Observations on educational institutions
Two books which challenge the current way educational institutions organize themselves are now out, and they are both a fascinating read. Rakesh Khurana’s book From Higher Aims to Hired Hands traces the evolution and development of business schools and observes that they have more or less abandoned the professionalization of managers as a goal. He questions the long run viability of the current model. The other fascinating read is by Anthony T. Kronman, and is called Education’s End: Why our colleges and universities have given up on the meaning of life. While his focus is on liberal arts schools, not business schools, there are eerie parallels between his argument and Khurana’s. In both cases, they observe that the adoption of the German University model for faculties, in which research and scholarly publication are key to promotion and tenure of professors, has diverted university faculty from important social and community goals.
How to change the trajectory of our educational institutions? I’ll be making some suggestions in the upcoming December issue of the Academy of Management Review. Khurana recommends reviving a goal of producing professional managers (though is a tad skeptical of how this might be done). Kronman anticipates a revival of traditional humanism. Weigh in on the debate!
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- Posted Rita McGrath on October 06, 2007
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How much does the prestige of a university matter to business?
I was recently asked to consider whether the prestige of a university matters at all in the business world. I’d say it does.
One place you see it make a huge difference is when companies are looking for universities to partner with in the world of executive education. They feel a great comfort with a name brand as their university collaborators.
For individuals, in my experience, a prestigious degree (and the social network that goes with it) helps perhaps in landing that first job, but it isn’t a guarantee of career success. As I’m sure some grandmother somewhere would say, it can open the door, but you have to walk through it.
That much being said, some highly selective companies wouldn’t even look at an inexperienced candidate without a certain pedigree.
It’s been shown that the more selective MBA programs tend to convey a salary and job advantage on their graduates. There are several studies cited in this article:
Bennis, W. G. & O’Toole, J. 2005. How Business Schools Lost Their Way. Harvard Business Review, 83(5): 96-104.
I think university prestige always creates a nice opening, whether for business or for more social purposes. It provides people with a way to categorize your quality without actually having to make an individual judgment.
It’s also worth remembering the downside of a highly prestigious degree—possible employers, dates and others may assume that you’re stuck up, too expensive or too demanding and you could also lose out on opportunities.
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