Technology know-how vital for business students

As business schools set to prepare their students for the corporate world, it seems that there is little focus on the role of technology, which is effectively underpinned by it. As we witness the closure of CD and Book stores across the UK, it is apparent that business is shifting online. Furthermore, with the ever complex technology models used to structure businesses, an understanding of these so called ‘engineering’ technologies is paramount for students wishing to enter the business world.

The managing director of a fast-growing school uniform business Perry Uniform, stated: ‘It is not necessary to understand the technology itself – there are experts who do this for you, but it is necessary as a manager to have a clear understanding of the issues associated with deploying the power of technology. For example: costs of development, time scales in developing and deploying systems, and training and educating users how best to take advantage of the new, technology based tools available to them.’

The prestigious Manchester Business School (MBS), ranked fourth in the UK and 29^th in the world on the Financial Times’ 2011 league table for its MBA programme, needs (like most other business schools), to emphasise the importance of technology in its MBA programme. Currently technology is not considered a key part of their MBA programme due to the different interests of their students. However, with the massive role technology is increasingly playing in every industry, is such a view naive?

MBS do offer technology clubs and conferences however, enabling students to develop an interest and awareness of its role in business. The MBS undergraduate courses also seem to recognise the importance of technology, with courses on information technology and information systems. Whilst progress might be slow therefore, business schools like MBS do seem to be heading in the right direction. The question is, will they be able to keep up?