Do Business Schools Value the Competencies That Businesses Value?

The authors used survey research to determine the congruence among the competencies that businesses identify as being indicative of successful managers, the competencies that business schools identify as being indicative of successful graduates, and the competencies that are emphasized in business school curricula. The results show that although businesses and business schools essentially agree on the competencies that identify successful managers and graduates, business schools do not emphasize these competencies in their curricula. Because one of the main goals of business schools is to prepare their graduates for managerial careers after graduation, these results suggest that business schools should do more to align their curricula with the desires of businesses.