Business One Would Not Think That Dean Essay

Business

One would not think that dean of a business school could learn anything of major importance from the principal of an elementary school, but that is exactly what happened to Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Martin made a connection between the way the principal at his son's school approached her job and the "approach taken by the managing partner of a successful international law firm in town." (Wallace, 2010) The method involved the use of "critical thinking," or the ability to deal with ever-changing situations in ways that are creative and innovative. Martin realized that critical thinking was an important aspect of success in business and set to implementing elements of it in his graduate program.

Ever since the late 1950's the curriculum that dominated the nation's business schools "has involved separate disciplines like finance, marketing and strategy, with an emphasis on quantifiable analysis and methods." (Wallace, 2010) This traditional curriculum did not have an emphasis on the critical thinking that a liberal arts background could provide. As a result, the business community that was created was stagnant and unable to adapt to the new global emphasis, and failed to successfully cope with recent economic turns. What the business community needed was to get away from the limited way of thinking created by the traditional curriculum and move toward the use of the critical thinking that a liberal arts curriculum can provide.

In order to teach more effective business skills, the kind that can deal with the ever-changing global situations business finds itself in the 21st century, business schools are beginning to incorporate courses into their curriculum that have, in the past, been associated with the liberal arts. For example,….....