It’s about time: Comms and PR added to MBA courses

Or wished the big boss had some training in public relations before she stepped in front of the microphones—or had run from reporters with her coat pulled over her head?

If so, you might breathe a sigh of relief. The Public Relations Society of America is launching a pilot program to build strategic communication and reputation management skills into MBA courses. The curriculum will be rolled out in five universities.

A professor from Dartmouth College‘s Tuck School of Business, which The Economist ranked as the world’s best MBA program, is developing the pilot based on decades of experience in teaching the subject.

Professor Paul Argenti, author of the textbook “Corporate Communication,” insists communications shouldn’t be shrugged off by the top dogs or left to the specialists alone. CEOs spend 75-80 percent of their time dealing with activities that relate to corporate communications, he says.

On the hook