Clark Leads MBA Program Overhaul

Abhijit M. Ingle has a more useful Web home page than most.

Across the top are links to the home pages of his five classes and below are lists of his assignments for that day and the next as well as messages from professors, all updated automatically every day.

"I was just blown away by what they did," says Ingle, a second-year student at the Harvard Business School (HBS). "They took the Internet to a level I hadn't imagined was possible."

All of the technology that makes these personalized Web pages possible has been implemented in the last year since Business School Dean Kim B. Clark '74 took office.

And it is only the beginning of the changes he has helped institute. As one professor says, the honeymoon is not yet over.

At the beginning of his second year in office, Clark says he feels the changes he has made and those being planned have the school moving in the right direction.

Since he replaced former dean John H. McArthur, Clark has begun what many call a revolution in the way business is taught by vastly increasing the uses of technology in and out of the classroom.

At the same time, he has overhauled the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program at the business school, changing its calendar and adding new elements to its curriculum.

So far, the response from students and faculty alike has been overwhelmingly positive.

At the same time, Clark says many challenges remain. Although he says he is confident in the direction of the school, Clark acknowledges that many of the details are yet to be worked out.

The New MBA

From the moment they apply, prospective HBS students will be able to see the effects of Clark's vision for the MBA program.

This year, for the first time in more than a decade, HBS requires applicants to take the GRE, ending a long prejudice at the school against standardized testing.

Clark says the testing will allow the admissions committee to gather more specific comparative data about individual students, which may help the school admit people from more diverse backgrounds.

"It's really important that people understand that we are creating a program of development experience for our students...that we think it is important in teaching young people to make them leaders for the future," Clark says.

The showpiece of the new curriculum is the "Foundations Program," three courses given to first-year students designed to give them a broader introduction to the world of business while providing them with the quantitative methods they will use over the course of their time at HBS.

Now instead of taking five classes right away, as was customary, new HBS students take one class on business history, one on ethics and decision-making and one on quantitative methods.

Clark and other professors hail the new classes as making the HBS education more complete than it had been before. They also claim the classes make the transition to case-based education easier for students.

Students say they agree that the Foundations program makes coming to HBS easier by lowering competition at the beginning of their time there and, as many observed, "leveling the playing field" by ensuring that all students have the same corpus of basic skills.

"It's good for practicing the way you study cases, analyze cases and participate in class," says Brigitte G. Godi, a first-year student. "Not everyone is familiar with the case method, and [the Foundations program] is a good way to get your feet wet."

Most students' first reaction, however, is not to praise the program itself but one of its side benefits--the opportunity to better network with their classmates. In the past, students were segmented into sections of 90 and stayed together for their two years. In the Foundations program, though, they get to interact with a much larger number of students than before.

"Foundations has been outstanding in meeting my peers," says first-year student Conn P. Jackson.

As for the actual course-work, students are often less enthusiastic. While they acknowledge it is usually interesting, many complain that it often doesn't teach them anything they don't already know.

"I think it is valuable for some more than others," says first-year Brian E. Krim. "Quant is great for those with no quantitative skills, but I know it's not valuable to a good portion of the class."

Harding Professor of Business H. Kent Bowen says the explanation for the varying usefulness of the Foundations program is that the school now admits--and as a result of the program will be able to admit--a far greater variety of students than it did in the past.

"One of the exciting things is the incredible diversity of students," Bowen says. "One of difficult things in teaching is the incredible diversity of students."

Information Technology

Clark lists the increase in the use of information technology first among his ideas about the direction of the business school.

"We are very strongly committed to bringing information technology into the heart of the school," Clark says.

The business school has a long history of emphasizing technology, including being the first business school in the country to require students to own a personal computer, Clark says. Computers have long been required for statistical analysis and exam-taking in some classes.

"It's not like we woke up on October 1st and discovered the computer," Clark says.

Rather, Clark says he decided that technology had moved in such a direction that it had become possible to make it an integral part of the educational process at the business school.

Now students are no longer just required to have computers but to demonstrate a proficiency in them and to use them on a day-to-day basis for their class-work.

"We have the opportunity to take the technology and use it at the heart of the school, to really bring it into the center of what we do, in the classroom, in the way we run the school, in our interactions with students and on campus and with alumni," Clark says.

Professors now use the World Wide Web, CD-ROMs, digitized video and e-mail to give their students a better understanding of the complex situations they will encounter in the business world.

Students say the difference in the past year has been profound.

"In one year we've come from a dinosaur system to leapfrogging virtually every MBA program I know in the country," Ingle says.

One of the most profound and innovative applications for the technology in the curriculum is in the advent of multimedia cases.

Since the early part of this century, cases have been an integral part of the HBS curriculum. Designed to present students with real-life business situations, HBS has long been a leader in their development and use.

The switch to a multimedia format has allowed the cases presented to include much more information than before and to represent better the complexities of business situations.

Pictures, sound and full-motion video included in these presentations provide added realism and detail, and the flexible format of a computer-based case allows it to be a more accurate simulation, allowing students to see the results of their decisions.

"We can bring what one of our colleagues, Paul Lawrence, long ago called 'chunks of reality' into the classroom chew on them, pull at them and understand what's going on. We can do that to a level of depth, reality and nuance that simply was not possible with the paper cases," Clark says.

In addition to cases, Web use has become widespread. Professors now post syllabi, distribute assignments and communicate with students over the Web.

Of particular interest to many students is a program which tabulates students' classes, assignments and other data so that individualized Web pages can be created for each student reflecting their assignment schedules.

"With all of the classes and all of the different assignments, it's hard to keep track," Ingle says. "[The program] automatically recognizes who I am and what my classes are. Professors can even automatically send messages to the class."

Sink or Swim

The implementation of new technology poses a number of challenges, Clark says, most notably the need to ensure all students and faculty are able to use the innovations and to make sure the innovations are truly worth-while.

Clark says every effort is being made to train faculty and students in the use of the new technology, and most professors say they have been overwhelmed by offers of technical support.

Students, however, report a more mixed record of technical advice, complaining that the computer department has been swamped by calls since the semester began recently.

Most say that for those with computer--and particularly Internet--experience, the new technology is not a problem. For the computer illiterate, however, it is often hard to keep up.

According to Godi, the pace of class material is usually not too difficult, nor is the computer literacy required too much, but if a student is not familiar with either, the combination can be too much.

Clark says that most students have been able to adjust to the technology within a few weeks, and so the school adopts a sort of "sink or swim" policy. Students who are unable to keep up can then get help individually, he says.

Krim, however, says that computer and Internet use is so widespread in classes that those students who do not use the technology every day will soon fall behind.

"Most people have experience with it," Krim says. "But in raw numbers you have a lot of people who have some catching up to do, and they feel like it."

Clark says that perhaps the greatest challenge in creating new technology is to find applications that not only transfer existing elements of the curriculum to computers but fundamentally change the way business is taught.

He says that the administration can only do so much to create new applications that will be valuable and that much of the inspiration will have to come from professors.

Bowen says that many professors are just now beginning to become accustomed to the technology and are only recently on the way to creating Web pages for their classes.

"Yes, we're going to stumble, and the stuff is not perfect, but that one of the wonderful messages of the effort: experiment," he says. "It's just important to let the students know what you're trying to do."

Changes to Come

After one year in office, Clark stops short of saying he's comfortable in the position.

"Given what the first year's like, I don't know if there will ever be a year where I can sit down and relax and say, 'Well I think I've got everything figured out,'" Clark says. "There are so many things that change and so much stuff going on that you're always on the edge a little bit."

However, with a number of initiatives already under his belt, he says he feels comfortable in the direction of change and has plans for where to go next.

Clark says he would like to do more to reaffirm the importance of research to the school and increase cooperation between HBS and Harvard's other schools with that aim in mind.

"We haven't yet accomplished what we need to do over the next several years, so there's lots to be done," Clark says.

Perhaps if the reforms he makes in the future are as popular as those made in the first year of his tenure, Clark's honeymoon with the Business School never will end.Crimson File Photo"We have the opportunity to take the technology and use it at the heart of the school, to really bring it into the center of what we do." --Kim B. Clark '74

Clark says the testing will allow the admissions committee to gather more specific comparative data about individual students, which may help the school admit people from more diverse backgrounds.

"It's really important that people understand that we are creating a program of development experience for our students...that we think it is important in teaching young people to make them leaders for the future," Clark says.

The showpiece of the new curriculum is the "Foundations Program," three courses given to first-year students designed to give them a broader introduction to the world of business while providing them with the quantitative methods they will use over the course of their time at HBS.

Now instead of taking five classes right away, as was customary, new HBS students take one class on business history, one on ethics and decision-making and one on quantitative methods.

Clark and other professors hail the new classes as making the HBS education more complete than it had been before. They also claim the classes make the transition to case-based education easier for students.

Students say they agree that the Foundations program makes coming to HBS easier by lowering competition at the beginning of their time there and, as many observed, "leveling the playing field" by ensuring that all students have the same corpus of basic skills.

"It's good for practicing the way you study cases, analyze cases and participate in class," says Brigitte G. Godi, a first-year student. "Not everyone is familiar with the case method, and [the Foundations program] is a good way to get your feet wet."

Most students' first reaction, however, is not to praise the program itself but one of its side benefits--the opportunity to better network with their classmates. In the past, students were segmented into sections of 90 and stayed together for their two years. In the Foundations program, though, they get to interact with a much larger number of students than before.

"Foundations has been outstanding in meeting my peers," says first-year student Conn P. Jackson.

As for the actual course-work, students are often less enthusiastic. While they acknowledge it is usually interesting, many complain that it often doesn't teach them anything they don't already know.

"I think it is valuable for some more than others," says first-year Brian E. Krim. "Quant is great for those with no quantitative skills, but I know it's not valuable to a good portion of the class."

Harding Professor of Business H. Kent Bowen says the explanation for the varying usefulness of the Foundations program is that the school now admits--and as a result of the program will be able to admit--a far greater variety of students than it did in the past.

"One of the exciting things is the incredible diversity of students," Bowen says. "One of difficult things in teaching is the incredible diversity of students."

Information Technology

Clark lists the increase in the use of information technology first among his ideas about the direction of the business school.

"We are very strongly committed to bringing information technology into the heart of the school," Clark says.

The business school has a long history of emphasizing technology, including being the first business school in the country to require students to own a personal computer, Clark says. Computers have long been required for statistical analysis and exam-taking in some classes.

"It's not like we woke up on October 1st and discovered the computer," Clark says.

Rather, Clark says he decided that technology had moved in such a direction that it had become possible to make it an integral part of the educational process at the business school.

Now students are no longer just required to have computers but to demonstrate a proficiency in them and to use them on a day-to-day basis for their class-work.

"We have the opportunity to take the technology and use it at the heart of the school, to really bring it into the center of what we do, in the classroom, in the way we run the school, in our interactions with students and on campus and with alumni," Clark says.

Professors now use the World Wide Web, CD-ROMs, digitized video and e-mail to give their students a better understanding of the complex situations they will encounter in the business world.

Students say the difference in the past year has been profound.

"In one year we've come from a dinosaur system to leapfrogging virtually every MBA program I know in the country," Ingle says.

One of the most profound and innovative applications for the technology in the curriculum is in the advent of multimedia cases.

Since the early part of this century, cases have been an integral part of the HBS curriculum. Designed to present students with real-life business situations, HBS has long been a leader in their development and use.

The switch to a multimedia format has allowed the cases presented to include much more information than before and to represent better the complexities of business situations.

Pictures, sound and full-motion video included in these presentations provide added realism and detail, and the flexible format of a computer-based case allows it to be a more accurate simulation, allowing students to see the results of their decisions.

"We can bring what one of our colleagues, Paul Lawrence, long ago called 'chunks of reality' into the classroom chew on them, pull at them and understand what's going on. We can do that to a level of depth, reality and nuance that simply was not possible with the paper cases," Clark says.

In addition to cases, Web use has become widespread. Professors now post syllabi, distribute assignments and communicate with students over the Web.

Of particular interest to many students is a program which tabulates students' classes, assignments and other data so that individualized Web pages can be created for each student reflecting their assignment schedules.

"With all of the classes and all of the different assignments, it's hard to keep track," Ingle says. "[The program] automatically recognizes who I am and what my classes are. Professors can even automatically send messages to the class."

Sink or Swim

The implementation of new technology poses a number of challenges, Clark says, most notably the need to ensure all students and faculty are able to use the innovations and to make sure the innovations are truly worth-while.

Clark says every effort is being made to train faculty and students in the use of the new technology, and most professors say they have been overwhelmed by offers of technical support.

Students, however, report a more mixed record of technical advice, complaining that the computer department has been swamped by calls since the semester began recently.

Most say that for those with computer--and particularly Internet--experience, the new technology is not a problem. For the computer illiterate, however, it is often hard to keep up.

According to Godi, the pace of class material is usually not too difficult, nor is the computer literacy required too much, but if a student is not familiar with either, the combination can be too much.

Clark says that most students have been able to adjust to the technology within a few weeks, and so the school adopts a sort of "sink or swim" policy. Students who are unable to keep up can then get help individually, he says.

Krim, however, says that computer and Internet use is so widespread in classes that those students who do not use the technology every day will soon fall behind.

"Most people have experience with it," Krim says. "But in raw numbers you have a lot of people who have some catching up to do, and they feel like it."

Clark says that perhaps the greatest challenge in creating new technology is to find applications that not only transfer existing elements of the curriculum to computers but fundamentally change the way business is taught.

He says that the administration can only do so much to create new applications that will be valuable and that much of the inspiration will have to come from professors.

Bowen says that many professors are just now beginning to become accustomed to the technology and are only recently on the way to creating Web pages for their classes.

"Yes, we're going to stumble, and the stuff is not perfect, but that one of the wonderful messages of the effort: experiment," he says. "It's just important to let the students know what you're trying to do."

Changes to Come

After one year in office, Clark stops short of saying he's comfortable in the position.

"Given what the first year's like, I don't know if there will ever be a year where I can sit down and relax and say, 'Well I think I've got everything figured out,'" Clark says. "There are so many things that change and so much stuff going on that you're always on the edge a little bit."

However, with a number of initiatives already under his belt, he says he feels comfortable in the direction of change and has plans for where to go next.

Clark says he would like to do more to reaffirm the importance of research to the school and increase cooperation between HBS and Harvard's other schools with that aim in mind.

"We haven't yet accomplished what we need to do over the next several years, so there's lots to be done," Clark says.

Perhaps if the reforms he makes in the future are as popular as those made in the first year of his tenure, Clark's honeymoon with the Business School never will end.Crimson File Photo"We have the opportunity to take the technology and use it at the heart of the school, to really bring it into the center of what we do." --Kim B. Clark '74