Henry Mintzberg : Managers Not MBAs & the Credit Crunch

In the early part of this century Henry Mintzberg a leading management thinker became very concerned about those who lapped up his every thought. The MBAers. A MBA is a Masters degree in Business Administration seen as the defacto qualification to elevate you up the corporate greasy pole. Where you study your MBA determines the kind of corporate doors you can unlock. The golden ticket is a Harvard MBA. A Harvard MBA will guarantee you a place in the upper echelons of power whether it be government, industry, investment banking or management consultancy. Prior to the credit crunch Mintzberg spoke about MBA courses of study instilling a sense of hubris in those destined for a career in the investment banking sector. Mintzberg argues compellingly that this has had a corrupting and dehumanizing effect not just on the practice of management, but also on our business, non-profit and community organizations, and even our social and cultural institutions. I just wonder how many of those bankers and consultants whose ways of working led to the credit crunch had MBAs. We will probably never know. What is evident is their management training may have led them to act in a way that has probably limited the life chances of those at the bottom of the social mobility ladder. Did Henry Mintzberg spot something worrying in the behaviour, conditioning and beliefs held by the next generation of managers that led to the credit crunch? All you MBA alumni judge for yourself and all you wannabee MBAers reflect. http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/302/