History of MBA schools in canada

Originally, MBA programs were 2 years in duration with the first year devoted to the teaching of a core of business fundamentals and the second year focussing on education in either general management or in an area of concentration as chosen by the student. However, by the late 1970s to early 1980s, there was increasing dissatisfaction, especially on the part of the business community, with two aspects of the MBA programs being offered. Firstly, there was objection to the tendency to educate students in the theoretical knowledge of business while ignoring the teaching of its practical applications; that is, the curriculum was divorced from reality. Secondly, business education was criticized as being crude and amateurish because it was individuals with little or no direct experience and/or formal education in business who were primarily teaching it. Thus, beginning in the late 1970s, graduate business education increasingly blended theoretical with practical knowledge, including, in rare cases, the introduction of cooperative learning. Moreover, the standards of business education were improved by requiring future instructors to have at least an extensive, formal business education, with preference awarded to those with direct business experience. As a result of the latter, it is common today for post-secondary business educators to be former business people and entrepreneurs who not only teach the required curriculum but also divulge personal knowledge and advice accrued during their respective careers. As the business world has continued to change, so to has the form and content of MBA programs. For example, while the traditional 2-year MBA program still exists at the dawn of the 21st century, since the mid-1990s industry- and sector-specific MBA degrees have been offered, and programs have moved beyond simply teaching business fundamentals and disciplines and into developing students' "soft" skills such as analytical, communication, leadership, broadly defined, interpersonal, networking, and teamwork abilities.

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