A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To World Dominance: A Reflection on the Competitiveness of American Business

Abstract

Since the famous Ford Foundation and Carnegie Foundation reports that were critical of business schools thirty-five years ago, the MBA has greatly increased its popularity and academic credibility. For some years now, it has held considerable power as a credential for managing major corporations.

There is no doubt that the business schools have been successful in teaching their students how to use decision-making models that have been widely used in decisions involving finance, marketing, production, and personnel. The question, however, is whether these tools have helped or hurt the competitiveness of American business. It is the author's view that business schools have only been teaching part of what is important for managers to know, and by excluding the most important part, they must accept a portion of the blame for the lack of competitiveness on the part of American corporations.