Managers not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development

Citation

Walz, J.T. (2006), "Managers not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 163-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2006.27.2.163.4

At first glance, it would appear to the casual reader that Henry Mintzberg's book, Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development, is a sales pitch for his highly unorthodox management program; The International Masters in Practicing Management (IMPM), which is offered through a consortium that includes McGill University, Lancaster University, INSEAD, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). However, on closer examination, Mintzberg has offered a very compelling case for deconstructing the MBA and rebuilding it towards a model that reflects the praxis of management rather than analysis, simulation, and one‐ups‐manship. This is not to say that he is opposed to analysis and simulation but as the core of most MBA programs, these components do nothing to prepare managers to manage; and is this not what the MBA is supposed to accomplish?

Mintzberg begins his discourse by dismantling the notion that management is a science and a profession. Now, just a minute Dr Mintzberg! Management programs have spent the better part of the last century trying to legitimize management as a science requiring research, analysis, and synthesis resulting in new knowledge and practices. He points out, however:

That is hardly the purpose of management … Management certainly applies science … But, management is more art, based on “insight,” “vision,” “intuition” … And most management is craft, meaning that it relies on experience – learning on the job (p. 10).

He implies that many have missed the subtlety of effective management training. It is, as he proposes, the place where these three: art, craft, and science meet.

If this is true, where has the MBA gone awry and what of the consequences? These are the questions that astute professors of management should be asking themselves. Mintzberg does not mince words but addresses this head‐on. He says that we (sic) recruit the wrong students and teach them the wrong things, resulting in an educational experience that perpetuates the business education sham. This continues as our graduates enter management by “skipping” the greatly needed, but not revered, experience of learning on‐the‐job. Hence, MBAs tend to be long on analysis (an old argument), and short on people skills (soft skills). Because of the propensity to approach business management from a purely analytical perspective, MBAs miss the subtleties of managing through situations wrought with confounding variables that usually involve managing people. In essence, current MBA programs create adequate consultants who can examine situations from a purely analytical perspective but are unable to execute, nor are they required to. Those who move into management are hired into executive level positions where they are not prepared to manage. They see their organizations through a calculus that is devoid of “real” management variables. Is it any wonder that, according to Mintzberg's statistics, very few of the truly successful general managers have MBAs? And those companies that have employed MBAs at the highest level have not succeeded as many would have thought. But, Dr Mintzberg, please do not confuse us with the facts!

MBAs perpetuate bureaucracies, the very “animal” that many of us arm MBAs to attack after they matriculate from our programs. This makes sense, train MBAs to measure everything, develop procedures for everything, and control everything; my guess is that the resulting organizations will resemble bureaucratic monoliths that Weber would be proud of!

In addition, Mintzberg proposes that MBAs corrupt social institutions by creating a new aristocracy where, “greed has been raised to some sort of high calling” (p. 147). Why would this surprise us? If we convince the world that the MBA is the most coveted advanced business degree (remember, we are the marketing experts), and we tout our MBAs as the “heroes” of industry, at some point, we will attract students with less than honorable motives. Quite frankly, some of these students rise to the top ten percent of their class because of their “take no prisoners” attitudes. We often praise them for their leadership when in fact; all they offered was their ability to manipulate numbers and affect stock price. A good rumor, well placed, can accomplish the same thing.

Finally, Mintzberg emphasizes the importance of experience by describing his International Masters in Practicing Management (IMPM) program. This program is restricted to practicing managers, who share their experiences through methods that lean heavily on reflection in international business settings. This is accomplished through the consortium model that engages the best that each teaching organization has to offer beyond just the geographic diversity.

Managers not MBAs, will cause you to question, not only your teaching methods, but also, your curriculum, your ethos, and your own training. Unless you are prepared to face head‐on, the possibility that Henry Mintzberg et al., may be right, you would do best to pick up a copy of Car and Driver or Better Homes and Gardens, and retire with your favorite hot beverage to that soft engulfing chair next to the fireplace. If however, you strive to remain relevant in business education, this book will stretch you in ways that may feel a bit uncomfortable but you can be sure that you, your organization, and your profession will be better for it.