How far can an MBA degree get you? Not far, claims Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's graduate school of business.
In the lead article of September's issue of the Academy of Management's Learning and Education Journal, Pfeffer downplayed the importance and necessity of the MBA degree to business success.
Co-written by Stanford doctoral student Christina Fong, "The End of Business Schools? Less Success Than Meets the Eye," says that many MBA programs suffer from grade inflation and a lack of real world application. Due to these problems, Pfeffer and Fong argue that grades in business school courses, and the acquisition of an MBA, do not "correlate with career success."
At the Darden School, Pfeffer and Fong's article has sparked concerns about the relevance of such criticisms to the school's curriculum.
Faculty members tentatively have scheduled a meeting for the end of September to discuss possible Darden shortcomings.
Yet despite a willingness to address the questions posed by Pfeffer, Darden faculty members point out problems in the study.
"Pfeffer's article does not incorporate into his analysis the additional dimensions of management and leadership that one learns at Darden," Darden Prof. Celia V. Harquail said.
Harquail says she believes Pfeffer and Fong have focused too much on quantified measures of business success, and too little on business ethics and leadership.
Although Harquailacknowledges the article may inspire change in other schools, she believes that the majority of Pfeffer's criticisms do not apply to Darden.
"If you look at the characteristics of MBA programs that are exceptions to the 'lack of relevance' critique, you'll find that literally point for point these elements are, and have always been, part of the curriculum at Darden," Harquail said.
At Stanford University, where both Pfeffer and Fong have academic affiliations, the study has been taken as a launching pad for discussion and review.
"Pfeffer and Fong are telling business schools that there is more to learning to be a manager than analysis and book learning," said David Kreps, Stanford business school senior associate dean for academic affairs, in a statement responding to the article.
Faculty at Darden, however, ground their courses in real-life management situations already.
Case studies and discussions of students' experiences prevail over textbooks and multiple choice exams, Harquail said.
In addition, Darden courses are reviewed frequentlyin efforts to innovate business studies.
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