How to use art for art's sake
Monday, 10 December 2007
Kester Eddy
One lone student stands at the front of the auditorium at the IEDC Bled School of Management looking somewhat perplexed. Little wonder: Laura Latanza has just had a 15-minute course in conducting a choir, and been told to start.
Surrounded by other students and faculty, Ms Latanza, baton in hand, is dumbfounded as to what exactly she is supposed to do or what is going to happen next: she is not alone.
However, raising her arms she takes her first tentative steps into the world of conducting. And right on queue, to the amazement of most present, 20 members of a choir planted secretly among the audience begin to sing.
A harmonius, if rather stuttering, rendition of a Slovene folk ballad ensues, ending with applause and praise from the director.
IEDC has long used musicians, painters and actors as guest lecturers, but from 2005 this Slovene business school has formally integrated such input into its executive teaching.
"We have some sessions combined with courses on interpersonal skills such as communication, team building and team management, while some are designed to address creativity and innovation on their own. Within the total 17-week programme we have four full days scheduled for such activities," says Tina Erzen, director of the two-year EMBA programme.
IEDC believes artists can offer business students alternative angles and deeper insights into typical business problems.
"These insights not only come from the fact that artists face similar challenges as business people to make their living, but also from their expertise in creating the necessary conditions for creativity and innovation. While this was once a precondition only for artist's work, it is increasingly so for business people," she says.
IEDC alumnus Dietmar Sternad, an Austrian and managing director of publishing group Zurnal Media in Slovenia, is positive about the school's use of artistic input, and the conducting experience in particular.
Meanwhile what he terms the "omnipresent artworks" at the IEDC campus "foster a very creative atmosphere. When you are working on business issues or discussions, paintings or sculptures help create an atmosphere that supports you in finding unusual solutions to challenges. For me this was a very inspiring environment," he says.
However, not all are so enamoured. Margita Tomas, IEDC alumnus and director of human resources at Pliva, the Croatian pharmaceutical company, says: "I think the IEDC approach is often very original, and it takes courage to hold a seminars like these, because when you think about management education it's usually about numbers, especially in this part of the world. However, I'm somewhat sceptical about practical applications. My objection is that we do not always hear of real business applications. I think there is a danger if you cannot connect it to any specific experience, you end up with nice wording, and a beautifully-wrapped package, but unless you are a consultant or something, you cannot use this."
Indeed, while use of artists as a management tool is spreading across the region (in part because of IEDC's example), some are dismissive of the trend, dubbed "arty farty" by one critic.
Certainly many take a cautious approach to the subject. One such is the Estonian Business School,
Nicola Hijlkema, pro-rector for international relations at the Tallinn-based school says: "I have seen far too many fads come and go, with no outcome except a rash of articles in the press about how wonderful this or that school is with its innovative courses. I agree fully that business school students are too narrow in their focus, and should be exposed to other activities, but in ways that really change their thinking. I do wonder if, like many fads, creativity, the current buzzword in business schools, will be something of a seven-day wonder, and there may be practical applications that are more lasting than sending students on painting or sculpture courses."
Hence EBS's strategy has been to collaborate with the nearby Estonian Academy of Arts in a student exchange programme allowing individuals to take electives at each other's schools. The result is cross-fertilisation, with business students taking such electives as design and art history, while artists have learned about entrepreneurship, business planning and basic economics.
"We have a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship. Our examples are not so much about 'art', but practical creativity and implementation of art-related activities," says Anne-Liis Arulo, manager of International Projects at EBS. One outcome has been a tricycle design that is being developed to test its commercial viability.
Other schools watch developments with interest, while instigating more modest innovations. At IIB in Kiev, Alexander Mertens, the dean, has found the study of translated classical Greek texts has proved a substitute for a modern case study. At the Leon Kozminsky school in Warsaw, professional actors raised the standards of student presentation and oratory skills.
Yet while the "art for art's sake" approach is shunned by one Baltic school, another has found it stimulating for faculty. At the ISM University of Management and Economics in Lithuania, a three-day painting session with artists was successful.
under syndication
arrangement with the FT
One lone student stands at the front of the auditorium at the IEDC Bled School of Management looking somewhat perplexed. Little wonder: Laura Latanza has just had a 15-minute course in conducting a choir, and been told to start.
Surrounded by other students and faculty, Ms Latanza, baton in hand, is dumbfounded as to what exactly she is supposed to do or what is going to happen next: she is not alone.
However, raising her arms she takes her first tentative steps into the world of conducting. And right on queue, to the amazement of most present, 20 members of a choir planted secretly among the audience begin to sing.
A harmonius, if rather stuttering, rendition of a Slovene folk ballad ensues, ending with applause and praise from the director.
IEDC has long used musicians, painters and actors as guest lecturers, but from 2005 this Slovene business school has formally integrated such input into its executive teaching.
"We have some sessions combined with courses on interpersonal skills such as communication, team building and team management, while some are designed to address creativity and innovation on their own. Within the total 17-week programme we have four full days scheduled for such activities," says Tina Erzen, director of the two-year EMBA programme.
IEDC believes artists can offer business students alternative angles and deeper insights into typical business problems.
"These insights not only come from the fact that artists face similar challenges as business people to make their living, but also from their expertise in creating the necessary conditions for creativity and innovation. While this was once a precondition only for artist's work, it is increasingly so for business people," she says.
IEDC alumnus Dietmar Sternad, an Austrian and managing director of publishing group Zurnal Media in Slovenia, is positive about the school's use of artistic input, and the conducting experience in particular.
Meanwhile what he terms the "omnipresent artworks" at the IEDC campus "foster a very creative atmosphere. When you are working on business issues or discussions, paintings or sculptures help create an atmosphere that supports you in finding unusual solutions to challenges. For me this was a very inspiring environment," he says.
However, not all are so enamoured. Margita Tomas, IEDC alumnus and director of human resources at Pliva, the Croatian pharmaceutical company, says: "I think the IEDC approach is often very original, and it takes courage to hold a seminars like these, because when you think about management education it's usually about numbers, especially in this part of the world. However, I'm somewhat sceptical about practical applications. My objection is that we do not always hear of real business applications. I think there is a danger if you cannot connect it to any specific experience, you end up with nice wording, and a beautifully-wrapped package, but unless you are a consultant or something, you cannot use this."
Indeed, while use of artists as a management tool is spreading across the region (in part because of IEDC's example), some are dismissive of the trend, dubbed "arty farty" by one critic.
Certainly many take a cautious approach to the subject. One such is the Estonian Business School,
Nicola Hijlkema, pro-rector for international relations at the Tallinn-based school says: "I have seen far too many fads come and go, with no outcome except a rash of articles in the press about how wonderful this or that school is with its innovative courses. I agree fully that business school students are too narrow in their focus, and should be exposed to other activities, but in ways that really change their thinking. I do wonder if, like many fads, creativity, the current buzzword in business schools, will be something of a seven-day wonder, and there may be practical applications that are more lasting than sending students on painting or sculpture courses."
Hence EBS's strategy has been to collaborate with the nearby Estonian Academy of Arts in a student exchange programme allowing individuals to take electives at each other's schools. The result is cross-fertilisation, with business students taking such electives as design and art history, while artists have learned about entrepreneurship, business planning and basic economics.
"We have a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship. Our examples are not so much about 'art', but practical creativity and implementation of art-related activities," says Anne-Liis Arulo, manager of International Projects at EBS. One outcome has been a tricycle design that is being developed to test its commercial viability.
Other schools watch developments with interest, while instigating more modest innovations. At IIB in Kiev, Alexander Mertens, the dean, has found the study of translated classical Greek texts has proved a substitute for a modern case study. At the Leon Kozminsky school in Warsaw, professional actors raised the standards of student presentation and oratory skills.
Yet while the "art for art's sake" approach is shunned by one Baltic school, another has found it stimulating for faculty. At the ISM University of Management and Economics in Lithuania, a three-day painting session with artists was successful.
under syndication
arrangement with the FT