Re-imagining the MBA: an arts-based approach

Abstract

The Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree is a long-standing, globally recognised qualification for aspiring business leaders. Yet, the qualification has changed little over its history, despite substantial changes in the role and practice of business. Notwithstanding much introspection, many MBA programmes have not been transformed. This is unsurprising, given that MBA programmes are a staple of most business schools and are valuable, monetarily and reputationally, in their current form. Nevertheless, a management qualification intended to tackle the wicked problems that beset contemporary organisations requires adoption of a pedagogy based on an epistemology of practice and a curriculum incorporating design thinking. Solutions need to include more responsive values, and a wider range of knowledge. This paper posits a solution which draws on Biggs’ constructive alignment approach to programme design, and has been enacted in a new arts-based MBA programme which is used as an example throughout.