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student； perhaps only a few years into their career； with unpaid loans and
mortgages looming large。
Luckily you don’t have to make that decision – you can have your cake
and eat it。 You certainly need MBA knowledge if you are dissatisfied with
your progress； but you don’t need to go to a business school to get it。
8 The Thirty…Day MBA
WHY YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN’T GO TO
BUSINESS SCHOOL
What follows will probably limit my prospects of teaching in business
schools and none of it detracts from the great work that many schools do。
It’s just that their approach is that of ‘one size fits all’ and； contrary to their
mantra that the customer is king； in business schools it is the professors
that are the focal point； just as in a hospital the consultant is ‘God’。 In short；
many business schools do a great job； it’s just that for many people and for
much of the time they do the wrong job。 The good ones are at the cu。。ing
edge of knowledge and if you do want to see what is taught there and listen
or watch their star faculty teach； you can do so for free – just follow the links
in each chapter。 The poor business schools； and that is the vast majority；
have their faculty teach from the books wri。。en by the best； so you may as
well consider cu。。ing out the middleman in the process； with li。。le loss in
knowledge and a great saving in cost and time。
Business school limitations
Let’s look a bit more closely at what goes on in a business school。 Anything
from 25 to around 2；000 students； in Harvard’s case； are assembled in one
place at one time to cover the core disciplines that make up a Master of
Business Administration degree。 But the faculty decides what is actually
taught within those disciplines and how it is taught。 Their decision will
be based on their own research preferences and； as they set and mark the
exams； they have an enormous amount of freedom over what they teach。
For example； in one well…regarded business school the strategy ponent
of the course prises a series of disjointed lectures entitled ‘Socialist uses
of workers’； ‘Kloinko for a glance’ （the authors’ sole imperative is explained
– we have wri。。en this because we have the urge to publish something now！）；
‘The Debt Crisis in Africa’ and ‘The New Enclosures – The Apocalypse of
the Trinity of Deals’！！
Any student on such a programme will have a rude awakening when
they actually have to devise and implement strategy for real。 They will
know as much about modern organizations and their actions as someone
reading up on how the Chinese discovery of gunpowder impacts on
intercontinental ballistic missiles。
The laborious case study method
Pioneered by Harvard and championed by schools such as Cranfield；
which hosts the European Case Study Clearing House； Bocconi （Milan）；
Esade （Barcelona） and INSEAD （Paris）； the case study teaching method is
Introduction 9
de rigueur。 Business schools use the case study as a vehicle for applying
and testing out the theories their students are studying in class。 The logic
for this is impeccable。 By studying a business at a particular moment in
time； students are forced to grapple with exactly the kinds of decisions and
dilemmas that managers confront every day。 The case method brings into
the classroom the opportunity to analyse a plex situation； where all the
relevant facts are not available； and persuade others to your point of view。
Of course； if you weren’t in the classroom you would be in your own
organization； evaluating a business opportunity if you plan to start a business；
or looking outside at other enterprises for new career prospects。 In
short； you would have no need of a case study。 You would even have to
hand an infinite supply of people； whose views differed from your own；
with whom to debate the options。
Case studies are o。。en dated and inappropriate and they have to be
known to the lecturer； so they stick to the limited range panies and
industries they know well or that have been prehensively covered in
teaching notes provided by the case writer。 Serious as these deficiencies
may be； the greatest problem is that so much time is spent both in and out
of class debating issues with people who may know as li。。le as you about
the business or the problems and opportunities being explored。 The real
learning to hours invested ratio is poor。
Much the same argument can be made for business games； Outward
Bound exercises and the like； which also set out to simulate the ‘real’ world
for a group of students who temporarily have elected to leave it。 If you
haven’t le。。 the real world you don’t need a simulated one。
None of this is to suggest that there is nothing to be learnt from studying
other businesses； their successes and failures。 Indeed in this book you will
see many such examples。 Rather it’s that too much time is spent on this
activity in business schools； the cases themselves are dated and in any
event you can glean the knowledge more efficiently yourself from books
and articles。
The missing lecturers
The prospectus of business schools will； where they have them； feature
their star faculty。 You can’t； however； be certain you will see much of them
while you are there。 In order to keep their stellar positions； such academics
have to lecture around the globe as visiting professors in other schools。
They need to a。。end several conferences a year； as that is the primary way
to keep abreast of new job opportunities。 In order to get to conferences in
the first place they have to publish papers in learned journals。
Learned journals are where academics display their intellectual prowess
to a very limited audience。 The average readership of a double…blind
10 The Thirty…Day MBA
referred article； that is； one that has been selected by a respected peer group
of academics that have not been given the author’s name； is three。 The
purpose of being published is to have sufficient high…quality citations to
ensure that your school maintains and improves its research rankings； and
so its position in the league tables； and to be eligible for promotion。
Except in so far as it polishes the business school’s brand； this activity
is of li。。le benefit to its current students。 Only a tiny fraction of 1 per cent
of the research published in journals results in useful knowledge。 That’s
not to devalue the activity totally； as knowledge about what works and
what doesn’t in business is vital； however inefficiently gained。 The problem
is that in the pursuit of this knowledge the student’s welfare can be neglected。
For example； it is mon practice for seminars to be run by PhDs
with li。。le or no experience beyond the walls of the classroom in which
they are teaching。 In fact； in some schools some subjects are not even
taught by a ‘warm body’。 Basic accounting； for example； from double…entry
bookkeeping through to ratio analysis； is o。。en covered using self…learning
so。。ware。 Nor can you even be certain that where you are taught； your
teacher will mark and access your work。 That job is o。。en outsourced； much
as with school external exams – GCSEs and the like。
In fact； the more successful the business school is at recruiting students
the less likely you are to be taught and evaluated by the best teachers
– unless of course you are on an executive development course； when
you will almost certainly be taught by the best faculty； who may also be
prospecting for consultancy assignments。
The overstated knowledge base
Universities in general and business schools in particular are repositories
of valuable knowledge。 What were once known as libraries； now o。。en
referred to as management information resource centres； are at the heart of
where that knowledge is housed。 The Baker Library at Harvard； the Judge
Business School Library at Cambridge； the Said Business School Library
at Oxford and the Goizeuta Business School Library at Atlanta are all fine
examples of modern business libraries endowed by； and named a。。er；
distinguished benefactors。 In Atlanta’s case it was Robert C Goizeuta； the
chairman and chief executive officer of the Coca…Cola pany from 1981
until his death in 1997； whose vision inspired and supported the school。
The role of libraries is not just to be a repository of knowledge but to be
able to disseminate it effectively。 Nothing so dramatically demonstrated
the shi。。 from repository to disseminator as the new Kings Norton Library
at Cranfield。 Designed by Norman Foster； it opened in 1992 to an audience
amazed by two facts。 It looked suspiciously like the aircra。。 hangars
surrounding it； and it was smaller than the library it replaced。
Introduction 11
The statement on Cranfield’s library website； which claims ‘access to
nearly 200 databases and 8500 electronic journal titles； most of which can
be searched from anywhere in the world’； demonstrates clearly the shi。。 in
strategic thinking by libraries everywhere。 You don’t need to be on a business
school campus to access most of the ‘knowledge’ residing there。 In fact；
as will be seen throughout the chapters in this book； you don’t even need
to be a paid…up student to find out as much as you require about business。
Many business schools make their latest research and case studies freely
available to anyone with the inclination to study。 For example； at Harvard’s
Working Knowledge （h。。p：//hbswk。hbs。edu） you can read thousands of
articles covering every business discipline； The Free Management Library
（managementhelp） has links to over 5；000 articles covering
650 business and management topics； and The British Library Business
Information Service （h。。p：//bl。uk/services/information/business。html）
holds one of the most prehensive collections of business information in
the world。 These are just three of hundreds of sources that the home student
can tap into to match or be。。er the resources in many business schools。
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