Department/School
Catholic Studies; Veritas Institute
Date of this version
2010
Document Type
Article
Keywords
business studies, culture, financial economics, thinking
Abstract
Purpose – Business education should be seen as a form of professional education which assists the student to acquire the virtue of practical wisdom. This article seeks to discuss the issues.
Design/methodology/approach – A middle level thinking (MLT) approach is taken to engage business education and practice that seeks to fashion explicit and vibrant ties between broad ethical principles and the concrete decisions, policies, and processes which shape how an organization operates.
Findings – The financial crisis of 2008 and past business scandals are symptoms of a broader cultural crisis. Universities and their business schools have contributed to this cultural crisis by providing students with an overly compartmentalized and specialized form of education. Business education must be re-envisioned as professional education which prepares students to engage in a form of middle level thinking (MLT). For this kind of thinking to become sustainable within a university context, it must draw upon the university's own cultural mission; otherwise, it will be susceptible to the economic and specialized pressures which bear upon these institutions.
Published in
Journal of Management Education
Citation/Other Information
Journal of Management Development
Vol. 29 No. 7/8, 2010
pp. 669-677
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0262-1711
DOI 10.1108/02621711011059103