What the World’s Most Popular MBA Course Reveals About 21st Century Business
S.of Tanford University Graduate School of Business (GSBMore) encourages students to dream big. When one of his 2006 alumni, her Rishi Sunak, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom last year, the dean always welcomed the news as if it was inevitable. “Rishi’s experience at Stanford has lifted his spirits,” he declared in a school-wide email.of GSBMore We pride ourselves on offering the world’s most curated products Mba program. Its class of 420 students is less than half the size of his biggest rival, Harvard Business School, and accounts for just 6% of his applicants. HBSNot all of them can make it to the top of government, but many follow in the footsteps of alumni such as Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, and Detroit’s most powerful woman, General Motors’ Mary Barra. will rise to corporate stardom.
This will GSBMore The perfect place to get a glimpse into the future of management. and to look it through, MBAs The program’s most oversubscribed course.where GSBMorechoosing to spend their precious time choosing to be the highly motivated boss of , says a lot about what they think about what is important to their career. , given the influence they ultimately wield, these revealed preferences will define how the world’s most successful companies operate.
Management education includes reading through case studies, poring over financial statements, and creating sophisticated spreadsheets.and as usual MBAs Curriculum worth it GSBMorehas compulsory classes in Accounting, Finance, and Computer Modeling that must be completed in the first two semesters of a total of six courses. However, a look at his three most popular optional courses at the school paints an even more interesting picture of 21st century management. With all three, you don’t really need to calculate the numbers. Instead, they each aim to develop in their students the skills of fortitude, introspection, and diplomacy. Students seem to say that it is these attributes, not technical expertise, that determine success.
The first leg of the Triad is a module called “Paths to Power”. Students like to quip that it’s designed for the up-and-coming Machiavellian. The first line of the course syllabus laments that “inadequate sensitivity and skill to deal with power dynamics” has cost many talented people promotions and even jobs. The purpose of is what instructor Jeffrey Pfeffer wrote.
Students are taught that one way to stay in power is to avoid grooming your successors. MBAss quickly draw parallels with contemporary events. After a recent lecture, students observed that Donald Trump naively “created his own competition” when he endorsed Ron DeSantis for Florida governor in 2018. One way, as the assigned reading recommends, is to hold “multiple overlapping roles” within the organization. Xi Jinping, who holds at least 10 of his titles, including China’s president and Communist Party chairman, is not known to have taken Pfeffer’s classes, but he seems to have taken the lessons into his own hands. .
If “Road to Power” trains future leaders to overcome outside opposition, “Touchy Feely” directs their gaze to their own public image.course is probably GSBMoreThe most famous, has been running for half a century. Its purpose is to help students assess whether how they meet others is the way they would like to meet them. Consists of unconventional conversations and weekend retreats. No topic is uncontroversial. Dating history, mental health, and political orientation are all fair game. Students are instructed to observe each other’s behavior, from emotional expression to problem-solving skills.
The course culminates in an activity known to induce tears in some. Students are asked to sort themselves into lines according to the degree of “influence” each has. Those who are confident in their talents may try to lead the pack. They risk being rejected. Disagreement often erupts when others vie for positions near the front line. Being pushed to the back of the line can be humiliating and even traumatic. Still, this tough love practice offers an opportunity for self-discovery. For some, this may mean speaking more forcefully. For others, it may mean less grimacing and more smiling.
A third popular course, “Managing Growing Enterprises,” is not, as the name suggests, about small business accounting. Rather, the focus is on how to deftly handle a delicate situation where many ambitious managers stumble because they can’t find the right words. How do you turn down unsolicited and useless advice from a large investor? How do you deal with a nosy journalist? A small number of students are cold-called at and act out such exchanges. Professors and other students provide scathing feedback.Students planning to come to school GSBMore invited to attend regularly MGE, because the class is generally known on campus. Many of the applicants from Asia have been raised to dislike conflict, but they seem particularly enthusiastic because they do their best to ensure that the role players in their class can be diplomatic yet firm. is.
4 pillars of the corner office
Of course, a certain amount of ruthlessness, self-awareness, and tact can be a familiar combination in corner offices and boardrooms past and present. GSBMoreThe course of the suggests that they are likely to remain commonplace for the foreseeable future, though in varying proportions from individual to individual. The admissions director who accepted Mr. Snack nearly two decades ago recalls that the young Rishi exuded a certain “selfless ambition.” No course can teach steely determination. GSBMore. ■
Read the article by Schumpeter, a columnist on global business.
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Also, if you would like to write to Schumpeter directly, please email him. [email protected].and here it is explanation Origin of the name of the Schumpeter column.
https://www.economist.com/business/2023/04/05/what-the-worlds-hottest-mba-courses-reveal-about-21st-century-business What the World’s Most Popular MBA Course Reveals About 21st Century Business