[spangry]

I suspect this is part of a bigger problem, one that I continually see in the public service: people undervalue expertise. There's this strange belief that 'generalists' can do just about any task well. But I've never found that to be the case. In more than a few cases I've seen 'generalists' make a complete hash of something, but because they don't have sufficient domain-specific knowledge they don't actually realise how bad a job they've done.

I wonder if this is why people are sometimes dismissive of MBAs. These people are essentially training to be future leaders and senior executives of large organisations. But how can they possibly make any sort of rational decisions, or build functional systems of work, if they have no specific understanding of the work being done? I've been thinking about this kind of thing a lot, and I've realised why these types of managers love using buzzwords: it's a way of sounding knowledgeable without actually knowing anything, and it minimises the risk of being dragged in to a discussion on specifics.

Then again, who doesn't love synergy?

[jimnotgym]

I think 'business theory' can come across badly to engineers in particular. On the other hand I have worked in a manufacturing company where engineers and scientists had spent whole careers in almost complete isolation from the needs of the business. I remember a particular conversation with the head of a major operation (with an illustrious career in R&D) who couldn't understand the forces applied from head office. "What is their problem with us having too much stock?" he said. Nobody in his long career had ever mentioned the concept of cash. There was a great need in this company for a few generalists, but mainly in mentoring and coaching. Personally I had no time for other generalists there who would not take the time to learn at least what it was that the factory made....so my point if there is one seems to be 'don't generalise about generalists'

[kochthesecond]

I might link your answer to my manager.. Ok I won't. But I completely agree that expertise is undervalued, and generalists that don't even realise how bad their work is, is a real problem that I see every day especially in the public sector.

[treebeard901]

> Then again, who doesn't love synergy?

This problem will likely get worse as automation and cloud services reduces the actual amount of work available. Besides buzzwords, the other focus of the MBA is on "core competencies".

For example, A healthcare company should focus their resources primarily on the things they do well in healthcare. Outsource as much technology as you can because that's not your core business. As "software eats the world", I find this to be increasingly bad advice for companies as technology should become the core competency for everyone.

[pryelluw]

This creates opportunity for those who see the forrest and not the trees. Tech-minded companies are poised to slay those who outsourced or did not invest in tech. There are many industries ripe for the taking due to this little detail.