Why MBA Programs Don’t Produce Leaders appeared in the Forbes online e-zine in October of 2011. Throughout the article, the author details his opinion of how business schools fail to produce leaders who can be effective in real world business situations. Master’s in Business Administration degrees comprises one fourth of the total number of master’s degrees being awarded each year. With such a high number of attendees compared to other master’s degree programs, students obviously seem to believe that they are gaining the skills that they need to be effective managers and leaders of today’s corporations. The author of this article feels that this is not the case because MBA programs have become increasingly focused on the science of business and the research of business and less focused on teaching students to be real world leaders.
I agree with the author’s assessment that MBA programs may be more geared toward producing individuals who know how to study leadership than individuals who know how to act effectively as leaders. In fact, when you see traits of good or great leaders listed, the list often included things such as: charisma, enthusiasm, emotional stability, and self-assurance. These traits are reflective of soft skills instead of the scientific study of business. The courses that would help the student develop these skills are not present in current MBA programs. Similar to the author of Why MBA Programs Don’t Produce Leaders, I feel that the today’s MBA programs should spend more time teaching students how to be great leaders and less time on teaching students the science of management and leadership theories.
Works Cited
Hansen, Drew. “Why MBA Programs Don’t Produce Leaders.” Forbes.com. 4 October 2011.
Web. 5 February 2014.
