Management Education and Practice Revisited

I’ve just read one half of Henry Mintzberg’s ‘Managers, not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development’. As the name suggests, it provides quite a damning (and mostly relevant) account of the current MBA education process, and criticizes the wrong notion (and rightly so!) that anyone with an MBA degree is fit to be a manager.

One of the essential theses of Mintzberg’s book is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding in what the MBA program currently teaches (in the Unites States especially) and what is expected by, and out of, an MBA student/graduate. He argues quite convincingly that the MBA is essentially a degree that teaches about various business functions, but does not ground anyone to be a manager at all. However, when MBAs graduate, they are automatically enrolled into the ranks of management (when they are not becoming consultants or investment bankers), often in industries where they have no prior experience. It is quite interesting that they are expected to manage, let alone lead, entirely out of context.

I haven’t read the other half of Mintzberg’s book (the part where he recommends an ideal educational alternative to develop ‘practicing managers’ in context), partly because the book is long, and also because Mintzberg cannot escape from his inherent academic bent of mind, which reflects in his writing. Not that his writing lacks succinctness; rather, he falls prey to his precise nature, often elaborating and substantiating arguments long after his point has been made and accepted. But, I guess he has a lot of convincing to do, considering the popularity of the degree, so he’s erred on the side of covering his bases. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But, for the first part of the book alone, I would highly recommend it. Those who’ve read and appreciated Mintzberg before wouldn’t be disappointed with this one either.