In the February 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review there is a short article on “The MFA Is the New MBA” by Daniel H. Pink. (Pages 21-22). He argues that it is harder to get into good art schools and that businesses are hiring MFAs to get creative talent.
An arts degree is now perhaps the hottest credential in the worlds of business. Corporate recruiters have begun visiting the top arts grad schools … in search of talent. … McKinsey says other disciplines are just as valuable in helping new hires perform well at the firm. With other arts grads occupying key corporate positions, the master of fine arts is becoming the new business degree. (p. 21)
Why is this?
Some of the reasons are,
– Supply and demand – there are too many MBAs
– The jobs done by MBAs are moving offshore and what is still happening here is the creative and culturally sensitive stuff
– Companies are investing in design to be competative – your products have to look good to sell
Pink quotes Robert Lutz of General Motors, “I see us in the art business. Art, entertainment, and mobile sculpture, which, coincidentally, also happens to provide transportation.” (p. 22)