting that shareholder value seems to underpin the education of undergraduate business students, and that the theories and methods taught in business schools are often seen as almost hands-on instruments to enhance business growth and reputation. They note that in substantive ways shareholder thinking has served as a value furnishing business schools with arguments that advocate and stimulate knowledge production, and it is often shareholder value that underpins these theories and methods, which are not surfaced and debated, despite the fact that they inform the moral and political choices gradates make, as they become leaders of corporations. Morsing and Rovira’s comments are timely in view of the current global financial crisis, and the moral and corrupt dealings we are witnessing in the financial markets across the world, as corporations strive in their efforts to maintain global market value and appease their shareholders alike. In contrast Morsing and Rovira eschew notions of shareholder value as having total sway over business education, and advocate instead that business schools should be places of reflective learning and challenge, and that they need to respond to the lack of trust and growing scepticism from society in the role they have played in the current global economic crisis we now find ourselves in.
The first part of the book concerns itself with the historical and geographical perspectives of business schools and their legitimacy, where a global view of the philosophical underpinnings of business education is taken and they have, and do contribute to the education of business graduates. In particular it concerns itself with the types of economic theories propounded by these educational institutions, which are predominantly based upon shareholder value and interests, and where success is measured against traditional ‘old business school thinking’. As Lluis Pugès observes in his chapter ‘European business and business schools’ we often fail to heed the demands of globalization because we are wrapped up in defending our well-worn and cherished ideas and practices, and we are swift to condemn what we disagree with but slow to ask why others see things differently. An eclectic perspective of views are taken in the first part of the book from Asia, Russia, Latin America, Europe and the USA, which address how these regions have contributed to the global agenda of business education, and ultimately how business is conducted and perceived to be undertaken in large and powerful corporations. Contributions include diverse issues concerning, for example: The changing role of business schools as key social agents in Asia; Institutional evolution and new trends in Russian management education; and European business schools and globalization. A particularly interesting contribution is that by Maria Fleury and Thomaz Wood Jr. who provide an incisive critique of Anglo-Saxon business school management programmes, and call for a substantial reformulation of MBA programmes, and the need to re-think their content and methods, their connection between theory and practice, and especially the development of a critical outlook and analytical reasoning among students. Fleury and Woods’ views support those which can be found amongst the authors from the critical management education perspective who challenge traditional business education as being wedded to instrumentality, and a superficial view of the complexities of organization life.
The second part of the book questions the legitimacy of business schools in a global society, and discusses the extent to which they influence management education, and the agenda of business practice in global markets. As Guido Tabenlini in his chapter ‘The role of higher education institutions in the fields of economics and social sciences’ notes, business schools need to be urged to teach how to manage extremely complex organizations, and to do so they will have to draw upon a variety of disciplines sometimes beyond the economic and social sciences. Contributions in Part 2 also address the concerns of: ‘The future of business school research’; ‘The role of higher education in the fields of economic and social sciences’ and ‘Business schools in relation to the organizational and ethical challenges of systemic transformation’, and make the point that business schools are driven by market logics as opposed to them having autonomy and self-determination in the design and delivery of their curriculum and teaching, this being characterized by independent thinking and research outputs. This loss of independence, it is argued, is endemic in both the public and private business schools, and has fostered mistrust in them, as they are seen as being at the behest of market-driven dynamics, and that the challenge facing business schools is how they can engender trust and confidence from their wider stakeholders in society. This is aptly exemplified in the chapter by Alan Irwin, Dorte Salskov-Iverson and Mette Morsing who provide a framework of the key dimensions of the business of business schools and then illustrate this by the example of Copenhagen Business School and their Business in Society (BIS) initiative for knowledge generation across disciplines and practices, and the embracing of academic diversity that stresses context, critique and cross-interdisciplinary thinking as a means to stay in tune with society, something they note is echoed in the Carnegie 2011 report, Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education: Liberal Learning for the Profession.
The third part of the book makes a call to reconsider programme and curriculum development and design in business schools, and the types of topics and pedagogies they might adopt as these set the norms of business practice and the language used to describe what is considered the acceptable face of ‘doing business’ in their role in shaping and transforming ethical business conduct. Whilst the first part of the book addressed issues of trust engendered in business schools, and the second part how they can be vehicles to inculcate trust in business, the third part makes an explicit case as to how business schools can promote and educate their graduates in ethical leadership and business practices, and includes contributions that focus upon ‘Responsible business education’; ‘The business school of the 21st century’; ‘The future of business education’; and ‘Corporate responsibility and the business schools’ response to the credit crisis’. Examples are given as to how business schools might develop alternative curricula, and how future leaders can be imbued with ways to engage in critical and complex ways of approaching ethical dilemmas. A response to these concerns is provided by Robert Strand’s chapter ‘A plea to business schools: Tear down your walls’, where he explores the disconnection between business schools and society, what this means to business students, and what can be done about it, and is a plea for business schools to tear down their walls that isolate them and instead engage with wider society and stakeholders. This is brought to a telling conclusion at the end of his chapter, where he suggests that business schools build walls around themselves when they should be tearing them down, and that those who teach in these institutions are in a position to demonstrate to society that they are taking into account more than just shareholder interests, and further, those who work in business schools must become much more connected and engaged with the challenges society faces as the legitimacy of business schools depends upon this change of attitude, noting that we can do a lot of good in the world by doing so.
This book should be of interest to all those in the academy who either teach or undertake research in business schools or undertake research on business schools themselves. The overall narrative follows a good flow of ideas and contemporary perspectives, which would be ignored at our peril if we are to fit and equip current and future generations of business school undergraduates and postgraduates for the complexities of the changing political, cultural, and social landscapes they will have to operate in. I would urge all business educators to read what these contributors have to say, and for those who are engaged in research this collection provides an informed starting point from which to engage with contemporary debates and thinking about business education, and also as a point of departure to develop many of the themes and issues raised by the contributors, and should certainly be of interest to readers of Management Learning.