Business Schools Talk Politics - Poets&Quants

President Donald Trump

B-Schools Talk Politics

Business school curriculum across the country is shifting to help students prepare and succeed in a politically-charged era.

Some Schools, such as Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and North Carolina State University, are flipping the script on how they teach students to address social and political concerns, The News & Observer reports.

At Duke Fuqua, Professor Aaron Chatterji says political and social concerns are playing a critical role in the business world.

“You have to be careful, but if you walk away from that stuff, how can we be saying that we’re training leaders of consequence across all these schools unless we’re dealing with these issues they actually have to face?” Chatterji tells The News & Observer.

Taking A Stance Pays Off

A number of big-name companies have started to take a stance in the political era of Trump.

Most recently, Nike made Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, as the face of its ad campaign. The banner of the ad reads: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Kaeperick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem of NFL games in protest against police brutality was criticized by President Trump, who called the act disrespectable to the American flag.

But Nike took the opposite stance in the midst of the pressure. By doing so, they’ve benefited greatly, earning $6 billion in value.

Levi Strauss & Co. president and CEO Chip Bergh has been outspoken about business leaders needing to take action on gun violence. He recently penned a Fortune article making the case against it.

Outspoken In Class

At the b-school level, students are taking more interest in political issues.

Patrick Iber, an assistant professor of history at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is putting together a new course, “The History of Now,” which will examine the historical context of modern-day politics.

The goal of the course is to help students understand conservative movements across the historical spectrum and how the past relates to the present.

“When I ask students, ‘Why are you interested in taking this course right now?,’ some of them are like ‘I really want to understand what’s going on. I want to know how to talk to my family members who I don’t understand anymore.’ They want historical context for the present,” Iber tells The News & Observer.

At North Carolina State University, classes have taken a different tone.

Mark Nance, a political science professor at North Carolina State University, says more students are more comfortable expressing their conservative views because of President Trump.

“My point is that those feelings have always been there, but they were not being brought out in class,” Nance tells The News & Observer. “As an educator, I would much rather have them there and be stated than someone sit there and sort of steam and discount anything anybody is saying, including me.”

Sources: The News & Observer, Fortune, Vox, CBS

Why This Country’s MBAs Are Becoming Less Employable

Think an MBA makes professionals more employable? That may not the case anymore in India.

Quartz reports that the MBA, despite being a popular degree in India, has experienced a 3% year-on-year drop in the employability of its graduates.

A Drop In Quality

Wheebox, which conducted the study based on a survey of 300,000 students and over 100 large employers, found that the MBA in India has almost become too popular.

“MBA has become new B Tech where everyone wants to get MBA degree irrespective of their graduation degree and score in entrance tests,” Wheebox’s study reads. “MBA colleges are enrolling students even if the student has not appeared for any of the MBA entrance test. Drop in quality of student intake over years due to negligence in student selection process and lack of industry internship programs or low attendance in industry internship programs are reasons of this drop among many others.”

The Need To Reskill

What can India do to change this? Well, according to the report, there’s a need to reskill workers and graduates.

“Employers need to work with education providers so that students learn the skills they need to succeed at work, and governments also have a crucial role to play,” the report says. “But there is little clarity on which practices and interventions work and which can be scaled up.”

One thing is for certain: automation is putting a lot of jobs at risk. The best way to keep up with automation? Learn the skills required to capitalize on it.

“Rapid advances in automation technologies are affecting India’s information technology and business process outsourcing sectors,” the report reads. “These sectors have remained net job creators, and the industry estimates that companies could hire up to 2.5 to 3 million more workers by 2025, provided they can acquire the skills needed to meet changing needs.”

Part of reskilling, according to Wheebox, is learning how to work alongside automation.

“The emerging nature of work coupled with the impact of automation is likely to mean that individuals and organisations will have to look at (new) skill sets… which aid either the design of interactions or interactions with both humans and machines,” the report reads.

Sources: Quartz, Wheebox

Important Lessons You Won’t Learn In B-School

Business school will give you the proper foundation to succeed and advance in the business world.

But Deep Patel, author of A Paperboy’s Fable: The 11 Principles of Success and a VIP contributor at Entrepreneur, argues that there are some things you just can’t learn in business school.

“There’s a lot you’re going to have to figure out on your own, through trial and error,” Patel writes. “Some of the most important lessons you’ll ever learn about how to be successful in business (and in life, for that matter) comes from getting out there and doing it.”

Being A Better Leader

Patel argues that an MBA isn’t necessary to become a great leader. He even cites a Harvard Business Review study, which finds that out of the 100 best-performing CEOs in the world, only 24% had MBAs.

“Successful leaders must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses,” Patel writes. “They have to convey positivity and motivate those around them. These aren’t things you can discover in a classroom setting.”

Negotiation In Real Life

Despite business schools teaching negotiation skills, Patel says, the act of negotiation in real time is entirely different.

“Whenever you interact with someone in business, you’re either formally or informally negotiating something,” he writes. “When negotiation is done well, both parties leave satisfied and ready to do business with each other again.”

Part of successful negotiations, Patel argues, is in the prep work.

“This means you know something about the parties involved, you’ve done a little background checking, you know about their business and maybe you’ve even talked to others they’ve worked with to get an idea of their strengths and weaknesses,” he writes.

Learning From Mistakes

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons you learn in the real world is how to learn from your mistakes.

In business school, you have a safe environment for trial and error. But, Patel says, learning from your mistakes is inevitable in entrepreneurship.

“Sometimes deals fall through,” he writes. “Things change, the market fluctuates, or perhaps your idea simply didn’t pan out. You still have to find a way to pick yourself up and keep moving forward. Entrepreneurs must learn to frame their failures, learn from their mistakes and improve for next time.”

Read the rest of Deep Patel’s lessons here.

Sources: Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review

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