News flash…  According to the April 30, 2007, Fortune Magazine, it seems that MBA programs are graduating students that have technical knowledge and know how to measure all sorts of things.  Where the programs need to improve is in helping people learn interpersonal, teambuilding, communication, and networking skills. 

What can be done to deal with the emphasis on technical knowledge and measurement?  How can programs improve in the practical skills? 

Technical Knowledge

In the context of technical knowledge, one of the areas where issues often arise is in finance.  Too often, finance classes in MBA programs relate more to doing NPV calculations and opportunity cost calculations, rather than helping people understand why finance matters to them and how finance issues arise.

Imagine sitting in an MBA finance class and having the instructor tell the class how to turn on their calculator and explain what each of the buttons did…  Been there.  Done that.  Another instructor heard about the class and stepped in to teach what people needed to learn.  They needed to be able to answer questions like:

What did the financial ratios mean? 

How did NPV impact business decisions? 

What results were good (or bad) and how should the results be used?

If the results were below expectations, how would this impact the business and what could be done to improve the results? 

Measurement

There is a saying that if something can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist.  Beyond that, organizations spend a lot of money validating what they already know.  These are two areas where  many people and common sense suggest that there is too much emphasis on measurement.

It is amazing to know how many things get measured.  In some purchasing and procurement organizations (perhaps other organizations as well), managers are evaluated on metrics like: 

Savings they negotiate

Supplier diversity results

Compliance with corporate policies

Whether they use their vacation time

Timeliness of completing the contract

Documentation to support the contract

Client satisfaction with the results and support

Many of these metrics can change independent of the business results that are achieved.  At the end of the day, the products, services, relationship, and terms of a contract have to meet business needs.  Few organizations have a way to measure this. 

Practical Skills

Think about the practical skills that a person needs to have if the person is going to add value in a contract negotiation.  The list might include skills like: 

Planning

Negotiation

Networking 

Teambuilding 

Applied ethics

Communication

Decision making

Problem solving

Critical thinking  

Conflict resolution

Time management 

Project management

Relationship management

How many people learn these skills in school, at any level?  Few seem to do so.  Think about how schools could teach these skills.  As a starting point, here are a few ideas of how these skills might be included in substantive subjects…

After answering a question, the instructor could ask the students to come up with a plan for implementing the solution.  What would they do if they were trying to apply the information in a real world situation?

A second alternative is that instructors might ask students what it means for them.

Rather than just talking about building teams in classes on teambuilding, students could be required to apply the information they learn in teambuilding classes in other courses as they create project teams.  They could be required to develop a project plan and a timeline. 

 Questions could be posed that require students to break projects down into manageable pieces.

What other steps might be used to help students learn practical skills?  Is this an effort that should be undertaken?  Alternatively, consider how employers might help employees learn these skills.

Filed by Coleen Davis at 8:36 am under Achieving Goals, Business Tips, Solving Problems, Training