Management Studies – Quo Vadis?

Abstract

Business Management has been the youngest siblings of other areas in Social Sciences such as economics and commerce. It can at best, boast a history of just 100 years. Over these years, the growth, per se, of the subject and the interest of people in the growth of management science has been phenomenal. The Management Studies has spawned a number of functional areas, with each of these spheres of knowledge building a strong foundation and rich edifices for themselves. Management Studies, still, has a great appeal for scholars and practitioners alike, as the potential for exploration and building knowledge base with immense application possibilities to business, does not seem to have exhausted yet. However, it can be stated without any fear of contradiction that Management Sciences ceases to have very little virgin areas for exploration and the pursuit of pure- research, as was the situation two to three decades back. Though the application research still has lot of fascination for the industry, the potential for pure research seems to be tapering. While one may argue that Management Studies being a subject, where practice inevitably precedes theory, the trend is quite normal, it is pertinent to point out that the sustainability of application research is dependent on the infusion of new knowledge from pure research.
Even in terms of pedagogy, management studies had a great start. Making a clean break from the conventional system of emphasis on didactic method of teaching or catechism, the management studies focused on the learner centric approach by relying on case studies, learning through games, project work, role plays etc. Over a period, this too seems to have become normative, rather than explorative, with every one swearing by these approaches with very little further innovation in the sphere of management education pedagogy.
The question that comes to ones mind in this context is whether the management education moved away from the growth stage of the life cycle to maturity stage with little potential for further growth? Or, are we going to witness another spurt of growth stage after a brief sojourn of maturity stage? The article is intended to raise some of the issues with a view to find hopefully some answers after careful reflection and churning of thoughts.