The world of business education is large and profitable – with over 150,000 students enrolled in graduate business education programs alone each year. This book traces the historical roots of business education, covering seven important time periods which have each contributed key insights into business effectiveness. Despite the apparent tremendous successes suggested by the substantial growth in educating business students, a strong case could be made for the need to make important changes in the curriculum of business programs and the process by which business education is delivered. This book identifies opportunities for business faculties, administrators, deans, and department chairs to reassess their roles in delivering a better product to the students that they teach. We suggest that in today’s “transformative era,” business education must materially change to increase the quality of teaching for tomorrow’s business students. Throughout the world business leaders have been called into account for their ineffectiveness in earning and retaining the trust of employees and customers. Unfortunately, business schools are often out of focus in their emphasis on achieving bottom line corporate profits without acknowledging the accompanying responsibility of companies to become full partners in serving society and in resolving the long-term issues for which business must become increasingly committed. The world of tomorrow desperately needs business leaders who combine character and competence as they guide their employees in the pursuit of excellence. Business education and those who provide it to those employees who will work for major corporations and small businesses can contribute substantially to the credibility of the business community and in the development of solutions that will fully serve future generations. The current path of business education can benefit mightily from a thoughtful reanalysis of today’s business education model. The challenge to those who work in business education is to carefully assess how they can make the delivery of their product, its accompanying values, and its commitment to tomorrow’s quality of life more meaningful and effective.
