A comparison of managerial skills of middle managers with MBAs, with other masters’ and undergraduate degrees ten years after the Porter and McKibbin report Available to Purchase

Multiple initiatives have been taken to address the lack of managerial skills of MBA graduates since the Porter and McKibbin report. How effective or widespread these initiatives have been has been questioned. Before proceeding, 11 managerial skills were identified and tested for their relevance to performance. Support was found that nine of the 11 skills were associated with managerial performance. Why these two skills were not associated with performance was explored. To test for the effectiveness of the initiatives to teach managerial skills in MBA programs, multiple comparisons of the managerial skills of recent and past MBA graduates and other graduates were made. In general, the comparisons failed to find that MBAs have a significant advantage in managerial skills. Reasons for these findings are explored in the paper. In addition, the challenge this represents to MBA programs is also discussed.