21st Century MBA

Mike Madarasz

As I wrapped up a group paper this week I realized that I don’t personally know two members of my group and this was the fourth assignment we had done together.  The work was divided up via e-mail and the assignment completed via a Google Doc.  Therefore, I could not pick two of my group members out of a lineup if I had to.  This has become pretty standard in the year 2012.  Obviously for certain types of projects group meetings are required but for many others the work can be completed entirely online without ever having to meet in person. 

The MBA program in particular is very heavy on group work and I cannot imagine trying to complete all of it even 20 years ago.  Obviously group meetings would be required at least a couple of times to complete assignments.  Not to mention it would be much more difficult to coordinate these meetings and communicate as a group without e-mail or cell phones.  In addition, the collaboration would require much more than a simple cut and paste.  On top of all of that, producing a report wasn’t as simple as typing it up on Microsoft Word.  I can only imagine how much more time these types of projects must have taken.

The other implication of this is that technology has taken some of the face to face interaction out of the MBA program.  There is something to be said for the chance to improve one’s ability to work in groups and communication skills in grad school.  Some say that this is an important component of an MBA.  I personally do not feel like I am missing out on that element of my education and would much rather have the convenience of 21^st century technology.  Along those lines, the future of business lies in the hand’s of this technology and it is just as beneficial to become comfortable with it now.