Disruptive innovation has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century.
The University of California-Irvine’s business school rolled out a new MBA curriculum this fall that reflects that reality.
Revised courses examine precisely how technology is upending traditional industries, such as manufacturing, finance and retail, and are also exploring how it affects business operations, such as human resources and marketing.
“Students are now learning how to manage the digital transformation of a company, which represents a fundamental shift in how it operates; how to recognize which technologies may be disruptive; how to value and invest in these technologies; how to navigate the accompanying cultural shift to a more collaborative and less hierarchical structure, and one that relies far more on data-driven decision-making than on intuition or gut,” said Vijay Gurbaxani, UCI’s professor of information systems and computer science.
That’s important to the business community, because disruptive innovation continues to accelerate, and consumers expect they can get what they want, when they want, from groceries to ride sharing, said Lynn Hemans, senior director of business and social intelligence at Irvine-based Taco Bell’s internal Insights Lab.
“Social media and advances in mobile technology prove that any segment can be disrupted, especially if there are more seamless ways to provide services to customers,” she said. “Taco Bell and UCI have had a long history of collaboration, and UCI is seeing the same trend we are seeing, both nationally and globally.”
Gurbaxani said he speaks with Hemans frequently.
Why Now?
The business school introduced a tech-focused MBA in 1995 that helped students understand how digital technology could affect their future businesses. For example, integrated systems were making key processes, such as supply chain and customer management, far more efficient, Gurbaxani said.
“They were a precursor to what we are seeing today, but were more evolutionary rather than disruptive.”
The business school began focusing on strategic innovation in 2005, including tech, analytic decision-making.
When Eric Spangenberg became dean in 2014, he said the school began a comprehensive review of its curriculum that inspired a revision to core course requirements, providing students more flexibility in how they studied—online or on campus—and what they studied, allowing focus in a specific area of interest.
It also added three certificate programs: digital transformation; innovation and entrepreneurship; and real estate.
And the school started offering more core classes online and in a hybrid format, where lectures are delivered online and class time is reserved for discussion, teamwork and case studies.
The new MBA curriculum is the next step in the evolution.
“To date, I know of (no other business schools) that have committed to this schoolwide shift,” Spangenberg said. “The very top schools have introduced courses for particular programs, but as far as I know, none have approached leadership for a digitally driven world across the culture.”
The business school’s Center for Digital Transformation, launched in 2012, has also risen in popularity, Spangenberg said, including the participation of several C-suite executives in its annual Road to Reinvention conference.
Bill Ruh, chief executive of GE Digital, will kick off this year’s Distinguished Speaker Series on Nov. 6.
Disruptive Effect
Spangenberg said the focus now is not so much on technology itself, but on its disruptive effect.
“It’s about developing students whose thought processes anticipate where the next disruption will occur and leading those disrupting opportunities,” he said. “It’s about teaching them to approach every situation strategically and use analytic decision-making and the power of technology to lead their organizations successfully.”
Business leaders need a set of skills that business schools haven’t historically been teaching them, Gurbaxani said.
“Historically, you could be … digitally literate, like a digital marketer,” he said. “Now we’re saying your entire business needs to operate digitally.”
New Degrees
The business school’s newest degree program is its Master of Finance. Also recently introduced is a Master of Science in business analytics, which prepares students to handle large amounts of data and apply a variety of analytics methods in various business contexts.
Spangenberg, like others, compares the role of data in the 21st century to the role of oil in the previous century—a catalyst for growth and change, creating new industries and economies.
“It is one of the most valuable resources that a business has,” he said.
Job growth in data analytics is projected to be 15% to 19% over the next 10 years, he said.
With strong economic growth comes a host of investment opportunities that the master of finance program is intended to address.
It “supports the need for strong operational awareness and decision-making across the scope of an organization and industry,” Spangenberg said. “Our corporate partners and advisors here are primarily people associated with global enterprises with a much more complex set of options and strategies, and we must answer their need for graduates that can bring them the most up-to-date skill sets and knowledge.”
Torrid Growth
Spangenberg said the number of UCI undergrad students majoring in business has grown faster than any other program at the university since it was introduced in 2008.
He attributes that to a variety of factors, including the digital world enabling young people to participate in business “at a far younger age and in far more meaningful ways than the simple corner lemonade stand ever could.”
“It is little wonder that these young entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs are looking to develop top management skills,” he said.
An intrapreneur is a company manager who promotes innovative product development and market-
ing.
UCI is one of three UC schools to offer an undergraduate business administration program.
