How MBS is preparing leaders for an AI era

Associate Dean Teaching & Learning Nam Tran shares why an MBA is becoming increasingly valuable as AI demands critical thinking and judgment.

“If all you can do is type prompts into AI, then what value do you add?

“Your boss can use ChatGPT too.”

In the age of AI, Melbourne Business School’s Associate Dean Teaching & Learning Nam Tran says there is a temptation to outsource thinking to AI.

The risk is that we rely on AI-generated answers without developing our own thinking and reasoning capabilities.

Associate Professor Tran compares relying on AI for intellectual work to taking a forklift to the gym.

“Yes, the forklift can lift more weight. But the purpose of going to the gym is to build your own muscle,” he says.

In education, the same principle applies to our cognitive development.

“The purpose of learning is to build your critical thinking capability. If you stop exercising it, it becomes weaker.”

One important role of instructors is to make sure students of the MBA programs are developing their reasoning and thinking capabilities to meet the evolving demands of the workplace.

Why the MBA is evolving

Business schools are continuously redesigning curriculum around emerging demands.

“The MBA today is not the same MBA as it was 10 years ago, and it won’t be the same 10 years from now,” Associate Professor Tran says.

While the core ambitions of students today remain the same (career acceleration, leadership capability, higher income and professional effectiveness), the skills required to achieve these goals are changing.

“Whatever happens in the industry changes the kind of skills our students need. Our job is to make sure they are equipped for that reality.”

How AI is raising the floor

While anyone can use AI, having deep expertise will allow leaders to use AI more effectively.

“AI raises the floor for everyone,” Associate Professor Tran says.

“But the people who have more knowledge will extract disproportionately greater value from the same tool.”

He compares AI to how spreadsheets transformed accounting.

While Excel made calculations faster and more accessible, experienced accountants outperformed novices because they understood the meaning behind the numbers.

Two people may use the same AI tools, but the person with stronger business knowledge, judgment and critical thinking will ask better questions, recognise flawed outputs, and ultimately make better business decisions.

This is why the foundational knowledge students learn on the MBA remains critical, even if graduates never perform those tasks again.

“Once you understand what is happening inside the process, you become more confident and efficient interpreting the outputs,” he says.

Associate Professor Tran says students need to understand the fundamentals to build better judgment and recognise when AI-generated answers that don’t make sense.

Without this foundation leaders risk being overly dependent on technology and risk being misled.

Increased demand for critical thinking skills

Because of the vast amounts of content AI can generate, leaders are increasingly required to distinguish what is useful from misinformation, hype and noise.

“One of the problems with AI is that it produces content so fast. You have so much more information available, but not all of it is correct,” Associate Professor Tran says.

Leadership skills learned through an MBA such as critical thinking, reasoning and sound judgment are becoming even more valuable.

Leaders must ask “Where did this information come from, what incentives are behind it, should I trust it and does this output make sense?”

“These are classic leadership skills. If anything, they are even more important now.”

How AI is being integrated into education

Associate Professor Tran says AI is being integrated into the MBA curriculum in multiple ways.

In the MBA program, new elective subjects are being introduced which are focused purely on AI, for example Generative AI for Business while core subjects are integrating AI throughout.

Students studying Ethics for example, will examine responsible implementation of AI, Strategy will use AI to support their strategic analysis, and Marketing includes analysing companies where AI has been used in their campaigns.

Current Business Issues, a core MBA subject, is jointly taught by Professorial Fellow Jon Whittle, the former technical lead at NASA, National AI Centre Founder and former lead at CSIRO’s Data61.

He recently joined the School’s Institute of Digital Innovation and AI (IDIA) and Sustainable Value Creation Institute to help businesses accelerate their AI transitions.

Associate Professor Tran says Faculty are experimenting with AI-powered teaching assistants such as the All Day TA that provide students with 24/7 support.

“It’s a more controlled tool that is designed to only draw on our own teaching material, thus significantly reducing the risk of hallucinations and incorrect responses.”

“Students love it and we see a lot of questions closer to exams which tells us the kinds of questions students are asking so we can make adjustments to improve their in-class learning.”

The School is also exploring how assessments may evolve in response to AI including potential oral examinations and AI supported evaluation models that are being trialed internationally.

Associate Professor Tran said some faculty were using AI tools to write more engaging cases about recent events and local businesses to improve the relevancy of the content.

While others were also using AI to build interactive tools to use during class, to enhance class discussion and student engagement.

The future leader

AI may automate tasks, accelerate analysis and reshape workflows, but Associate Professor Tran says the human capabilities of leadership remain difficult to replicate.

“You still need to be able to lead people, influence people, manage teams, motivate people, and also manage the operation of the business,” Associate Professor Tran says.

“Doing an MBA is a quick way to acquire these skills in a safe environment where you can learn from years of research and data to become a more effective leader.”

The most valuable leaders will combine technical skills with sound judgment, ethics, communication, and the ability to think critically.

“AI can help you learn and work faster, but it cannot replace the transformative experience, the networks you build, and the credibility that comes with completing your degree at Australia’s leading business school.”

To learn more about developing your leadership capabilities, explore our range of leadership courses in our Award Programs and Short Courses.