Exams

A test...of more text..
At the ripe old age of 44, i'm cruising up to my third exam, in two years. I'm going to be finishing my second year of an Open University MBA next month, and I have one more year, (two more courses) to complete. I have been fairly good with the running scores that they give you for course work, averaging higer than 80%, but have really done badly with the exams. I DO think that the exams are a bit of a strange thing. I know that the markers, have only a few ways of assessing you and virtually no time to do it...but if my marks can be so divergent (41 in the last exam - 39 is a fail!)...what is going wrong?

Clearly, there is a very strong and, given my limited capabilities, likely chance that I just dont know the stuff. But I DO understand it well enough to get the course marks. The fact is that I find it difficult, and slightly pointless to memorise what are no more than flawed theories. The way that we adopt the latest theory in business, and behave as if it will prevail long term, is counter to all the evidence that suggests that most of the theories that were hot even ten years ago, like Business Process Re-engineering, JIT, Quality circles, 360 degree feedback and others, have been fashionable, only to wane. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't read about these things, and learn from the past. It is all to true that we are constantly re-inventing the same processes and having the same 'groundbreaking' thoughts, as our forefathers, only the context changes and perhaps the use of language. What I am suggeting however is that the process of teaching business school students to be able to spout the theories and their authors, apply them to case studies and real life, and qualify from the University with a mindset that says 'I know what i'm doing' is dangerous.

If we are to really improve the way that managers manage, they really ought to be taught HOW to think for themselves. I mean by this that the level at which we are digesting these ideas is basic. There is little thought given to the cognitive processes that we ought to be propagating. At this level, social psychology should be a major part of the curriculum. If the aim of modern management is to improve efficiency in the workplace, then it really makes sense to me, to teach them about the functioning of the most difficult to manage entity, the employee.

Rough draft...sorry its a test.