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This research paper explores the type and amount of business communication education given to students in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes, and offers insight into the thinking of those who supervise and teach business communication within those programmes. While this particular research study focuses on US MBA schools, it is advocated that this subject and research findings have global relevance. Communication and public relations skills have been recognised as being critical to the success of aspiring managers and business leaders. Prospective managers need to possess not only the skills of communication, but also an appreciation of strategic business communication factors. However, most MBA curricula do not require or recommend communication education for students. This paper compares the findings of two studies: research conducted in 1995–96 (n = 215, 31.5 per cent response rate) replicated a 1991 study (n = 51, 26 per cent response rate). In addition, the paper discusses prior research on the subject and the role and quality of business communication currently found in MBA curricula. It also includes a model communication curriculum for MBA programmes and proposes suggestions for additional research.

Curricula for MBA programmes are designed to meet business needs and are continuously monitored and reviewed as needs change with time. Examines the content of an MBA programme at a leading UK business school and its effects on its graduates. A survey of the alumni from this MBA programme brought 344 responses. Analysis demonstrates how MBA studies have provided for individuals and their employers and also some improvements thought necessary by graduates who are now working managers. They responded well to the competences gained during their studies and found a good fit with their needs in their business life. The responses from the study enable potential improvements to the curriculum to be evaluated against the benefits to the graduate’s working life.

The purpose of the paper is to determine possible grouping of similar MBA programmes offered by 45 British and French business schools accredited by the Association of Master Business Administration (AMBA) as of January 2006.

The study uses the statistical co‐plot method reported in a similar study of leading full time MBA programmes in the USA. The method is used to map/group the schools according to both core and elective units offered by the business schools.

The paper outlines the features of the six groups of MBA programmes found (Cluster 1: Manchester and Bath; Cluster 2: Warwick, Lancaster and London; Cluster 3: five top French business schools and Cranfield; Cluster 4: two French schools – Grenoble and Audiencia‐Nantes; Cluster 5: two French schools – ENPC‐EAP and IEP; Cluster 6: the remaining UK MBA programmes). The differentiating characteristics of core and option units offered by business schools in each cluster are described and discussed.

The study makes a contribution under the application area of international business education (specifically the design of MBA programmes), as well as in the area of statistical analysis by using co‐plot cluster analysis, an approach not used before when comparing UK and French Business schools to explore aspects of curriculum design.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of cultural intelligence in MBA curricula. Shaping global corporate culture that manifests itself in powerful‐shared values, group behavior, and persists despite changes in‐group membership is decisive to organizational performance. In turn, cultural intelligence (CQ), defined, as an individual's capability to function and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings, has recently emerged as a likely indicator of management ability and leadership potential.

The authors utilized the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) – metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral – to capture data from MBA students attending three universities in the USA.

These results, coupled with the open‐ended survey responses, suggest that in general the students have a firm understanding on why CQ is essential in an increasingly globalized business world, as well as a strong desire to interact with other cultures. However, although students appear highly motivated to study about other cultures, the results indicate that many of the MBA students lack an in‐depth knowledge of the values, beliefs, and practices of other cultures. Further, the data suggest that the most important attributes that increase an individual's CQ are international work experience, learning an additional language other than English, and/or obtaining an undergraduate degree from a foreign country.

This is the first empirical study to examine the role of cultural intelligence in MBA curricula.

To investigate the skills and abilities that MBAs who study marketing, those occupying marketing positions, and companies that hire marketers regard as important; the level of competency required to perform on the job; and areas that need improvement, whether through on‐the‐job training, continuing education, or changes in MBA curricula.

Large‐scale international longitudinal and cross‐sectional surveys used to assess skill development, skill requirements, and the need for additional education provides the foundation of this paper. The data are obtained from three surveys conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council: Global MBA Graduate Survey, MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey, and Corporate Recruiters Survey.

Understanding the perspectives of different constituencies provides an in‐depth and comprehensive view of the skills and abilities needed by those who work in marketing. Without the assistance of a crystal ball to peer into the future, an empirical investigation is required into the relationship between skill development in the classroom, practical use of skills in the field, and the requirements of hiring companies for graduates. The paper identifies a thinking‐doing divide, discusses why it exists, and suggests how it may be corrected.

The research, although consisting of large international samples, is limited to students and alumni of graduate business schools and companies that hire MBAs. Even though the scope of the samples is limited to more advanced practitioners, the information is useful to faculty, students, and companies at all levels to assist in developing marketers of the future.

This paper presents data from three viewpoints that taken together yield a comprehensive picture of graduate education for marketers as it exists today, and clearly suggests directions for graduate education of future marketers.

Business schools have been under fire for their alleged inefficacy in developing students’ managerial skills in MBA programs. On the basis of extant learning theories, the purpose of this paper is to propose a reconsideration of learning goals and assessment procedures for managerial skill development within MBA education.

The authors review the literatures on stage, experiential, social, and action learning theories to identify pedagogical suggestions for optimal skill development and to highlight the constraints program administrators and teachers face in efforts to advance students’ acquisition of complex managerial skills in MBA classrooms.

Conceptually, the authors argue that an emphasis on mastering complex managerial skills – as an expected learning outcome – might be an overly ambitious goal that can lead to neglecting early attainments in skill acquisition and create false impressions of MBA program failure. Furthermore, the authors discuss how MBA programs could consider the use of newer evaluation procedures for evaluating skill development.

The paper calls for greater attention to intermediate stages of managerial skill development for establishing learning goals, the consideration of knowledge structures for assessing the degree of skill development, and a focus on managerial skill development as a life‐long process.

This study investigates the compatibility of leadership values taught on MBA programmes in the United Kingdom (UK) and the expected, accepted and effective leadership values in three non‐western cultures. The study was conducted on 272 full‐time MBA graduates from Asian, Arab and African countries soon after obtaining an MBA from UK business schools. The analysis reveals that leadership curricula on MBA programmes is broadly conceived in the US corpus and assumes universality. The ethnocentric approach to the teaching of leadership is due to a large extent to the unavailability of alternative theories and published empirical evidence outside the USA and the low level of faculty expertise and interest in international dimensions of effective leadership styles. The research argues that there is a need for western management schools to adopt a more eclectic view of leadership teaching and to cast their perspective beyond western idiosyncrasies and include non‐western business perspectives.

This paper aims to look at the reaction of business school deans to recently voiced disapprovals of MBA programs and seek to provide a glance into the future of the MBA degree in ten years' time.

Debates that took place at two influential deans meetings of EFMD and AACSB as well as GMAC statistics provide the main data sources on which the paper develops arguments.

Business schools in general and MBA programs in particular are set to survive the coming decade. However, there is an urgent need to rebalance the curriculum in order to produce graduates who combine analytical capabilities, managerial skills and attention to ethics and CSR. The paper suggests that key institutions such as AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA and GMAC need to take a fresh look at the future role of business schools in an increasingly globalized context.

The paper predicts that, in future, society will demand more professional and responsible managers. For MBA programs, this implies a need for substantial changes, both in content and in the mode of delivery.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a well-known practice among organizations around the world. It has become a refreshing alternative of conceiving and doing business that encompasses economic, social, and environmental operations for achieving competitive advantage.

Librarians in higher education have adopted curriculum mapping in an effort to determine where effective information literacy instruction can help fill gaps in the curriculum and prepare students for both coursework and future research demands. While curriculum mapping has been used widely across academia, few studies have considered business curriculum and the development of information literacy instruction. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current landscape of curriculum mapping across business courses at two institutions and a replicable methodology for other institutions.

In this paper, the authors will examine two case studies at large research universities that evaluate curriculum mapping against the BRASS Business Research Competencies at the undergraduate and the graduate business levels.

This study found that the Business Research Competencies are a valid method to evaluate in both case studies. Curriculum mapping also uncovered various gaps in business education across the curricula at both institutions and led to open discussions with faculty in an effort to improve the success of students both during their degree programs and into their careers.

This study provides a framework and methodology for evaluating business curriculums against robust standards to improve student success. With examples from undergraduate and graduate programs, the results of this project promise to have long-lasting implications on the development of curriculums across business programs, including the value of librarian support in developing Business Research Competencies.