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A raft of universities are deserting masters of business administration courses, citing a lack of demand from employers. Yet surveys often reveal a significant salary hike for MBA holders. So, what’s the reality and how is the business education landscape changing? Words: Dan Hayes
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hen King’s College London opened its business school in November 2015 it chose not to offer an MBA (masters of business administration) course. In business education circles that raised some eyebrows, especially as it followed recent decisions by several US universities, notably Iowa and Wake Forest (in North Carolina), to call time on their own full-time MBA programmes. Speaking to the Financial Times, Stephen Bach, dean of King’s Business School, explained the MBA was not where the university felt it should be focusing its efforts. Instead, it would be concentrating on masters degrees essentially for younger students who
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employers would find more immediately ‘malleable’. "What we are hearing from employers and some of our advisory group members is that companies are looking for talent at an earlier stage," Bach commented. So, is the clock ticking for MBAs? Are they really, as the FT also suggested, the business education equivalent of taking the Grand Tour in an era of Airbnb; rather splendid for a lucky few, but not particularly practical for the vast majority? Professor James Hayton, associate dean of Warwick Business School’s London campus, is not convinced. "The Grand Tour is a colourful metaphor, and yes it was an elitist way to learn about the world, but the key characteristic about it was that you had a guide. With Airbnb you do it yourself," he says. He points out that his own institution (based within the lofty precincts of The Shard) has seen a steady rise in applications for its MBA courses over the past five years. "We’re increasing the numbers of
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