Marquis Argues for Business School Reinvention Over Abolition, Citing Curriculum and Incentive Failures

Key points

• Marquis’s Oct. 18 New York Times essay, titled 'I Teach at a Business School. It’s Time to Shut Them Down,' generated hundreds of messages from deans, students, and applicants, indicating widespread resonance with his critique of business education.
• The professor clarifies that 'abolition' was a provocative headline chosen by a Times editor; his actual goal is the reinvention of business schools through curriculum redesign and altered faculty incentives.
• Marquis cites the University of Vermont’s Sustainable Innovation MBA, co-founded by Stuart Hart, as a model for integrating sustainability and social impact into every course, including finance and accounting, rather than treating them as add-ons.
• He argues that current faculty incentives reward selling big ideas over producing knowledge, contrasting this with the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF), which ties funding to real-world impact and influences hiring decisions at institutions like Cambridge Judge.
• Marquis observes that students often abandon altruistic ambitions within 14 weeks of starting an MBA, driven by 'FOMO,' recruiting events, and the allure of high-paying roles at firms like McKinsey, despite six-figure tuition debt.
• He notes that about 90% of responses to his essay have been supportive, with many readers expressing that he articulated feelings they had previously struggled to name, though some dismissed the piece as an ideological rant.

Background

This story follows Marquis’s Oct. 18 New York Times essay, which sparked significant debate in the business education community. The essay’s provocative headline, 'I Teach at a Business School. It’s Time to Shut Them Down,' drew widespread attention, leading to hundreds of messages from various stakeholders. Marquis’s critique is rooted in his decade at Harvard Business School, where he observed the commercialization of case studies and the rapid shift in student priorities. His call for reinvention aligns with broader concerns about the relevance and impact of business education in addressing global challenges like climate change and inequality.

Why it matters

Marquis’s critique highlights a fundamental disconnect between the stated goals of MBA programs and their actual outcomes, suggesting that current structures may undermine the very values they claim to promote. His proposal for curriculum and incentive reform could influence how business schools approach education, potentially leading to more sustainable and impactful graduates. The debate also raises questions about the role of business education in addressing societal challenges and the need for systemic changes to ensure that business leaders are equipped to handle long-term existential crises.

What to watch

Marquis plans to continue advocating for business school reform, including through talks and further publications. He has indicated that he has additional content, including a section on MBA recruiting, that did not make the final version of his essay. The response to his essay suggests that there is significant interest in rethinking business education, and his ideas may influence future curriculum and faculty incentive reforms at various institutions.