1. What should Business Schools Do?
The Current Crisis:
What should Business Schools Do?
Professor Kulwant Singh
Deputy Dean
NUS Business School

2. AWSJ, 18 February 2009
Today, 17 February 2009

3. OUR ROLE IN THE CRISIS
Business Schools are not responsible for the crisis
But we are not free of blame
Have we lost touch with the “real world”?
Students not prepared for the profession of management or
Have we moved too close to business
Application has become our focus, not education

4. STRATEGY IN CRISIS: OVERVIEW
Respond in stages
Survive
Stabilize
Strategize
Internal
Factors
Severity of the situation
Rebuild
Re-focus
Restructure
Re-energize
External
Factors

5. REBUILDING BUSINESS SCHOOLS
Re-focus on basics
Educate students for their careers and to be citizens of society
Prepare them to be professional managers
Appropriate balance for undergraduates and graduates
Eliminate the myth that we train CEOs
Restructure
Emphasize education & conceptual development
Research driven focus on core body of knowledge
Practical skills are useful complements
Discard fads: we are not consultants
Re-energize
Regain trust, re-assert our values and value
Help deal with the crisis
Rebuild
Re-focus
Restructure
Re-energize

6. NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL Educate the public
12 part newspaper series on crisis (October 2008)
Second 12 part series on dealing with crisis (January 2009)
Third 12 part series on Globalisation (February 2009)
Forums to update students and managers
Students
One-credit course on the crisis
Increased financial assistance for students
Introduce issues into relevant modules
Review programmes to strengthen focus on core
Employment
Alumni run programmes to prepare students
Increased placement efforts
Programmes for managers facing transition