Design Thinking and How It Will Change Management Education: An Interview and Discussion

Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2006, Vol. 5, No. 4, 512–523.

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Design Thinking and How It Will Change Management Education: An Interview and Discussion
DAVID DUNNE ROGER MARTIN Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, is interviewed on the subject of “design thinking”—approaching managerial problems as designers approach design problems—and its potential impact on management education. Under a design-thinking paradigm, students would be encouraged to think broadly about problems, develop a deep understanding of users, and recognize the value in the contributions of others. In Martin’s view, the concept of design thinking can potentially address many of the criticisms currently being leveled at MBA programs. The interview is followed by a discussion and critique of the themes Martin raises.

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INTRODUCTION The design of products and services is a critical component of business competitiveness, to the extent that major companies such as Procter and Gamble have committed themselves to becoming design leaders. Beyond product and service design, however, design thinking—approaching management problems as designers approach design problems—may have important implications for management, an emerging prospect that has begun to gain recognition in both academic literature and the business press. In The Sciences of the Artificial (1996), Herbert Simon calls for the establishment of a rigorous body of knowledge about the design process as a means of approaching managerial problems. In Managing as Designing (Boland & Collopy, 2004), several authors from

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