Future MBA Program Implications Meet the Millennials

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Future MBA Program Implications Meet the
Millennials
Andrea Hershatter Associate Dean, BBA Program
Director Goizueta Business School, Emory
University
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Agenda

• Generational shifts
• Overview of Millennials
• Defining characteristics that impact business
  education
• What is happening in undergraduate business
  programs
• What MBA Programs may experience in the near
  future
• Open Discussion

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Andreas Background

• BSM, Tulane University
• MBA, Fuqua School, Duke University
• Ph.D. candidate, cultural anthropology, Emory
  University
• Duke and Emory MBA Admissions and Student
  Services
• Associate Dean for multiple academic programs
• Taught last GenX and first wave Millennials for
  past 10 years
• Dean, counselor and mentor to HS Class of 2000
• Mom to two biological and countless adopted
  Millennials

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Source of the best theory and data

• Neil Howe
• William Strauss

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Generational Context
1943-1960
1961-1981
1982-2002
1901-1924
1925-1942
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Recap of Strauss and HowesMillennial Birthmarks

• They have always been told they are destined for
  something special
• They have been sheltered by family, community and
  institutions
• They have a lot of confidence in their future and
  their ability to make a difference
• They have strong group bonds and are naturally
  team oriented
• Their attitudes are more conventional than those
  of their parents (and faculty) and they tend to
  respect institutions and rules
• They focus on achieving whatever goals are set
  before them
• They are time pressured, results pressured, and
  peer pressured

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What do they look like in 2005?
Cheerleaders MIT
Gen Yes H.S. Project, Hondo, Texas
Cal State University, Sacramento
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Who are your future MBAs?Seven traits that will
matter

• Brooks meritocratic elite
• The ones who put Multi in cultural
• Risk/Reward Experts
• Proponents of action-oriented social
  consciousnesses
• Collectors of real and virtual friends
• Mentor magnets and trophy kids
• Embracers of the American Dream

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Meet the Meritocratic Elitemore recommended
reading

• THE ORGANIZATION KID (cover story)
• Brooks, David. Atlantic Monthly, April 2001, Vol.
  287 Issue 4

Illustration by Tim OBrien
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What are we seeing?

• Destination orientation
• Willingness to work very hard
• Focus on a level playing field
• Peer enforced Zero Tolerance
• Self-scheduled pressures
• REALLY high expectations for all infrastructure
  and student services

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What will they expect from you?

• Necessary tools for future success
• Rigor in classroom, balance outside
• Clear and enforced codes and standards
• Lots of non-professional clubs and activities
• Above and beyond services and
  professionals

Leaders, UGA, Terry School
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Multi-multi-multicultural

• Products of Title IX Girl Power
• Parents and relatives from all over the world
• Eroding racial distinctions
• Increasing economic divide
• Much better handle on multi-cultural
  issues than the Boomers

Eli Broad students, Michigan State
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What are we seeing?

• Enrollment gender parity
• Females in leadership roles
• Continuing gender gravitation towards finance
  (male) and marketing (female)
• Color-blind teams and relationships
• STRONG interest in study abroad
• Clear self-distinction among those who come from
  less privilege

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What will they expect from you?

• Cases, speakers and faculty members reflecting
  global business and multicultural management as
  reality
• (No tokens!)
• Lots of opportunities to explore the world
• Transparent admissions and scholarship processes
• Need-based aid
• A new way of thinking and talking
• about diversity and gender

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Risk Reward Experts

• Most protected generation in history
• No child left behind
• Team always has their back
• Highly accustomed to structure
• Often rewarded for participation alone
• Limited benefit to being creative used to
  content-based learning

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What are we seeing?

• Hovering parents and erosion of FERPA
• Expectation of special accommodations and
  personal attention
• Lurking external crisis management team
• Need for lots of positive feedback
• Strong dislike of ambiguity
• Ability to scale any bar but a preference that
  others plot the course

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What will they expect from you?

• Inclusion of significant others
• Special accommodations and personal attention
• Safety nets
• Acknowledgement of accomplishments
• Clear, enforced policies and standards
• They will have to be taught and encouraged to
  take risks!

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Social Consciousness

• Sense of generational destiny
• Want to be a part of something meaningful and
  bigger than themselves
• More about doing than talking
• Have experienced the power of
  collective action

Wharton Leadership Venture
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What are we seeing?

• Everyone volunteers
• Increased likeliness to join Peace Corps,
  Teach-for-America or a non-profit
• Rising interest in social entrepreneurship
• Genuine interest in leaving a legacy
• More focus on money as a vehicle, rather than an
  end unto itself

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What will they expect from you?

• Connection to a higher-order mission
• Opportunities for collective action
• Access to decision-makers
• Classes and clubs oriented around public policy
  and social responsibility
• Sense of tradition and history
• Support for non-traditional career paths,
  especially service-based options

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Friends Net-work

• Peer bonds closely maintained
• Tendency towards inclusion
• Connected at all times
• Influenced by the group
• Strong opinions, transmitted instantly
• Plugged in citizens of a world-wide community
• The Echo Boomers, 60 Minutes, December 2004

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(No Transcript)
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What are we seeing?

• Information (false and true) travels instantly
• They look to each other for guidance
• Leaders can tip opinion quickly
• Team work is expected and appreciated
• They still care about individual
  recognition
• They excel at building, maintaining
  and mobilizing networks

Business Ambassadors, Illinois
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What will they expect from you?

• Access to a vast and lively virtual network
• New technology, as it emerges
• Creative ways to work together
• Appreciation for the importance of peer
  relationships
• Connections to students in other programs
• One or two degrees hook-ups

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Mentor Magnets and Trophy Kids

• Primed since birth to achieve
• Hold traditional values
• Respect rules and authority
• Thrive on making others proud of them
• Non-confrontational
• Respect for the wisdom that comes with
  age

Jerry Greenfield at UNC
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What are we seeing?

• Absolute grade neurosis
• Incredibly close bond to parents who are
  extremely involved in their decision making
• Limited resistance to policies that limit their
  freedoms but augment the institution
• Strong desire to be mentored
• Willingness to share personal information
  and seek professional help if needed

OSU Fisher undergraduate case competition winners
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Achievers accustomed to pressure
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What will they expect from you?

• Real grading system, class ranking, and honors
• Lots of opportunity to interact with experienced
  professionals
• Legitimate role for their mentors and parents
• Strong and growing MBA brand
• Open door relationships with faculty
• Formal alumni and/or peer mentoring system
• More advising and counseling than has previously
  been necessary

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Fulfilling an American Dream

• Believe that with hard work, anything is possible
• Focused on reaching a destination
• As they progress, they will remain in the
  national media spotlight
• Have been prepared to shoulder the responsibility
  for improving the worlds future
• Assume achievements in the social order (race
  relations, technology, the economy) will be the
  focus of their accomplishments

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What are we seeing?

• Longer-term view, strong focus on planning now
  for the future
• Preference for a work hard/play hard structure
  rather than a blended one
• Deep interest in amassing credentials
• Propensity to stay in touch
• Some burnout
• Willingness to reach goals in multiple
  steps

Quest Program, Smith School, University of
Maryland
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What will they expect from you?

• Tools that will enable them to succeed in all
  aspects of their life in the short AND long run
• Clear guidance about the principles and values of
  the program
• Admission decision (years?) earlier to remove
  uncertainty
• Two-way lifelong link with institution
• In short Your help in fulfilling their destiny!

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Millennials in thirty words or less

• Each of them believes theyll either be on the
  platform, on time and with their ticket punched,
  or theyll miss the train and never be on the
  platform again
• Neil Howe William Strauss

UT Austin