Management education is fit to find a place in the trash bags. No, not trash bags - they can be used as door mats. Well, if at all you deem them deserving a place in home at all, that is.
The reasoning behind this statement that reminds management thinkers of the rightful place of their first love is simple enough. Management theory talks about leadership; leadership talks of control, of decision making, of responsibilities, of Accountabilities! I don't mean to delve into the depths of any of these jargons. Just to get some facts straight, Strategic Planning is supposed to have been born in the US during the World Wars. The United States call themselves pioneers in having brought Management studies from the drawing boards of the War Zones to the public domain through their famed Business Schools. The United States is the most powerful bully on Planet Earth and it's President is supposed to author most of its bullying tactics. Put them all together, the President of the United States is supposed to be the individual that has the maximum quantum of Accountability in the globe!
Ectics in Business was brought into focus for the first time when huge empires crumbled to pieces, dragging along with them, dreams of millions and dollars in trillions, when Accounting fraud was the buzzword in the US. It took a while before investors mustered courage to invest in shares again. However, the skeletons in the Boardroom were very much brought to light by the ridiculous lust for money by men in dark suites. It was a hard lesson that Management Schools had to learn and they scurried to fix the holes in their syllabus when it came to Business Ethics.
Then was the turn of the war lords to come down heavily with all their might on the distant, remote prospects of a sovereign state being in a position to prepare and deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction. The President argued passionately, addressing an International delegation, reasoning how Iraq posed a grave threat to the entire humanity. Poor Blair had no option but to say "Yes President". UN Weapons Inspectors pleaded for time as they found nothing to substantiate the Western allegations. They were brushed aside as Iraq was pounded.
After the war was officially declared over, shocking images of obscenities were flashed across the world, from the prisons of Iraq. A few scape goats were brought to justice. The duo of Bush and Blair have gone on record, after Mr Saddam Hussain was shackled, that they made their decisions based on misleading Intelligence reports! The two still continue to occupy their chairs. And worse, they have set their sights on Iran now! To be able to murder thousands in cold blood and then go ahead with their next massacre plans must be a juicy proposition for vampires who are thirsty for blood!
So, the proud Business Schools of the United States of America might consider pondering over what went wrong with their theories of Accountability in leadership and getting back to their basics, so much so that they fall pathetically short of having any validity for practice when it came to the highest authority in their own Great Nation. Whether it's about a sole proprietorship business with a turnover of a couple of thousand dollars or the arena of International Politics with Strategies that touch the lives of billions, Management theory must hold the key to explain leadership and it's effect on subjects. To explain away the fees in thousands as being charged for a study that operates in vacuum and to continue pitching for prospects for courses in Executive Education is a farce, when the most powerful leaders prove leadership theories, the worst mistakes of management.