Big Changes Coming at HBS - 工管

For generations, Harvard has been the first school everyone thinks when they
hear the word ¨university.〃 Ranked #1 by practically every
guide/magazine/website out there, itˆs safe to say Harvard is one of the
best schools in the world. And, of course, itˆs the same for HBS.

Harvard Business School is easily the most highly sought after MBA program in
the world, regardless of the fierce competition and high application
standards. And of course it is – itˆs a world-renowned MBA program with a
strong alumni network, two factors that nearly guarantee future success.

A school that well-regarded couldnˆt possibly have anything wrong with it,
right?
Well, maybe not.

Dr. Nitin Nohria, the new Dean at HBS, thinks the school has room to make a
lot of improvements. He believes that MBA programs have changed immensely and
that students simply donˆt have the same motivations as they used to. Nohria
believes that business graduates should be focused on bringing value to the
world, and that ¨once they create this value, then they can keep the value
for themselves.〃 In a recession-stricken country with constant protests in
almost every major city, itˆs hard to argue with his opinion.

So, what is this ¨value?〃 No, itˆs not a nickname for ¨cash.〃

Nohria believes that modern-day students have one goal: to make huge amounts
of money after graduation so they can buy whatever they want. Because
students are so excited to take from the world later on, they often forget to
think of ways to contribute to it. While so many of these students are
excited to start or become part of a big, profitable business, he wonders why
students arenˆt as concerned with making a positive impact on the world as
they are with their future paycheck.

He calls this entire concept ¨moral humility.〃

What does this mean for Harvard? Nohria wants to completely overhaul the
current business school curriculum. While some may argue ¨if it ainˆt
broke, donˆt fix it,〃 he thinks itˆs time to create a curriculum that
encourages hard work, creativity, and a focus on small business, the
so-called cornerstone of the American economy.

By using a new program, Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership
Development (or FIELD), Nohria is requiring all 900 of the schoolˆs students
to working with a company in an emerging market, and to imagine a new product
or service that the company could introduce to the market. Kind of like an
internship on steroids, FIELD will encourage students to not only work hard
and make connections, but to bring something entirely new to the table.

While it might sound like a far cry from the case method you were expecting
(and preparing for…), the new HBS curriculum promises students a more
enriching b-school experience with even more benefits: valuable field
experience, the ability to create something new, a larger network to tap into
post-graduation, and doing all of this while attending one of the best
business programs in the world.

Could it be? Did HBS just get… better?
We can only imagine how this is going to change…. everything.

Jon Frank
HBS 2005
Founder Precision Essay
http://www.precisionessay.com

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