the conference with an interview with one of management education’s most knowledgeable and respected figures, John Quelch, dean of the University of Miami Herbert Business School. Wilson began by asking Quelch if he believed the outlook for US business schools over the next three to five years is as dire as has sometimes been predicted. Quelch noted that the MBA qualification was founded more than 100 years ago, so it has certainly stood the test of time; it has achieved this not by teaching the same year on year, but by “adapting curricula and content for new business needs”. In his opinion, most US universities see business schools as “important cash cows” that subsidise other elements of their activities. He also acknowledged drew attention to the 20-point increase in the percentage of employers who consider an online MBA to be as valid as an in-person one. He noted that he expected demand for online courses to continue, as there is a need for “multiple variants for different segments of the market”. He cautioned, however, that a problem with scale might be the result, giving the example of the demand for a night-time MBA, which could in theory end up with only 20 students enrolled. “Mass customisation is great, but there is a need for sufficient scale because, if not, over-segmentation leads to scale inefficiencies, plus networking opportunities significantly decline,” commented Quelch. He noted that with more than 3,000 undergraduates at Herbert Business School, there is always going to be significant demand for a residential campus experience, as the university offers such “a great location and a beautiful site”. He remarked on how hybrid teaching has “proved onerous” and agreed that online courses can create additional work for faculty staff; but he believes that it could work out cheaper in the long run. Commenting on student flows between Latin America and the US, Quelch described the outlook as “challenging”, noting that the current exchange rate is “not conducive”, and he referenced how Spanish schools are undercutting institutions such as his own. the role that accreditation bodies play in “sustaining and enforcing standards to resist any dumbing down” of the curriculum. When asked how he imagined the optimum face-to-face, hybrid and online balance might evolve, Quelch For US students going to the region, he alluded to “a content issue due to the nature of the courses offered”. He added that some colleagues feel that it is too restrictive just to work with Latin America; they want to be “global rather than hemispheric”, but he advocated “seizing the opportunity” that comes with being a neighbour. Wilson then moved on to the topic of responsible management and sustainability, which have become crucial components of MBA programmes in recent years. He
AMBA & BGA chief executive Andrew Main Wilson (left) with John Quelch, dean of the
Miami Herbert Business School
asked Quelch whether global disruptions, such as Covid-19, geopolitical tensions, the war in Ukraine, and energy supply pressures, might derail the significant progress achieved. Quelch recalled having published an article on corporate social responsibility in 2008, questioning whether at that time it could survive the recession. He asserted that it is “unlikely to be thrown under the bus”, pointing to how companies that invest in ESG initiatives tend to push up the market value of their stock. However, he added a caveat: in the present cost-of-living crisis, there is a renewed emphasis on finance and economics, so “it’s a tougher agenda to push”.
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