Evaluating the leadership development components of an MBA programme

Abstract

Business schools need to provide graduates with the training to enable them to ask the right questions and make observations from different perspectives and at different levels. Even though MBA programmes typically focus on developing general management skills, critics still argue that MBA graduates do not have the skills required to effectively manage people. The research aimed to address the gaps in the research and provide some recommendations from a South African context by looking at the impact of the MBA on leadership development and personal change. A descriptive research approach was followed to obtain the views of students on the impact of the MBA on personal change and leadership development. A selfadministered questionnaire supported the quantitative design. The population of the study included all GIBS MBA students that completed their studies within the last five years, or that are in the process of completing their studies. This research has shown that the despairing picture of the future of leadership development, as part of the MBA, which is reflected by a lot of popular literature, is not entirely justified. Overall, the results from this study indicated that the MBA has a positive impact on the personal change and leadership development of an individual. The leadership theme might need to be more explicit throughout the MBA. This could either take the form of the extension of the LEAD module across the two years as a full leadership module, supplemented by individual; and/or group coaching, a compulsory elective on leadership, and/or more leaders from industry speaking on leadership. The research highlighted the importance of working in teams, practical application of learning and reflection as critical components for leadership development and personal change during an MBA. As far as this research could determine, there are no major differences between different genders, race groups or management level as far as their perception of the leadership development and personal change of the MBA is concerned. It would seem that the context in which these different groups might have a bigger impact on how they operate.