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About the School
What should a business education give me?
If business graduates are to be able to make an immediate contribution to global business success, their studies must prepare them for what they will face. As everybody in business knows, there is a big difference between the cosy classroom environment and the realities of today's business world.
Everyone agrees that business is a practical subject, but when one looks at the way business is taught sometimes, it seems too easily to be forgotten.
In business you have to DO things; take decisions; take action; monitor results. You cannot operate any business by just theoretical planning. There are many examples of businesses which have had excellent plans but failed because no one implemented the ideas.
Learning from business practitioners
So, isn't the best way to learn about how to do business, to work in a business and learn from others?
The answer is, No.
In the heat of battle you cannot learn to fight. Few people have the time and/or the capability to explain what is happening and, most importantly, why.
By having people who know about business, teach business we can simulate the dynamism of real business in the classroom. Business School Lausanne's approach from when the school started has been to use the successful, business practitioners of today as faculty. When they are not in the school they are out in the real world of business. "What we did in a similar situation" or "What we are doing right now" are phrases often heard in BSL.
Practice NOT theory
Very few, one could even say no, real business situations will fit the textbook examples. Each situation can be described as unique, requiring its own unique solution. Business people must be able to analyse a situation, examine various alternatives and combine parts of solutions to solve the problem being faced. BSL teaches people to do this, not solutions to particular problems.
Learning by participation
Being an expert in one particular aspect of business, finance or marketing, will not guarantee success in a business career. One of the definitions of management is 'the achievement of goals through other people'. To do this requires a set of additional talents. These are sometimes called the 'soft skills' and because of the name are often ignored or relegated in importance by business schools. However, business-practitioners know they can be more important than technical skills and they must be correctly incorporated into the learning process.
In the real world of business, few people can or are expected to solve a problem by themselves. Students must learn how to present their ideas in a way which will allow others to see the value. Attack and defence of ideas, and the assimilation of other approaches are important parts of the learning process at BSL.
A set of business tools
To come back to the original question, 'what should a business education give me?' The answer is, the tools to enable you to make an immediate contribution to global business success. These tools are:
- the ability to use the contingency approach to solving business problems; combining the best parts of several solutions into a unique and better solution
- having a global perspective
- working with and learning from others
The MBA programmes which offer these tools are spearheading the education of a new generation of business people.
BSL graduates show from the very beginning that they can make an immediate, and significant contribution to business success. They leave BSL with an approach to doing business - set of tools.
A set of tools, that they can use to shape the business world around them.
A set of tools, that can be adapted to the dynamic environment they will find themselves in.
A set of tools, that will not become outdated in a few years.
How can this be achieved?
The people who teach at BSL not only have high academic qualifications, they are all current, successful business practitioners "What we did in a situation like this" is a phrase often heard in BSL.
In all BSL classes, active student participation is demanded. The first step in making a contribution to a discussion is learning how to formulate ideas so that they can be easily understood. Statements will be challenged by faculty and other students. Attack and defence of ideas are important tools for a successful career in business.
We have to teach people that, in business, there is rarely one perfect solution - so it is no good searching for it! Being prepared to take different approaches, and combine and adapt the best parts of other solutions are characteristics of successful business people.
Currently 35 different nationalities are represented in BSL. They bring with them centuries of cultural heritage which affects the way they view problems, and therefore the solutions they propose. Combined with BSL's learning-by-participation method this means you will be exposed to a wide variety of problem solving approaches. Only by taking different approaches will you be able to find those creative and innovative solutions so necessary in today's business.
The BSL pragmatic approach in the classroom equips graduates to talk real business during the job interview. They can show that they understand the opportunities and constraints of today's business environment.
Business School Lausanne is located in Switzerland. The banking and commercial infrastructure of Switzerland is known and respected throughout the world. Many companies have chosen the country as the site for their headquarters.
Lausanne is 35 minutes from Geneva and its international airport. Across the largest Alpine lake, Lake Leman, there are spectacular views of the mountains. As might be expected in a city which is home to the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne has extensive local sporting and recreational facilities.
Business School Lausanne was the first business school in Europe to have its BBA and MBA programmes accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in the USA.
At the end of 2004 SQS (the Swiss Association for Quality and Management systems) awarded BSL ISO 9001 Certification. The ISO standards are recognised worldwide as THE standards by which industries prove to their customers the consistency of the quality of their output. These industries are the future employers of our graduates, and so the ISO 9001 Certification adds significant value to the BSL degrees.
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