Updates and Information on upcoming events from the alumni association.
MORE >>
The New “B” in B-Schools
Arun Pereira
For centuries, educators followed the basic premise that teaching was simply a glorified version of “telling”, and called it lecturing. The assumption was that by listening to the lecturer, learning would take place. Among the first to challenge this model in professional education was the Harvard Business School, which introduced business cases in the classroom, and learning took place by encouraging debate and student interaction. Instructors saw firsthand the power of active learning, as opposed to passive learning that came from traditional lecturing. Today, the best b-schools in the world are enhancing active learning methods with other initiatives, all of which call for a “blended” approach, leading to learning that is likely to be deeper, and longer lasting.
Blended Delivery
Even as instructors in b-schools understand the value of active learning, they also recognize the need for limited doses of straight lecturing to convey concepts and theories. Today, these “limited lectures” can be offered to students outside the classroom, using widely available technologies, freeing up valuable time for active learning inside the classroom. Thus, webcasts, video-sharing sites, and powerful learning management systems (LMS) allow for the recording and replaying of short lectures, so that students can listen at their own pace—allowing for pausing and rewinding, which were not possible in the context of a classroom lecture. As such, even in b-schools that do not offer online courses, instructors are dabbling with limited forms of online delivery. Students are provided with a blended delivery of both online and classroom content—thus maximizing time for active learning inside the classroom through interaction, collaboration, and debate.
Blended Curricula
Today, succeeding in business, or being an effective business leader requires knowledge and expertise that go beyond an understanding of the traditional functional areas of business. Successful business leaders need to have a sophisticated understanding of non-business subjects such as political systems, the environment, diversity, alternate energy, poverty, discrimination, and global cultures. In the past, business leaders were expected to be well-read in these areas; however, for today’s managers and CEOs, an understanding of the finer nuances of these topics could make the difference between success and failure in the marketplace. As such, today’s b-schools are offering curricula that are a blend of both traditional business, and non-business topics, underscoring the new realities of business success.
Blended Courses
Managers don’t face problems that come neatly packaged as a “finance” problem or a “marketing” problem; most problems and decisions are complex and touch various functional areas. Given this reality, b-school courses that are taught in a silo-like fashion, reflecting specific functional areas do not help students become effective decision makers. The best b-schools today are increasingly designing courses that attempt to integrate or “blend” various functional areas. Thus, courses such as Innovation and Value Creation do not belong to specific functions, but reflect the reality of the needs of today’s corporations. However, for such courses to deliver on their promise, instructors must be able to straddle multiple functional areas, and appreciate the importance of an integrated view. This is often challenging, given that existing Ph.d. programmes that produce faculty for b-schools are built around functional areas, leading to professors who have depth of knowledge in one area, but limited breadth across areas. To address this, many b-schools are encouraging courses that are co-taught by multiple instructors whose expertise complement one another, and provide valuable learning for the student.