FOR much of the closing years of the last century, there was a                                                                                        
call for managers to return to the basics of management. It                                                                                           
was not a reaction to the mid-80s or late-90s recession, but a                                                                                        
serious expression of what was considered as not right with                                                                                           
the profession.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
As early as the 70s, British Institute of Management director                                                                                         
John Marsh was calling on the management community to return                                                                                          
to basics at various international conferences.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
It was not to be. Rather than returning to basics, management                                                                                         
thought exploded into esotericism as new management gurus                                                                                             
appeared to champion different and sometimes quite                                                                                                    
contradictory prescriptions and remedies for business                                                                                                 
ailments.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In 1996, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge of the                                                                                               
Economist wrote a scathing account of The Witch Doctors,                                                                                              
management theorists and writers who have turned the subject                                                                                          
of management into a billion-dollar business enterprise for                                                                                           
books, consultancy and seminars.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Before the economic downturn, quite a number of management                                                                                            
gurus from the United States were delivering seminars in Kuala                                                                                        
Lumpur for as much as US$50,000 per day!                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
There is danger that the discipline of management is put on                                                                                           
the same pedestal of entertainment as we gravitate to yet                                                                                             
another guru who is able to offer special insights and able to                                                                                        
deliver them in the most entertaining manner.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
A lot of junk has been turned out as ideas cannot stand the                                                                                           
test of time and become obsolete. Like in the world of                                                                                                
entertainment and fashion, management gurus have produced fads                                                                                        
which have strong appeal for only a limited period of time.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
It would seem that business schools would become the purveyors                                                                                        
of the new gospel of management as the new books and                                                                                                  
publications of the new gurus found their way into the reading                                                                                        
lists of MBA and other business programmes.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The result was an explosion of all sorts of management                                                                                                
programmes and it became almost fashionable for all                                                                                                   
universities and colleges to deliver probably the most                                                                                                
lucrative business product - the MBA degree.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Quite rapidly, the product underwent marketing scrutiny and a                                                                                         
family of MBA-type products were offered to meet different                                                                                            
consumer segments. The traditional concept of the MBA as the                                                                                          
bridge between technical expertise and practical business                                                                                             
application faded and is now replaced by hidden promises of                                                                                           
business success if' only one obtains an MBA.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The fault is not only on the business schools.  Consumers are                                                                                         
largely to be faulted as demand for the MBA has not waned,                                                                                            
despite findings in the US that the qualification has been                                                                                            
overrated. The unfortunate aspect is that many Malaysians                                                                                             
cannot discriminate the good MBA from the bad and base their                                                                                          
decision on selecting the MBA programme that is the cheapest                                                                                          
and/or easiest to complete.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
When the MBA was first introduced, there was a lot of                                                                                                 
scepticism as to the value of the degree.  Managerial                                                                                                 
competence cannot be taught; it has to be experienced, the                                                                                            
critics argued. Hence, the response was the case method of                                                                                            
instruction in which actual historical business situations                                                                                            
were simulated for analysis and decision-making.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Like the aircraft simulator for the training of pilots, MBA                                                                                           
students could be developed to respond to a given business                                                                                            
situation. The theory is that if a student is exposed to say a                                                                                        
thousand different and varied business situations, he would                                                                                           
have developed a thought and response process that is rational                                                                                        
and "superior."                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Unfortunately, most business schools have chosen the academic                                                                                         
route of providing lectures in delivering the curriculum of                                                                                           
the MBA programme. Lectures are good for delivering knowledge,                                                                                        
but cannot effectively impart skills.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
As a consequence, most MBA graduates know a lot, but lack the                                                                                         
competence of application. They are familiar with the buzz-                                                                                           
words of the gurus, but are short on the ability to act, teach                                                                                        
or consult.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
As the mystique of the MBA is unveiled, the return to basics                                                                                          
becomes a more compelling concern.  We need managers who can                                                                                          
perform the job of managing.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The key managerial functions are planning, organising, leading                                                                                        
and controlling. Those functions seem to have been sidetracked                                                                                        
in favour of functional areas; hence the proliferation of                                                                                             
specialised MBAs in finance, operation, human resource and                                                                                            
marketing, which more correctly should be designated as Master                                                                                        
of Finance, etc.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Irrespective of where we are, the job of all managers is to                                                                                           
plan, organise, lead and control, This function is universal                                                                                          
to all sectors, industries and functional areas.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
We seem to have been so oversold by the witch doctors that we                                                                                         
have failed to realise that the designation MBA stands for                                                                                            
Master of Business Administration. How many new MBA graduates                                                                                         
can really claim to have mastered management? Mastered                                                                                                
management studies, yes, but a master in the art of                                                                                                   
management?                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
With the new millennium, there is a quiet revolution among                                                                                            
management professional bodies to offer competency-based                                                                                              
development.  This move will focus move on the job of the                                                                                             
manager and will require more experiential learning with less                                                                                         
need for lectures.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Returning to basics is a call that now needs to be taken more                                                                                         
seriously than before.