While building Lego skyscrapers is not usually on the MBA agenda, students at Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business in Connecticut will break out the bricks this autumn as part of efforts to promote cross-disciplinary learning. But while projects such as this can prompt students to think in different ways, a tougher challenge is breaking down silos in the teaching of the core curriculum.
Since 1950, when management writer Peter Drucker published a Fortune article, “The Graduate Business School”, questioning whether management education institutions had successfully established their purpose, academics, deans and administrators have worried whether the MBA reflects the evolving realities of business. Now, some are questioning the relevance of the traditional MBA, with its core curriculum serving up a carefully packaged menu of disciplines such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources and operations management.
The trouble is that in today’s business world, roles no longer fit these neat functional packages. As geographic borders continue to erode, managers need to handle an increasingly diverse range of issues – from climate change to cyber terrorism.