Can management be taught?

Abstract

The topic whether management skills are communicable has been the topic of scholars' debates and broad examination through literature in the last decades. However, there is less literature focusing on solutions for successful management education. This paper, not only takes up a position that management can be taught and learned, but also examines how the learning process is approached. The paper discusses characteristics of successful management educators and determine their impacts on management development. The paper determines the qualities and skills that modern managers must develop, especially in this time of globalization and rapid change in the business world. It suggests educating managers in “soft skills” such as interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and not merely concentrating on the “hard skills”, such as analytical skills. Additionally in this work, the need for managers with international exposure and cross‐cultural experience is emphasized. Finally, a proposal for management education curricula is tabled and address the issue of limits of management education is addresed.