September 1, 2004
How the School of Business relates to the world of business
It's all about competing hard in a tough arena, says Mike Knetter, the dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. He is convinced that the most important remaining piece of the puzzle the school needs is to offer a Wisconsin MBA that successfully competes against the biggest names in business school education.
Knetter has been on the job in Madison for just over two years. He makes no secret of where he is aiming the school. "We have developed a program in which we really believe we can be the best," he says.
"Competing effectively in the world of business schools means serving the needs of business well by producing exactly the right combination of things. That includes the research we do, but it also means delivering value-added education that will support business, either immediately—as in our continuing education programs—or in our full-time programs.
"We have an excellent business school already," he adds. "We're one of the top research programs among all business schools—number two in marketing and management publications—always around the top 10 for undergraduate programs."
But the program he's most focused on is the school's highly visible MBA. "The MBA program is the most competitive arena for management education, partly because, if you're good at it, it is a lucrative program. Furthermore, success in this arena requires connecting the education with the needs businesses are facing. Employers' expectations are higher for MBAs and that forces the educator to the cutting edge."
Originally from Rhinelander, Wis., Knetter returned to the state in 2002 after 14 years. Most recently, he was an associate dean and professor of international economics in the MBA program at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. A noted economist, he served as senior staff economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisors under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The dean is a trim man in his early 40s, with a ready smile. He is married and the father of two young daughters.
Knetter sees his role as similar to that of a CEO. A benefit of his job, he reports, is being able to discuss management issues with executives who are running companies outside campus. He often confers with members of his advisory board, which comprises top executives who come to campus twice a year for strategic planning.
"My philosophy as dean is similar to how Tom Falk described his role as chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark. First, help set the strategic direction, second, remove barriers to achieving goals and third, deliver the resources required to successfully implement the strategy. Finding the right strategy is a challenge at a business school. To succeed, our strategy has to be in the sweet spot for all those who can provide resources and also for all those within the school who have to deliver the strategy."
The school's new MBA program is an innovative, highly visible program that not only touches the sweet spot for constituents such as alumni and corporations but also creates the synergy necessary to stimulate other programs in the business school. It requires students to choose a focused specialization before they enroll-- a major change from more general MBA programs. It's a program that both students and employers like. "You're learning to do something better than anybody else, so that when you go to your job, there's an area where you can add a lot of value right away. And then who knows where you'll evolve once you're there?" he says.
The MBA program offers 14 different career specializations such as product management, corporate finance, arts administration, and supply chain management. Each has a faculty director, dedicated support staff, an executive advisory board, an endowment, an applied curriculum, and a community of focused students.
Knetter feels the new MBA will naturally enrich other programs. "Having a great MBA can support progress in the undergraduate area by sharing the expertise of practitioners and board members of the specializations." He also notes a correlation between the in-depth MBA specializations and the development of executive education programs. "We can package the highlights from electives in the MBA program into short, powerful executive education modules," Knetter says.
When will Knetter feel the new MBA is a success? "Success to me is having extraordinary quality with a little more volume than we have in this first class. We are making great progress already," he says. He doesn't mention it, but the school's 2004 MBA rankings in U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times have jumped at least 10 points apiece since he took over. Alums have joined in supporting the concept. Several have stepped up to contribute million-plus-dollar gifts to individual programs and a $40 million addition that will house the new MBA program.
"It's a long product cycle. When you roll out a new product, it takes two years for people to really find out how good it is. Then the market reacts to that, we get a different type of student applying, and then it takes two more years to see what they do. Recruiters may not be certain about the value of this model until they see what happens to the students who graduate in '06. In the fall of '07 we'll get the true reaction to what we've created."
For all of the school's efforts to improve the MBA, Knetter points out it faces unique challenges.
"We're more constrained than our competitors are, even within the Big 10, even within the public institutions. We don't have the autonomy to set our own prices and retain the tuition revenues, as many other schools do. This means that we have to develop a highly leveraged strategy that can serve all the missions well simultaneously." The school has a highly regarded Executive MBA program and a popular Evening MBA, but because Madison is a smaller business market, these programs don't yield as much revenue as they do for big-city competitors
A Higher Calling
Knetter also sees a higher role in society for the School of Business. "You'd like to turn out people who, in addition to being effective at what they do for work, are committed to advancing society in all the other ways a successful person can."
He says that within the focused programs, students work closely with executives who are outstanding role models. "With all the bonding that goes on, all the contact with alumni, we have an opportunity to put students in contact with alumni who are not only exceptional in their professions, but also accomplish extraordinary things for their communities."
Two such role models are Milwaukee financier and philanthropist Ab Nicholas and Kathy Dwyer Southern, the president and CEO of Capital Children's Museum in Washington, D.C. Knetter notes, "Many powerful role models are found in our focused programs. It's hard to choose who to highlight because there are so many. We want students to think, 'I want to be like that person because he or she is exceptionally successful and, beyond that, has had an exceptional effect on society."
Knetter has been on the job in Madison for just over two years. He makes no secret of where he is aiming the school. "We have developed a program in which we really believe we can be the best," he says.
Dean Knetter engages students in conversation inside Grainger Hall.
Photos by Bob Rashid
Photos by Bob Rashid
"We have an excellent business school already," he adds. "We're one of the top research programs among all business schools—number two in marketing and management publications—always around the top 10 for undergraduate programs."
But the program he's most focused on is the school's highly visible MBA. "The MBA program is the most competitive arena for management education, partly because, if you're good at it, it is a lucrative program. Furthermore, success in this arena requires connecting the education with the needs businesses are facing. Employers' expectations are higher for MBAs and that forces the educator to the cutting edge."
Originally from Rhinelander, Wis., Knetter returned to the state in 2002 after 14 years. Most recently, he was an associate dean and professor of international economics in the MBA program at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. A noted economist, he served as senior staff economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisors under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The dean is a trim man in his early 40s, with a ready smile. He is married and the father of two young daughters.
Knetter sees his role as similar to that of a CEO. A benefit of his job, he reports, is being able to discuss management issues with executives who are running companies outside campus. He often confers with members of his advisory board, which comprises top executives who come to campus twice a year for strategic planning.
"My philosophy as dean is similar to how Tom Falk described his role as chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark. First, help set the strategic direction, second, remove barriers to achieving goals and third, deliver the resources required to successfully implement the strategy. Finding the right strategy is a challenge at a business school. To succeed, our strategy has to be in the sweet spot for all those who can provide resources and also for all those within the school who have to deliver the strategy."
The school's new MBA program is an innovative, highly visible program that not only touches the sweet spot for constituents such as alumni and corporations but also creates the synergy necessary to stimulate other programs in the business school. It requires students to choose a focused specialization before they enroll-- a major change from more general MBA programs. It's a program that both students and employers like. "You're learning to do something better than anybody else, so that when you go to your job, there's an area where you can add a lot of value right away. And then who knows where you'll evolve once you're there?" he says.
The MBA program offers 14 different career specializations such as product management, corporate finance, arts administration, and supply chain management. Each has a faculty director, dedicated support staff, an executive advisory board, an endowment, an applied curriculum, and a community of focused students.
Knetter feels the new MBA will naturally enrich other programs. "Having a great MBA can support progress in the undergraduate area by sharing the expertise of practitioners and board members of the specializations." He also notes a correlation between the in-depth MBA specializations and the development of executive education programs. "We can package the highlights from electives in the MBA program into short, powerful executive education modules," Knetter says.
When will Knetter feel the new MBA is a success? "Success to me is having extraordinary quality with a little more volume than we have in this first class. We are making great progress already," he says. He doesn't mention it, but the school's 2004 MBA rankings in U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times have jumped at least 10 points apiece since he took over. Alums have joined in supporting the concept. Several have stepped up to contribute million-plus-dollar gifts to individual programs and a $40 million addition that will house the new MBA program.
"It's a long product cycle. When you roll out a new product, it takes two years for people to really find out how good it is. Then the market reacts to that, we get a different type of student applying, and then it takes two more years to see what they do. Recruiters may not be certain about the value of this model until they see what happens to the students who graduate in '06. In the fall of '07 we'll get the true reaction to what we've created."
For all of the school's efforts to improve the MBA, Knetter points out it faces unique challenges.
"We're more constrained than our competitors are, even within the Big 10, even within the public institutions. We don't have the autonomy to set our own prices and retain the tuition revenues, as many other schools do. This means that we have to develop a highly leveraged strategy that can serve all the missions well simultaneously." The school has a highly regarded Executive MBA program and a popular Evening MBA, but because Madison is a smaller business market, these programs don't yield as much revenue as they do for big-city competitors
A Higher Calling
Knetter also sees a higher role in society for the School of Business. "You'd like to turn out people who, in addition to being effective at what they do for work, are committed to advancing society in all the other ways a successful person can."
He says that within the focused programs, students work closely with executives who are outstanding role models. "With all the bonding that goes on, all the contact with alumni, we have an opportunity to put students in contact with alumni who are not only exceptional in their professions, but also accomplish extraordinary things for their communities."
Two such role models are Milwaukee financier and philanthropist Ab Nicholas and Kathy Dwyer Southern, the president and CEO of Capital Children's Museum in Washington, D.C. Knetter notes, "Many powerful role models are found in our focused programs. It's hard to choose who to highlight because there are so many. We want students to think, 'I want to be like that person because he or she is exceptionally successful and, beyond that, has had an exceptional effect on society."
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