JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE

Business School Myths

Author(s): Richard Nason

Citation: Richard Nason, (2011) "Business School Myths," Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Vol.11, Iss. 4, pp. 23 - 30

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

It has become quite popular in the last decade, and even more so since the beginning of the current economic crisis, for commentators and pundits from academia, industry and government to find fault with traditional Business School education models. Rather than criticize the specific programs and pedagogy, this paper critically examines a set of axioms that are often assumed to underlie Business School education. The eight axioms that this paper discusses are: (1) business schools produce leaders, (2) business is a field of optimization and best practices, (3) business principles produce an answer, (4) knowledge is power, (5) planning is an essential and trainable activity, (6) predictable futures, (7) ethics is teachable, and (8) things are different now. This paper will argue that each of these axioms has limited validity and that business education should change to reflect that these supposedly self-evident axioms are actually business school myths.