Making B-School Change Less Painful

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Top-down, change management strategies that force businesses to adapt quickly to meet market demands don’t translate fluidly to academic environments, an executive at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business said recently at an MBA Roundtable discussion. Smith School Vice Dean Joyce E.A. Russell said academic change requires more focused, persuasive communication and individualized incentives. This is because needs vary per department, discipline or individual research project, and don’t always align with institutional needs.

“It takes ongoing research and awareness of your competitive landscape and your target market to understand what aspects of your program may need to evolve,”  said Russell, a licensed industrial and organizational psychologist with 25-plus years of experience in leadership and management consulting in the private and public sectors. She joined MBA Roundtable Executive Director Anne M. Ferrante for a series of “Leading B-School Change” discussions in gatherings of business school leaders from around the world. 

“There used to be a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude about B-schools, but we need to be much more proactive than in the past,” Russell said. “It can be a challenge to educate everyone in your B-school that the model is different now and we need to be much more aggressive.” 

“Drive to create” represents the next step, according to presenation by Russell and Ferrante. “A positive force for change within B-schools is the strong drive to create new knowledge and gain recognition, which is inherent in the research faculty model. This force can be leveraged along with other strategies,” including:

• Technology: “Younger people are using more technology than ever before and B-schools need to explore what types of technology will be necessary to meet their needs: More online courses? Blended instruction?”
• Career switchers: “There are a lot more career switchers who require greater career assistance from coaches and faculty, and yet our schools often do not have all the resources needed to fully assist them.”
• A more diverse pool of applicants: “Business schools now attract individuals from all walks of life who have greater needs to balance career, family and advanced education.”

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