An inclusive MBA? Researching curriculum design and delivery.
Roger Hall and Caroline Rowland, University of Huddersfield, UK.
Paper presented at SCUTREA, 30th Annual Conference, 3-5 July 2000, University of Nottingham
This paper discusses issues of inclusion in the context of MBA degrees, focusing on access and progression for non-traditional students. It begins with an analysis of the genesis and growth of MBA programmes and highlights unresolved tensions between elitism, concepts of academic rigour and discourses about access and inclusion. Using an Action Research approach, the authors present a case study to illustrate the development of a range of management programmes, designed to provide opportunities for progression. The developments are contextualised within the post-Dearing agenda and conclusions drawn about the value of such developments and about institutional resistance to change.
The development of the MBA
The Master of Business Administration degree is perceived as one of the most elite qualifications offered by British universities. It vies with Oxford and Cambridge degrees in terms of status. Yet the MBA has changed considerably since it was first introduced in American graduate Business Schools a century ago. The MBA’s origins in the UK date back almost forty years to the development of the UK’s first two Business Schools, following the publication of the Robbins (1963) and Franks (1963) reports. At first the MBA in the UK had resonances of the elitism of American graduate schools. It was offered by a small number of exclusive graduate Business Schools to limited numbers of candidates. Most programmes were full-time. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s there was a sustained growth of university provision and a rapid expansion of postgraduate programmes in general and MBA programmes in particular. By 2000 there were 116 UK providers of MBA programmes and around 16,500 enrolled students, including 4000 enrolled in British universities at overseas locations (AMBA, 2000). The vast majority of those students are part-time.
Although the MBA has, to a large extent, retained much of its original prestige, the proliferation of provision has led to some concerns about comparability and variation in standards. It was singled out for particular mention by the Dearing Committee (NCIHE, 1997 Main Report, 10.59):
At the postgraduate level, we have heard some concerns about the comparability and consistency of standards of postgraduate programmes across the higher education sector. The most extreme example is the Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Here, the awarding institution has become the prime recognition point for students and employers, rather than the course and its content.
The MBA differs from many Masters degrees insofar as it provides a broadening of perspective to encompass a wider range of knowledge and skills rather than a narrowing of focus to concentrate on specialist areas (Carswell, 1999). The diversity of programmes is generally acknowledged (Burgoyne and Reynolds, 1997). Perhaps because of an emphasis in MBA programmes on strategic management, finance and marketing, graduates have always been able to command high salaries in the market place (MacErlean, 1993). This is less pronounced than it was twenty years ago, but the MBA is still perceived as a significant boost to careers in both the public and private sectors (Golzen, 1998).
Concerns about the MBA have focused not only on issues of standards and quality, arising from responsiveness to market forces, but also about their relevance for management development. During the 1980s it was this concern with relevance which led to three reports (Mangham and Silver, 1986; Constable and McCormick, 1987; Handy, 1987). These documented the relative weakness of the UK’s provision for management development, both in the workplace and in the universities and argued that, unless radical changes were made, the UK’s economic position would continue to decline.
In response to these reports the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) was established. This employer-led body drew up a framework of management competences which formed the framework for NVQs in management at levels 3, 4 and 5 (MCI, 1990,1997a). NVQs were promoted by the new Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and there was a substantial commitment to these new management qualifications by colleges of further and higher education and private training providers. Take up by employers was patchy and there was little evidence of interest in the universities where, with few exceptions, vocational qualifications had low prestige (MCI 1997b).
During the last decade competence has emerged as a major issue in both management education and in human resource management (HRM). Competency-based approaches have begun to have a considerable impact not only in the way in which educational programmes are designed and delivered, but also on the management of human resources in many organisations. Boyatzis (1982) is usually credited with generating the debate about competencies in HRM. His definition of competency as ‘the underlying characteristic of a person’ focuses on desirable inputs rather than required outputs. This definition is reflected in the work of other writers (Thornton and Byham, 1982; Woodruffe, 1982; Cockerill, 1989; Dulewicz, 1989; Glaze, 1989; Greatrex and Phillips, 1989; Jacobs, 1989). These competencies focus on characteristics like ‘efficiency orientation’, ‘proactivity’ and ‘use of socialised power’ (Boyatzis, 1982). In contrast NVQs and the MCI management standards are outcome-led and form the basis of national standards of management competence, assessed, ideally, in the workplace.
Concepts of competence and competency differ significantly from traditional educational perspectives, which focus largely on the development of cognitive skills (Middlehurst, 1995). Although many attempts have been made to draw up qualifications frameworks which address the issue of equivalence between NVQs and academic qualifications (QAA, 1998), universities have generally been slow to accept equivalence.
The tension between competency and academic standards, between the independence of universities and the requirements of employers has led, in management education in particular, to a divide between professional and academic qualifications. This is reflected in a sectoral split of provision between universities and colleges of further and higher education.
Both further and higher education institutions have been subject to unprecedented change in the last decade as a result of shifting expectations of their stakeholders. Reductions in funding per student during a period of rapid expansion have required considerable efficiency gains in both sectors. The shift from an essentially elitist to a mass system of education has heightened concerns about standards and quality. New technology has created both opportunities and threats as universities and colleges compete globally rather than locally. Changing beliefs about where the locus of learning should be have encouraged more flexible programme designs and modes of attendance.
Debates about lifelong learning, continuing professional development and key skills have encouraged a re-examination of methods of learning and teaching. The role of the teacher in both further and higher education has been questioned, as has the relationship between research, scholarship and teaching.
Research questions
At the centre of many of these debates is an underlying tension between quality and inclusion. Is it inevitable, that as more people move into higher education, standards will deteriorate? Does more mean worse? As the unit of resource diminishes does quality fall with it? Does the introduction of new methods of learning signal erosion of academic rigour? Nowhere are these questions more salient than in the MBA. The growth of MBA programmes in the new universities had, to some extent, widened participation, yet ladders of opportunity for non-graduates with professional management qualifications were limited. The particular questions, which we wish to address, are:
Can an MBA be inclusive?
In what ways can access be improved whilst still maintaining academic rigour?
Can an MBA satisfy both academic and professional requirements?
Research design and methods
Both authors are active management educators. During the 1990s we were employed in the management department of a college of further and higher education. Our concerns were twofold: - to maintain quality standards in a regime of diminishing resources and to improve access for a wider range of students to higher level qualifications. Our research design was based on Action Research models (Elliott, 1991; Zuber-Skerritt, 1992; McNiff, 1993). Our research was value driven and focused on solving problems and improving practice. Through innovations in curriculum development, collaborative experimentation and reflective practice we set out to achieve our objectives. What follows is a case study based on our experiences. These were recorded at the time in a range of documents, including minutes, memos, correspondence, submissions, quality assurance reports and reflective statements. We have tried to include sufficient autobiographical detail and triangulation of method through evidence from external sources to provide an account which is trustworthy and credible.
Case study
The MBA programme described in this paper had its genesis in the early 1990s, when the authors formulated a strategy for developing a Business School’s student base by furthering links with universities. The Business School described in this case is located in a large college of further and higher education. It was, at the time, a University College of a well-regarded provincial redbrick university. A particular emphasis of the strategy was to provide additional progression for students who traditionally did not undertake Masters programmes, but who showed great potential. Substantial funds were made available for this initiative and its operational implementation.
Several universities were approached with a view to exploring progression pathways onto MBA programmes. The prospective partners included two provincial redbrick universities, one large international Business School and one new university. All were given full details of the current management provision and curriculum details of the programmes considered appropriate for linking into the proposed MBA programme. Great care was taken to emphasise academic rigour and equivalence.
The proposed route offered to the prospective partners was based on an established Postgraduate Diploma in management validated by the Institute of Management (IM). It was delivered by a Business School, which was recognised as an IM Centre of Excellence and where participants had consistently won the Institute’s annual national prize for postgraduate programmes. This programme had been designed on best practice models of first year MBA programmes. It was of a strategic nature and was mapped to the MCI Senior Management standards. Even without MBA linkages, the Postgraduate Diploma was a valuable stand- alone qualification. Most participants had progressed onto the ‘Postgrad’ from Certificate and Diploma programmes at the Business School; some had progressed from supervisory programmes; a few were direct entrants in senior management positions and with extensive work experience.
The International Business School recognised the excellence of the curriculum design and outcomes and agreed that individual cases for exemption would be considered for parts of their MBA programme. However, there could be no general agreement. It was made quite clear that the chance of progression for our students through a special relationship was low. They were concerned with their prestige and felt that their status was so high that they could charge premium rates and remain exclusive. They did not see the future as being one of forging partnerships with other institutions.
A local redbrick university was concerned with equivalence. Although this was demonstrable beyond their own standards, they were not comfortable giving full exemptions and only part exemptions were offered. Fees were also an issue, but these could be negotiated. The authors made several visits but progress was slow. The other redbrick university was situated several hours journey away and proved to be more amenable to full exemptions. There was a greater understanding of the equivalence of professional qualifications with a competence focus. However, we felt that this university was interested more in income generation than in academic rigour. We made two visits and progress was fast.
The new university was also amenable to full exemptions and had a good understanding of professional programmes and equivalence. It was interested in a joint venture approach and insisted on several of its staff being involved in teaching on the programme. It required full documentation of equivalence. This demonstrated a commitment to quality and academic rigour, which encouraged us to develop this relationship. After a number of visits by staff from each institution to the other, a partnership was formed. This resulted in a theoretical progression from supervisory level through Certificate, Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma to MBA, after five years of part-time study. The reality was that most students entered at Diploma level and the pathway took three years. However, several students have graduated with an MBA having started at supervisory level. This achievement is much valued by the students themselves, who never thought that they were MBA material and would not have been accepted for enrolment on more conventional programmes.
The post-Dearing agenda
In the case outlined above the emphasis has been on providing avenues of progression to students whose first experience of higher education is as an adult.
Typically, students embarking on management programmes of this nature are in their early thirties. Often they have no formal qualifications, yet have demonstrated workplace skills, which have resulted perhaps in promotion into a management role and in a quest for management qualifications. Because students enrolling on professional management programmes are adults with substantial life and work experiences, our approach to learning and teaching has tended to reflect this. Teaching methods follow more closely Knowles’ (1978) concept of andragogy than the didactic models of pedagogy employed in many traditional university programmes. The role of the teacher has shifted from subject expert to facilitator of learning. Action learning approaches have encouraged students to take responsibility for their own learning and to complete projects, which are organisationally relevant and academically rigorous. Explicit use has been made of the experiential learning cycle (Lewin, 1949; Kolb, 1984) and both the modular structure and the assessment regime stress the importance of skills and competencies. On all programmes, participants produce portfolios, containing evidence of their continuing professional development.
The approaches, methods, curriculum and outcomes of the programme are all consistent with what may be called the post-Dearing agenda in higher education, although the development of MBAs in colleges of further and higher education is not. Dearing places learning and teaching centre stage (NCIHE, 1997: Recommendation 8):
We recommend that, with immediate effect, all institutions of higher education give high priority to developing and implementing learning and teaching strategies, which focus on the promotion of student learning.
Explicit within Dearing’s vision of a learning society are recommendations about lifelong learning, staff development, and skills and competence (NCIHE, 1997, Summary Report).
There are high expectations that universities will respond to the priorities of their stakeholders by addressing these issues.
Conclusions
The case study confirms that the MBA can be inclusive. It is possible for students to progress from professional programmes and attain an MBA. Yet major barriers exist to developments such as that described. The authors’ experiences whilst searching for a route to ensure progression emphasised the distance between the vision for an inclusive education system, based on equality of opportunities and the espoused theories of many higher education institutions. These institutions continue to support an elite system, which has its foundations not in meritocracy, but in a misplaced belief that professional qualifications embracing management skills are not commensurate with more conventional academic qualifications.
There is a distinction to be made between elitism and excellence. Many institutions with a reputation for excellence guard this reputation by careful screening of the student body. In this way excellence is determined as much by the exclusive nature of student cohorts as it is by the programme structure, curriculum and staff. For example, the Association of MBAs, which accredits MBA providers, places a great emphasis on conventional academic qualifications and denies the equivalence of professional and vocational management qualifications. This is in direct opposition to the value placed upon skills, emphasised by Constable and McCormick (1987) and Handy (1987) in their seminal reports and substantiated by subsequent research (Hendry, Pettigrew and Sparrow, 1988). Excellence is dependent on sound processes, which add value to produce desired outcomes.
Within universities, elitism and snobbery thrive. During negotiations about an undergraduate degree accreditation at a redbrick university, our academic contact talked disparagingly about ‘polyversities’. (The adviser has since taken a chair at one such ‘polyversity’.) In new universities there is often a feeling of superiority over colleges of further and higher education. Certainly, in our case, college students were treated poorly compared with the university’s own students. Parity of esteem was not manifest. Information was not always provided or was provided late. Assignments were set without consultation and comments sent to external examiners without prior discussion. Notwithstanding this disparity of treatment, it was one of the college students from the first cohort who attained the best MBA profile and was nominated for the programme prize.
It is unlikely that the model we developed will survive the post-Dearing changes in the distribution of HE programmes between universities and colleges. The partnership we established will not continue beyond the end of 2000. There is, however, scope for other models and other partnerships, if champions can be found. Franchising may no longer be possible, yet agreements about equivalence and progression could still flourish.
In other fields, universities have formed partnerships with professional bodies to provide joint academic and professional awards. Masters degrees in HRM, leading to graduate membership of the Institute of Personnel and Development are one such example. There seems little reason why, if the elitism attached to MBAs can be overcome, the same cannot be done in general management. There are some indications that this is happening, albeit slowly. A small number of new universities have integrated Institute of Management qualifications and university qualifications in new award structures, demonstrating that an MBA can satisfy both academic and professional requirements. As the Institute of Management is currently seeking chartered status, such developments may prove timely.