DEAN'S MESSAGE

Today's climate of constant change, relentless competition, and growing complexity demands quick assimilation of new data and more flexibility, agility and creativity than ever before. The challenges of management life in the new millennium will increasingly call us away from formulaic approaches to problem solving and demand that we account for many variables simultaneously. We must look beyond narrow functional silos like finance, marketing, operations and human resources and focus instead on the interrelatedness of the functional disciplines.

At the Rotman School, our goal is to create a totally new theory and model for business education by developing the world's first truly integrative curriculum. The current model of business education -- which divides business into a number of functional areas -- has changed little since its introduction in the early 20th century. Although this model formed the foundation of business education,its inherent flaws are becoming increasingly obvious as the modern economy takes shape.

One of the weaknesses of the traditional approach is that business problems rarely lie within the boundaries of individual functional areas, and cannot be resolved with the models developed for them. Today's problems sprawl messily across the functions -- and across models -- creating the need for managers who can attend simultaneously to a vast array of interconnected variables and related choices.

In short, modern leadership necessitates integrative thinking.

Integrative thinking is the essential capacity the Rotman School has chosen to cultivate in the next generation of business leaders. Why? Because integrative thinkers are clearly more successful. They take risks and are not frightened by challenges. They move beyond narrow academic perfectionism - the search for the 'perfect solution' - and realize that solutions to problems are rarely perfect and always involve tensions and trade-offs. They account for more pieces of the puzzle, are open to ambiguity, and take what others perceive as unsolvable tension and use it to inspire novel solutions.

Students attend business school to improve their chances for major business success, and I would argue that major success will not arise from the application of a narrow model. Narrow functional expertise -- based strictly on mastery, and not combined with innovation -- will provide students with perfectly fine careers. But to hit the 'long ball', they -- and the people that educate them -- will have to go beyond.

Integrative thinking is the essential capacity we must foster - at the Rotman School and elsewhere -- if we are to solve the enigmatic problems that face our organizations in the new millennium. Get ready for a brave new world of business education!

Roger Martin, Dean
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management