**5. Toward alternative management education models based on action learning**

To efficiently face the previously mentioned main management education challenges, it appears necessary to profoundly change the mainstream management education model of the business schools still inspired by the old concept of the American MBA.

These changes must take place both at the learning processes level and at the content level of the management education curricula.

We will only lay down some specifications of an alternative management education model and show why action learning principles are especially well adapted to its operational implementation [20, 21].

First, we must look at the mainstream learning processes and be aware of their capabilities and also of their limits. As already mentioned the traditional management education system is based on specialized discipline courses with an emphasis put on management theories and concepts, with the relevant tools and techniques practiced with exercises and cases. The learning processes are of a cognitive and instrumental nature and proceed with a deductive approach. The instructors or professors are delivering courses and theoretical knowledge supposedly learned by the students and controlled by tests and exams in each management discipline. This kind of teaching leads to the idea that once your "box" is full of the main tools and techniques for each main management discipline evaluated by successful exams, you will then supposed to become a good manager!

This mainly cognitive approach of management education is misleading and does not respond adequately to the actual human management and leadership competences that a good manager-leader's role involves that are also based on experience [22]. Although some basic knowledge of the main management disciplines is of course necessary, this approach lacks the most important part of the managerleader's job that is for 80% for mastering human relations and thus of a behavioral nature. As already mentioned, this is a very serious weak point of the mainstream management education that must be much more efficiently dealt with.

Another feature of this traditional management education model is the very role and main functions of the instructors who are delivering their specialized discipline knowledge with their courses. Today the knowledge related to the basic management disciplines is everywhere on the net, and the roles of these instructors have to dramatically change! They must become coaches and mentors to accompany and to facilitate the learning processes of their students rather than being in the position of a "knower" or expert who delivers their knowledge with slides and PowerPoints!

If efforts are made in some business schools to develop some behavioral competences of the future managers with some coaching, team exercises, videos, theater, etc., this behavioral learning of the current manager's job remains the weak point of mainstream management education.

Not enough efforts and focus of business schools' mainstream curricula are devoted to the learning and the development of human and relationship competences which are at the very heart of the manager-leader's job and roles.

This kind of behavioral learning and training can only be achieved with small groups and in a real setting when dealing with real business issues [23]. This is exactly what action learning approach can offer very efficiently. When we mention the Action Learning method, we are referring to the version of Action Learning developed by the World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL) which is the most complete and sophisticated version of action learning. This collaborative intelligence method is a work process in small teams with short sessions based on questioning that allows its participants to quickly find operational solutions to complex and important issues (about two thirds of the topics that organizations have to solve) and at the same time gives participants the opportunity to develop their personal communication and leadership skills as well as their teamwork capabilities. This version of action learning even allows corporate or organizational cultures to change to a more collaborative and reflective spirit.

#### *Renewing Management Education with Action Learning DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88670*

The main principles of this action learning method could very well inspire a new kind of alternative management education model because they have the capacity to much better develop the human relationship and leadership skills needed to become a good and successful "manager-leader" than the mainstream business school model.

This innovative action learning-based management education model has very distinctive features. These ideas are inspired by a very interesting and powerful model from the Finnish Team Academy that is very successfully training business students ([24]; Team Academy, 2010; [25]).

Their students are very much in demand by the organizational and corporate world because of the very operational business and people management competences that they have acquired with thisS alternative action learning-based management education.

We can briefly quote some of the main features of this very innovative management education model based on an action learning philosophy and principles:


The main role of these instructors/coaches is to accompany the student's learning processes of the students, asking the right questions and possibly completing and specifying their knowledge and know-how on some issues always with a very operational and real business approach. It is not to deliver a theoretical management course for a specific business discipline.


an international level. This journey is financed by the revenues earned by their company during their business studies. Then they make a report about this learning journey to their school that is shared with the students and coaches.

With this alternative action learning-based management education model, the students are equipped with very operational managerial competencies and very good human management and leadership capabilities [26]. This explains why they are very pursued by the corporate world and why about one third of these students create successfully their own businesses when they finish their action learningbased business school as they were really trained as entrepreneurs.
