Business education at the liberal arts university
Last week qualityg posted a comment wondering how many MBA programs teach servant-leadership. The answer is probably 'not many'. And those who do teach it are probably only talking about it, not integrating it into the curriculum. But it is a great question and I spent much of the weekend pondering why more business schools have not begun integrating servant-leadership into their programs.
Although all MBA programs should be integrating servant-leadership principles into their program, I believe that business schools at liberal arts universities in particular have a duty and obligation to do so. Why? Business schools and faculty have focused on equipping students with a repertoire of financial, marketing, and managerial vehicles for getting from "here" to "there." But little has been done to equip students to reflect on whether the "there" was worth getting to. This reflection is the reason why liberal arts universities exist.
While it has often been held that the liberal arts component of the business student's overall education would address the question of the "there," the practical result is an "alongside" education under the implicit motto "isolate, don't integrate." Understandably, students form the impression that they receive two types of education: one to make them more human (liberal arts classes), and the other to make them more money (business classes). Unsurprisingly, they are no clearer than their faculties about how the two fit together.
This is where servant-leadership fits in. One could say that servant-leadership takes the principles that liberal arts programs espouse to teach (ethics, common good, etc.) and fuses them together with how to run an effective business. Perhaps this is why more MBA programs have not picked it up and made it part of their curriculum.
I would encourage you to comment or e-mail me your thoughts. There is much more to this topic that cannot be addressed here, and I'm sure I'm only starting to scratch the surface of where this should go. But hopefully it will lead to further fruitful posts down the road.
Although all MBA programs should be integrating servant-leadership principles into their program, I believe that business schools at liberal arts universities in particular have a duty and obligation to do so. Why? Business schools and faculty have focused on equipping students with a repertoire of financial, marketing, and managerial vehicles for getting from "here" to "there." But little has been done to equip students to reflect on whether the "there" was worth getting to. This reflection is the reason why liberal arts universities exist.
While it has often been held that the liberal arts component of the business student's overall education would address the question of the "there," the practical result is an "alongside" education under the implicit motto "isolate, don't integrate." Understandably, students form the impression that they receive two types of education: one to make them more human (liberal arts classes), and the other to make them more money (business classes). Unsurprisingly, they are no clearer than their faculties about how the two fit together.
This is where servant-leadership fits in. One could say that servant-leadership takes the principles that liberal arts programs espouse to teach (ethics, common good, etc.) and fuses them together with how to run an effective business. Perhaps this is why more MBA programs have not picked it up and made it part of their curriculum.
I would encourage you to comment or e-mail me your thoughts. There is much more to this topic that cannot be addressed here, and I'm sure I'm only starting to scratch the surface of where this should go. But hopefully it will lead to further fruitful posts down the road.
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