Ken Mark - 25 Need-to-Know MBA Models

In researching this book, we reviewed the course materials at the business schools we work with, or where we have good friends (e.g. London Business School, Richard Ivey School of Business INSEAD, Wharton, Harvard), and we sought to identify the most important models, frameworks and concepts that students were taught during their core courses. (In most programmes, the core courses are followed by a range of elective courses that allow students to specialise.) We also market-tested our initial selection with a group of students and graduates, by asking them how important they thought each model was. This allowed us to fine-tune our choices.

While our selection process was careful, the final list of models is still highly subjective. It is a bit like choosing the most influential people in history, or the best movies of the last twenty years: there is some data you can use to support your choices, but ultimately there is a lot of judgment involved, and we wouldnt expect anyone else to agree 100 per cent with the list we finally settled on. One important criterion we used, for example, was deliberately to include a mix of classic and contemporary models in each section, so you can develop some perspective on the evolution of the subject matter.

The book is organised into five parts, corresponding to five of the most important areas or topics that are taught in an MBA programme. Each section includes the five need-to-know models, arranged in alphabetical order, and at the beginning of each section we have written a brief overview to explain how the models we chose fit together. Of course, there are many important topics in each of these areas that we dont have space to cover. The further readings listed at the end of each chapter provide useful pointers for where to get additional information.

We will be the first to acknowledge that our chosen structure is a very traditional way of looking at the business world. Some business schools have sought to develop cross-disciplinary or integrative approaches to their teaching, for example by focusing on real-world business challenges. But they are in the minority the vast majority of business schools still organise their courses as we have done here.

To keep the book to a reasonable length, we have had to make some tough choices. We have not included any models that describe the macro business environment, whether in terms of economic theory, government policy, law, or trade regulations. We have steered clear of basic statistical models and tools, and we have spent relatively little time on individual-level psychological issues, or on the challenges of starting a business from scratch. We also made the tricky decision not to have sections on accounting or operations management. These are important topics, but in our experience they are becoming less central to the curriculum in business schools, and decreasing numbers of MBA students are moving into jobs in these areas. As a general rule, we have focused on issues that are the concern of the firm or business as a whole. Ultimately, these are things that a general manager in a firm needs to know.