The Dean of Harvard Business School, Prof. Jay O. Light, spoke at IESE (University of Navarra) today about the future of business education. In his opening statements, Light expressed his joy to visit IESE on the eve of its 50th anniversary and described the shared history between IESE and Harvard Business School as a "deeply valued collaboration."

Addressing some 400 IESE Alumni and friends, Light focused upon the evolution and future of management education, specifically the MBA program, whose relevance has become a subject of international debate in recent times.

Shedding some light on the history of management education, Light stated that business schools were developed in order to "instill values and develop character in professional managers, to impart a sense of responsibility and to understand what role business should play in society."

Light argues that MBA programs are predominantly criticized for three main reasons. The past decade has seen numerous corporate scandals in large companies, particularly in the US. This reflects badly upon management education and its efforts to instill values and responsible management. Secondly, academic discipline and research diverged from everyday managerial relevance. The third factor, argued Light, is a commoditization of the program where the tools, theories and frameworks taught are widely available in a number of different formats, such as day courses and online programs.

In response to such criticism, business schools have to recognize the truth in some of these concerns.

This raises the question, is the MBA still relevant?

Light¿s answer is, of course, yes. "If your goal is to develop business judgment, to analyze complex business situations, to understand what the right questions are, to set priorities, to make decisions, to understand the agenda for change, and to communicate and lead effectively, then an MBA is very relevant."

Light argues that with recent forces such as globalization, global competition, and the rapid rate of technological advancement, it is now a time when an MBA should be at its most valued. "It is a time when it is necessary to understand what the important questions are, and these worldwide changes make business leadership and judgment more important than ever."

Despite many variants of the MBA program emerging in recent years, Light stressed the importance of a prolonged learning period, "in order to develop attitudes and values necessary for top management, there has to be an intensive learning process where the faculty and students actively engage." The nature of the MBA program allows students to learn to think about complex business situations and to understand that they must continually learn and think about their judgment, leadership style and character.

What does the future hold?

"The future could not be brighter," says Light. Due to the rapidly expanding economy, there is an increasing demand for more managers each year, and with the rapid advancement of technology, there will be new delivery vehicles in which to develop new techniques and develop managers.

However, the world of management education has many challenges to face and as the world continues to globalize, management education in general needs to adapt at a faster rate.

To cite an example, Light stressed the importance of understanding more about different industries, especially those that are science based. He stated that Harvard Business School will begin to integrate more with other professional schools in order to develop MBA programs in collaboration with other areas such as medicine and government. "The world is changing and there is demand for managers who can cross these intellectual bridges."