Reimagining Business Education

Paul R. Carlile is Associate Professor of Management and the Senior Associate Dean for Innovation at the Boston University Questrom School of Business. He was previously at the MIT Sloan School of Management and also served as Department Chair of Information Systems at the Boston University Questrom School of Business.Steven H. Davidson is Associate Dean, Academic Programs, at Boston University Questrom School of Business and served asthe lead Project Manager for the Business Education Jam. In his role as Associate Dean, Steven provides leadership for cross-program efforts including assessment, program research, accreditation, and the development, support, and implementation of curricular initiatives, program enhancements, and academic policy.

In early autumn of 2014 over 5,000 people brainstormed on how to close the gap between business and academics in a massive online discussion and debate about the future of business education. In the current context of the growing divide between business and academy, global economic pressures, rapidly evolving technology, and a dynamic competitive landscape, the Business Education Jam explicitly articulated key challenges and provided a bridge to facilitate real conversation. This volume cites four things business education needs to do to continue to survive and prosper, which revolve around, in brief: quality control; spotlighting educational and developmental aspects of business training while deemphasizing the assessment of programs; renewing emphasis on education and addressing student culture and misbehavior; and, finally, looking at the effect of business education on ethics and values.

• 1. The Need for Real Innovation in Business Education2. Critical Challenges3. Enabling a Global Conversation – The Business Education Jam4. The Emerging Impact of Open Innovation 5. Addressing the Gap between Theory and Practice 6. Reimagining Business Education 7. Next Steps: Where Do We Go from Here?