Book Review

Managers Not MBAs

Dr. V. B. Godbole
In an article written about the MBA in Fortune in 1968, the author Sheldon Zalazinck wrote „The
Idea that the graduate school of business is the principal source of top executive talent has been
allowed to flourish unexamined‟. The author of the book „Managers Not MBAs‟, Henry
Mintzberg completely rejects this idea. He argues that the MBA was first introduced in 1908, it
last underwent serious revision based on the two reports published in the late 1950s.Even as of
today the MBA is a 1908 degree with a 1950s strategy, he says. Part I of his book develops this
conclusion and part II of the book dwells on the author‟s ideas about developing managers.

The author says that conventional MBA programs train the wrong people, in the wrong ways
with the wrong consequences .This is the argument of Part I of the book .The first chapter is
about wrong people, the second chapter is about the wrong ways, the next four about the wrong
consequences. Chapter 7 considers recent changes in MBA programs, concluding that most of
them are cosmetic.

The author explains that by “conventional” MBA , he means full –time programs that take
relatively young people , generally in their twenties and train them mostly in business functions,
independent of any specific experience in management .This is the core of most of the MBA
programs today , all over the world , the author argues. The author adds that EMBAs take more
experienced people on a part time basis and then do the same thing. They take the right people in
the wrong ways with the wrong consequences .This is because they fail to use the experience
these people have, the author goes on the add.

The author accepts that today MBA programs are at height of their popularity, the MBA
graduates are in great demand and the American business hiring them is at its greatest stage of
development. But the author claims that their success is delusory because these MBAs have little
firsthand knowledge of customers and workers, products and Processing. They are supposed to
manage people who have this knowledge gained through intensive personal experience. But
because these experienced people don‟t have the MBA degree they are relegated to a “slow
track” where they are subjected to leadership of people who lack the legitimacy to lead.

The author also goes on to add that management and leadership are one and the same because
managers have to lead and leaders have to manage. He argues that management without
leadership is sterile and leadership without management is disconnected. Let us not cede
management to leadership in MBA programs, he adds.
The author also says that in MBA programs, a balanced attention needs to be given to both
management and business. Hence he argues that the institutions giving MBA degree should be
referred to M/B schools and that is the appropriate role for most of them.

Part II is about developing management. It has 8 chapters. Chapter 8 reviews management

development, practice within and without the managers‟ own organization .There is a richness
here that begs to be married with management education, the author says .Chapter 9 suggests
how this marriage might take place in principle. Chapter 10 through 14 shows how it has taken
place in practice, in a family of programs developed by the author with his colleague‟s .The final
chapter says that business schools must convert themselves into the management schools.

The author says that today we have schools of business without much management. Perhaps
some will recognize their devotion to business and end the pretense of developing managers .The
author also hopes that many others will seriously become managerial. We require better
managing in this world and need serious educational institutions to help get us there, he says.

The author concludes that he never became the dean of a business school but if ever he becomes
a dean he will build the first good management school.

A business or a management school can never help the students to come on top of all real life
business situations .It opens up their minds to different ideas and gives them a methodology to
think, analyze and conceptualize. By using this methodology they are supposed to overcome
hurdles in corporate career .Experience of course is the best teacher but how much experience
one requires depends on his intelligence and perceptivity and the rigorous selection process in
good B-Schools ensures that the students have both .The author seems to be a frustrated
intellectual that he never become the dean of a B-School.

An average book

Reference & Bibliography

Author: Mintzberg Henry

Titles : Managers Not MBAs
Pub: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd
Acc.No.24657
Class No.658.00711/MIN