Class Management Education - Essay Example

MANAGEMENT STUDIES ‘Using the room to help develop people already practicing management is a fine idea, but pretending to create managers out of people who have never managed is a sham’ Introduction This statement forms this paper’s line of argument as proponents of change in institutional frameworks in use within many of the current management curricula while the opponents reason that the system is well framed for effectiveness in producing ‘good’ managers. The modern day managment programs are shown to fail in obligation of imparting practical skills into the students, failing to shape students into leaders as well as failing on exposing and instilling appropriate norms necessary for ethics in behavior in the corporate world. This criticism would be seen to emanate not only from the practitioners in the corporate world but also from concerned deans from the same management institutions as are obligated with producing ‘competent’ managers from the management programs (Bennis & O’Toole, 2005, p. 96-98). The main complain in the system weakness has been pointed on an inappropriate curricula as adopted for the management programs which fail to appreciate the critical necessity for real life experience in learning management as against ‘class and research’ based scientific competences as concerns management studies (Nicholson, 1997, p. 438-451). This paper therefore contains two dimensions where one evaluates the literature in support of the thesis proposition while the other segment challenging this position in favor of the current system as it is. Discussion Class management education shapes the capacity for an individual manager to reason and think critically as well as individually as aided by personal experience and the theory learnt from the class. Mabey and Finch-Lees (2008, p. 1-30) as well as Bierma and Eraut (2004, p. 22-24) reason that class room learning should be framed in a manner that harnesses and compliments what a practitioner learns while practicing and not merely focusing on the academic part of learning. From theme statement, this paper establishes that the argument on the importance of equipping students of management for effectiveness and efficiency in practice and not only in class work needs special attention. Much of it points to the need to have knowledge rather than technology brought to class while equipping and harnessing managerial skills that those studying have had amassed previously. McBeath (199o, p. 1-15) reasons that much effort in changing the way managers receive their training should focus on impacting on perceptions and attitudes that students have over the roles they would face in the corporate which include developing organizational strategies, innovating new products as well as shaping the vision of an organization. This qualifies the position of Bassi et al (1996, p. 11-18) that people (represented by the managers) are the most vital tools to invest in within an organization for the realization of the desired direction in organizational performance. While managers are properly trained while in the class set up, they would be well equipped to take an active role in leading teams within an organization as well as motivating them for the improved performances as would be desired (Thomson et al., 2001, p. 1-23; Mabey and Finch-Lees, 2008, 1-30). One would therefore reason that mere academic competence would not be the most desirable attribute towards effectiveness and efficiency in management as the managers enroll into business schools and universities for. In support of the paper’s theme that it is more effective to train already practicing managers other than training people who have no background in management arguments have been put forward. One would reason that learning for the case of a good manager would not be restricted in class set-up alone but that the process is gradual and always within both formal as well as informal set-ups. Likewise, Dalton (2010, p. 5-8) reasons that the process of teaching mangers within class set-ups should not focus only on particular skills as the corporate world and the real life practices would not be dependent on such skills alone but rather on all fronts of practical as well as academic competencies. Studying to managers attracts the various points of arguments due to the particulate nature within the field. Formality as well as informal learning procedures would be suited for teaching managers within business schools and within the universities offering such courses as the management course. Work-based learning approaches are however deemed more effective as students would have prior background in managerial responsibilities as against such students that would lack such experiences. Work based leaning would therefore provide a new incite in learning where students would have opportunities for after class practice, which would equally work in harnessing the skills necessary for management positions in the corporate world (Garavan & McGuire, 2001 pp. 144-163). Class curricular should therefore be designed with formal (academic) approach as well as an informal (practice) approach. Approaching the subject on the basis of whether managers can only be ‘made’ through class, this paper would acknowledge the class experience in equipping the student with the more needed theoretical and research skills while the practice part of it would be derived from the past experience and continued practices within the corporate scene. It would therefore be more effective to train such practicing students and or such as have had previous experience in organizational management as against training ‘absolutely new’ students in management class. Studying management requires caution in that just as is the case with many other practical disciplines, management should adopt integrative models in that aspects of economics, politics, finance as well as sociology should be embraced while developing the class curricular (Dalton, 2010, p. 5-13; Bennis & O’Toole, 2005, p. 96-98; French & Grey, 1996, p. 14-29). Effectiveness in practice by a manager derives much from professionalism in training as French and Grey (1996, p. 14-29) reasons. Comparatively, focusing on producing managers from persons who have had no experience in management would be interpreted as a waste of resources as well as a ‘sham’ as quoted in the thesis statement guiding this study. Burgoyne and Reynolds (1997, p. 1-17), reasons that the process would only be successful in producing educated persons but not practitioners, as the discipline of management requires. Therefore, the academic competence in management enables such students to become managers who only talk about instead of speaking and acting within the confines of managerial practices. The creation of communities of practice in the discipline of business management requires such prior experience within the managerial positions as shown by Burgoyne and Reynolds (Culbert, 1977, p. 65-70). Good programming of the academics and research as well as the practice would therefore be most desirable hence the position of this paper that the process of teaching managers at class level requires some past experience in corporate assignments as against just academic competencies. In fact, Cunningham and Hillier (2013, p. 22-47), reasons that adults have a tendency of increasing perfecting skills through informal learning as against though formal studying. This equally supports that management curricular in universities as well as in business schools should endeavor incorporating experience with the formal bit of academics in order to become more effective in producing competent managers in the modern day world of management. Debates have been held over years on whether management skills can be taught or whether skills are communicable as would be expected on a classroom scene. Research studies have however failed in offering solutions for effective and efficient management education across the globe. Some proponents of learning management practices like Elmuti (2004, p. 439-453) argues that with good approach to management education, the skills can be successfully taught and learned within the classroom set-up. According to the proponents, developing an all round curricular on both soft skills as well as hard skills in management instead of focusing on only one has the capacity to lead to ‘production’ of good managers. Elmuti therefore reasons that effective teaching for management students should focus on both soft skills such as interpersonal skills necessary in the globalization era within business world as well as on hard skills such as represented by analytical skills. The curricular should also emphasize on the need to equip managers with cross cultural and international exposure, as this would enable the managers produced to be all rounded and be effective in delivering as expected. Kenneth and group (2013, p. 347-371) evaluated on the syllabi that many of the leading institutions within US that offer management studies and found out that the weakness in the system lay on overemphasis on theoretical leadership as well as team management practices as against practical expertise in management which would then be concerned of real experience. The public institutions were shown to focus more on organizational behavior in management programs as against incorporating both organizational behavior and real management and leadership skills as is emphasized by private institutions. Donaldson carried out a review on Mintzberg’s works in critiquing the educational curricular in position today within many institutions. Accordingly, Mintzberg develops an argument that what the modern world management discipline needs is effective managers being produced from the management schools while having their skills harnessed as against sole production of ‘academic’ managers (Donaldson, 2005, p. 1098). The maturing and evolution in the management market is shaping the discussion in that while educational competencies were previously seen as prerequisite to effectiveness in management education, changing times reveal that practical experience is more in relevant for production of managers. Mintzberg therefore reason that many management programs in offer today fails in production of good managers as they overemphasize on analytical skills and sideline the reflective experience or practice. The students with real life experience in management would incorporate this to classroom lessons (Shepherd, 2005, p. 1089). Competition has become a characteristic feature in modern business education and hence, many schools (forward looking higher education schools) are embracing curricular change in order to be competitive as well as remain relevant within the changing world. In a research study, Cornuel (2007, p. 87-92) studied the challenges that business schools are likely to face in future. In the findings, he established that innovative programs as well as better resources would enable the successful schools to equip fully the student with multi-cultural and international experiences as are fundamental in production of all rounded management practitioners. Commitment to innovation and excellence will require that such schools seek for improvement of programs on offer as well as the accreditation in order to remain competitive and relevant within the market. This equally supports that the system as it is today fails to meet on such thresholds thus the need for improvement in the future. Besides, Cornuel, in another study intended to establish the role of business schools within the society. Among other findings of the study, the business schools have continually invested in producing management students who just imitate the social need but fail to capture the necessary niche as would be expected of managers in the corporate scene. Complacency and failure to take the strategic need for effective management as basic to training and production of managers would be blamed on the current position in the market. Embracing proper practices in training and equipping students with the necessary skills requires that they are exposed to real management issues in order to effectively articulate on the market needs before releasing the students into the market. According to Cornuel, (2005, p. 819-829), if business schools would properly articulate on the strategic role they play in the management scene, then the future in production of effective management teams through training elites as well as civil servants would not be in question. His argument therefore appears to support the need to have the management curricular diversified from focusing on theoretical attributes to incorporate the practical skills, as students would gain through real life practice in management positions. Tapping right from the industry in enrollment for management programs has benefits in enabling the universities and business schools adopt the most appropriate study curricular that would enable the students to be prepared for the market. By enrolling students from practice or ensuring that management students have experience in practice would enable such institutions be effective while shaping the kind of persons they would produce at the end of the learning period. Services are a subject that is paramount in modern day management and would therefore be necessary to be incorporated in the study framework within the higher levels of learning especially for management. In a study to evaluate the appropriateness of the content studied within universities and business colleges in the modern day, Maerki (2008, p. 425-430) found out that shocking results. Although the trend of the schools that are adopting the science on services within their curricular is on the rise, more sensitization on the importance of such scientific skills should be put in order to have students well grounded in the management field. Besides being well equipped with necessary skills, students who are taught under such curricular would be equipped with knowledge in statistics human psychology as well as management theory through the scientific curricular. The study therefore argued that it is imperative that such approaches in teaching the management students would prepare them well for service innovation and the managerial responsibilities awaiting them. Conclusion Extensive literature have been evaluated in the paper and majority show support to the thesis statement on the need to adopt classroom as a position to harness the skills of management learnt elsewhere in order to produce better managers as against teaching persons with no clue of what management entails. By taking the scientific approach of the topic, management is a practical science and therefore experience would play a critical role in shaping the production of effective and successful managers. From this argument, this paper therefore recommends the complete re-evaluation of the curricular that are in use by majority of business schools as well as universities in production of ‘academic managers’. The most appropriate and desirable change that is required in order to shape the skills and competencies of future managers is incorporation of experience as prerequisite to qualifying for admissions into academic quarters to pursue management in business management. Bibliography Bassi, L.J., Benson, G. & Cheney, S. 1996. Cited in Wilson, P. (2005). Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organisations, (2nd ed.). Kogan Page: London and Sterling, VA; Bennis, W. G., & O’Toole, J. 2005. How business schools lost their way. Harvard business review, Vol. 83 No. 5, pp. 96-104. Bierema, L. L., & Eraut, M., 2004. "Workplace-focused learning: Perspective on continuing professional education and human resource development." 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