[akbar501]

> But the hopeless idealist in me asks if it isn't possible to get an MBA to actually try to theorize about customer behavior, economic structure, supply chains, what have you and build part of ones academic foundation around it?

Yes, an MBA will help you understand many of our societal, economic, and business constructs. I did not find an MBA to be particularly helpful in understanding customer behavior, but it's definitely valuable in understanding government and corporate behavior.

And yes, it'll help you understand supply chains/logistics, various process and people optimizations, etc. Think of it like learning algorithms and patterns for solving problems that are commonly found in large human organizations.

> Or is it truly impossible to walk into today's MBA programs wanting to study business as theoretical and societal constructs, without walking out a professional networker and middle manager?

It's a degree. Nothing more. However, I would not get an MBA with a goal of middle management as the focus of most programs is on getting you ready for upper management decision making. For middle management in a large company skills such as project management, people management, scheduling, delegation and communication are more important than high level strategic thinking.

[johan_larson]

   However, I would not get an MBA with a goal of middle
   management as the focus of most programs is on getting
   you ready for upper management decision making. For middle
   management in a large company skills 
   such as project management, people management, scheduling,
   delegation and communication are more 
   important than high level strategic thinking.

Perhaps it would be better if the training were divided into different (shorter) programs undertaken at different stages of a career. There might be a short program of basic business skills, appropriate for people just starting out and taking worker/analyst jobs; another for people stepping up into leadership positions, dealing with project and people management; and a final one for senior management, focused on strategic issues.

The military typically does it this way. What you learn in Officer Candidate School is different from what they teach you at the War College.