Executives Find 'B' School Program Stiff Grind

Former professional golfer Harold L. "Jug" McSpaden, Major General Edward W. Anderson, and Baron Alexandre de Posson may appear to have little in common, but in truth they are linked by one of the strongest of bonds-they are all at present classmates at Harvard.

These three, along with 160 other business and industrial leaders, make up the present class in the Business School's Advanced Management Program, a 12-and-a half week course designed to bring executives up to date on theoretical work in their fields. They take no exams and receive no grades, yet they form one of the most conscientious groups in the University.

Being a member of the 21st Advanced Management Program is no three months of mere gay living. Each man must take six required courses-Business Policy. Administrative Practices, Business and the American Society, Cost and Financial Administration. Marketing Management, and Problems in Labor Relations.

In addition, there are optional seminars on related topics every afternoon; since "business curiosity" is the theoretical driving power for most of the members, the program encourages the taking of still more additional courses. For example. 90 men are enrolled in public Speaking.

Prerequisite Accomplishment

Criteria for admission to this executive training program are accomplishments rather than formal training. There are no educational prerequisites, and the courses are designed to supplement or serve in place of company methods for developing and upgrading their men.

To insure this practical approach to management problems, the Busy School "case method" of class discussion almost wholly replaces the usual lecture system of the College. The case studies used are all descriptions of real business situations.

The discussion-learning process has its adherents among the Program's members. Lawyer and oilman Hamilton P. Rogers, for instance, feels that this system places emphasis mostly on original thought, and is thus superior to the retrospective method used in Law Schools, where a student is constantly citing previous cases as a yardstick.

But when the management men get together for informal talk, the main criticism of their own program revolves around the presentation of the case material. For example, in a group interview, Ronald L. McVey complained that "management never does anything right in any of these cases. Everyone is an example of management doing something poorly."

"You learn by making mistakes," Rogers countered. "It's an advantage to see management's errors as an example of what not to do."

Many also complained because accomplished specialists in various fields are not allowed to take over the classes and seminars more often-especially when students have a better knowledge of a particular phase of a course than the professor.

Homework is Hard Work

Homework for the Program's enrollee's takes anywhere from three and one-half to four hours a day, on the average. But most members agreed with General Anderson, who said that although it takes "a little adjustment" to get back to studying again, being a student is no harder than being an executive.

A few men felt that this adjustment takes about a month-especially in getting accustomed to the quantity of assigned reading.

"And it takes a while to get used to being regulated. When you're used to regulating things yourself," commented Ingwald T. Monseith of Westinghouse Electric.

The members interviewed weren't sure just how rough the work was, however. When asked if he missed his eight-hour office day, Ralph Clark, who once worked in South Africa, remarked, "I've never known an eight-hour day; if I had, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Others sided with H. W. Eiser, who called work here "very much tougher" than his job of superintending transportation for United Gas Corp. Theodore I. Marine of the Pennsylvania Railroad, admitted "It would be somewhat of a relief to have a job I'm accustomed to."

Top course honors go to "Administrative Practices," taught by Joseph C. Bailey, associate professor of Human Relations, and "Business Policy" taught by Myles La Grange Mace, professor of Business Administration. Leading the field is Ross G. Walker, also a professor of Business Administration, who gives "Cost and Financial Administration."

All Sorts

Variety keynotes this spring's class. The A.M.P's represent 100 different companies, three armed services, and two government departments; the companies are expected to continue paying their executives' salaries while they are attending the program. Though there are several men famous both in and out of the business world, in the class, the typical member is likely to be about 45 years old, with 15 to 20 years of prior business experience.

One of the more popularly well-known men in the group is McSpaden, who is now Sales Promotion Director for Palm Beach clothes. He retired from professional golf five years ago after winning some 40 championships. Another well-known figure is James H. Lum, who was Executive Director of the Clinton Laboratory in Oak Ridge from 1945 to '47, Before Oak Ridges he spent four years working in Australia; is now with the Monsonto Chemical Company.

To help the A.M.P's get acquainted, they all must wear to classes, and in their Hamilton Hall Lounge a white lapel tag giving their name and that of the company that sent them. Offenders are fined a dollar, and the money thus accumulated is spent on a farewell party.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is somewhat famous for the basketball players on its staff. Until a few years ago even President Edward J. Thomas played on the Company team, and A.M.P. Marvin Huffman is no exception. Once a member of the Indians NCAA championship outfit, he joined Goodyear in 1940 and is now Assistant to the Vice president.

Sole full-time lawyer in the program is Jess N. Dalton of Goodrich, Dalton, and Little in Mexico City. He was the lawyer who, in 1928, got Trotsky's secretary. Sylvia Agleloff, cleared from an "accessory before the fact" charge in the Russian's murder. Dalton used this episode in his public speaking course, but emphasized that this was "only in the line of duty."

In Terms of Value...

Almost all the 163 members in the Advanced Management Program agree that the work is "different" and "provocative," although some question its tangible results. Class President Charles C. Duncan, for example, stated "I don't know if we're going to learn anything specific," while Hamilton Rogers're marked that although he thinks the program is worthwhile, he's still trying to find out what he has learned.

However, all the A.M.P.'s feel that meeting men from totally different fields, and gaining new outlooks, is the most valuable part of the program. The statement of Kenneth R. Webster, who's spent most of the past eight years as district manager for the Arabian American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia, pretty well sums it up for the representatives of both foreign and even United States businesses.

"I think this A.M.P. program is especially valuable for men employed abroad," he says. "One gets out of contact, and this brings one up to date."