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May 02, 2004
An MFA is the new MBA?
The May issue of has a very interesting promo about the Harvard Business School declaring the MFA as the new MBA...essential for a business career. But they point to the online publication (PDF, 19M) of the Rotman school of management at the University of Toronto. The PDF is 76 pages, and in a couple of scans I couldn't find a mention of the HBS blurb, which you can actually read here (see item #9): Businesses have come to realize that the only way to differentiate their offerings is to make them beautiful and emotionallly compelling -- which explains why an arts degree is now a hot credential in management. In any case, there are some very interesting articles in the Rotman magazine. Looks like it's well worth the download. UPDATE, 5/4: If you're not a comment reader, consider checking out Victor's commentary on the articles.
Comments
The Rotman is very good, I highlighted the better articles: No offense, but I've heard this kind of stuff before. 15 years ago the business mags were all touting how "liberal arts degrees are what's needed--the critical thinking, the writing expertise, and the sensibility to other culturals all combine to help create better executives." Yet I've never seen it happen. It's like the Rodney Dangerfield joke that goes something like this: "Why should looks matter? I mean, you've seen some good looking woman with an average guy, right? [long pause] I'VE never seen that, no...." I'd like to hear/read comments from MFAs and BFAs and literature majors and such who've been hired as CEOs. Don't think it's gonna happen. Instead, the HR types create a wall between the great thinkers ("thought-leaders"?) and the visionary executives...so the only resumes the penthouse office sees are the resumes of the ones whose credentials hit the buzz words in the ads. It's the same in the education field. On the one hand, news stories tout the shortage of motivated teachers and the states' programs to hire people with "life experience"...yet the fine-print details require all kinds of Ed School gobbledygook. Show me, please, an ad looking for someone with a major in English, a minor in German, years in tech writing/UX/music/food--to work in the high-tech world at a senior level? Without MBAs or MCS, we have no open doors. Blech. -- Posted by Joe on May 4, 2004 05:51 PM
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IDblog is Beth Mazur tilting at power law windmills. A little bit Internet, a little bit technology, a little bit society, and a lot about designing useful information products. Send your cards and letters to .
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