Businesses would not be terrible if business education is actually tempered with some humanities. In fact, I am strongly of the opinion that every field of study should have some humanities component to them. None of the fields exist in vacuum, we have to have at least, some appreciation of other fields, lest we risk creating silos in the name of organization. And that is precisely happening in this age of hyper-specialization.
Everyone should have a strong base in STEM and the humanities. It irks me to no end when STEM majors can’t write, communicate, or understand a wider historical context just as it irks me when humanities majors claim to not understand basic algebra or scientific concepts. It’s fine to have a preference, but an expert engineer should have a passing familiarity with philosophy and ethics, just as a historian should have a passing familiarity with scientific laws and mathematics.
Then there’s business majors who have no familiarity with anything at all. If I had my druthers, “business school” wouldn’t even be an option at a university.
Not to knock college undergrad core curriculum, but that strong base ought to be acquired before graduating high school.
That’s what I’ve been saying since I was in high school. Going into college, the first year felt like High School 2.0. My English professor outright asked, “Why are you in this class? I have nothing I can teach you.” Funny how we can take a test after admission to show us which subjects we need remedial classes for, but no test for us to opt-out of subjects that we’ve already mastered. Still gotta take our money and waste our time because, you know, “requirements.”
Edit: I’ve heard some people say there are opt-out tests some places, but that clearly isn’t the default. Not at the community college I went to.
The world is powered by a collective STEAM engine:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics.
Arts is such a fundamental component for communicating advancements and inspiring the creativity that fuels further discoveries.
But, but KPI’s are how we know line go up.
Checkmate, artists!
The artists can assist by drawing a line that goes more up. Problem solved!
Notably, an esthetically pleasing line!
Can your esthetics be reduced into a number so we can put it in a line?
Yeah, didn’t thing so…
Now, get some philosopher to understand that “meta-kpi” thing. Where does it end? Where does it start? And make them reduce both to a number so we can use their work.
MBAs have destroyed the world. We used to have good paying jobs and affordable rent.
I’m sure there’s probably a few good MBA’s out there, using applied psychology to trick assholes into spending their money on the greater good.
I’ve never met one but, statistically, you know?
Hi, 'tis me, leftist with a business degree and minor in psychology that works in marketing. 🙃
“You know, spending money on welfare and education is a lot less expensive than prisons and having your stuff stolen.”
I’ve considered working in marketing, but I refuse to use my powers for evil.
The real problem is believing there’s an objective difference between art, science, humanities, etc. It’s an artificial division under capitalism between what’s directly useful for profit, control, etc. and what’s not.
Regardless, yeah fuck business school. That’s got no value to anybody.
As a STEM graduate, I would much rather hold hands with an econ graduate than a business graduate. Economists can do real good for the world, while MBAs seem to be mostly harmful.
Economists can do real good for the world
If you put 10 economists in a room, you’ll get 11 opinions.
Yeah, outside of some very rudimentary principals, macro-economics is basically astrology for MBA bros.
To be fair, there are some good retrospective economists. “A happened because of X, Y and Z.”
But an economist that predicts the future is always wrong, often spectacularly.
Oh, agreed. Retrospective economic research is valuable.
I have a PhD in research psychology, and worked with researchers in a lot of other disciplines. I have been mansplained about topics in my field (including the topic of my dissertation) by more MBAs than any other field. More often than not they are vastly oversimplifying or just getting things completely wrong. Try telling them that though and it’s like talking to a wall.
I wonder if their general incompetence at most things makes them desperate to be good at something that actually matters to the point that they feel the need to act smart about shit they don’t really understand. Especially when you think about the nature of their field and how horrible their peers are/also are it really starts to be a bad feedback loop. And then there’s the extra fun part about the kind of people that MBA programs attract in the first place.
It must be awful, them constantly having to justify their existence as parasites. I’d feel bad for them if they didn’t cause huge amounts of damage at all levels while avoiding therapy.
Yeah I do think there is something to the culture of MBA programs. All the information available for current and prospective students at my university was very much of the tone that mbas change the world. The halls of the business school were filled with famous rich people who’d visited the school or gifted money along with plaques about MBA grads and the amazing things they did. It’s just full of subtle reminders about how the degree is a gateway to being some big powerful person. I’m sure that makes an impact on the students’ attitudes.
Fucking finally we’re talking sense.
As an econ major with a BS, please don’t lump me in with the econ majors who went to business school for a MBA. I like cool math, not venture capitalism cancer.
The ownership class and their mba lackeys have done a real bang up job not only separating the two cultures, but getting them both to think through the mental model of business and profit whenever they’re pondering how to practice their profession.
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Who is holding them up in the sky?
Astrology!
The only problem is that VIVALDI could not implement feature of 5 minutes of work which was requested many years ago. Fuck’em.
Just want to chime in and say that Karl Marx was also an econ major.
Yet, being an economist, he also neglected to base his theories in any real science, only in “business science”, which is why I’m a proponent of Kropotkin instead.
I love my artists. Without their graceful hands, I would’ve never made it through school with much depth!
