Steve Alisharan is sold on design thinking. The head of the MBA core program said that the framework not only excites him, but it also benefits Sauder’s students.
“It helps them think a little bit more deeply and critically about business issues,” he said.
But does design thinking apply to accounting, Alisharan’s specialty, finance and other subjects that require quantitative analysis?
“It fits in quite easily,” he said. “A lot of people have a tendency to think that once you calculate the ratios, that’s the analysis. But that’s just the first step.”
Now, students know to make observations and formulate insights in addition to conducting quantitative analyses. The process strengthens their recommendations, he added.
Every student must produce a business plan to complete the MBA core. In the past, plans tended to follow a script rather than be insightful, Alisharan said. This began to change when design thinking was introduced to iMBA students via Experience Point/IDEO’s Design Thinker in spring 2010. By fall 2010, fulltime MBA students completed it during the orientation to the MBA core.
“I wanted it right from the beginning. I wanted it to be a framework for our students to look at business issues.”
Embedding design thinking into the MBA core gets students to think more deeply. It also helps them get to the heart of what motivates consumers and appeals to clients, Alisharan said.
Soon, fulltime MBAs won’t be the only students studying under the design thinking umbrella. Alisharan said he plans to introduce the construct to the part-time MBAs in early 2011.