Critical Chain - Eliyahu M. Goldratt [13]
"Quite so," B.J. agrees.
"Nothing to worry about," Page says in his most authoritative voice. He lays down what he considers his trump card. "We are far from saturating the demand for new MBAs."
It doesn't work. B.J. is not impressed. "Isn't the growth in enrollment at our business school the smallest it has been in years?"
"A temporary phenomenon," he dismisses it. "Nothing to worry about."
"Maybe," she says thoughtfully. "Maybe not."
Page cannot afford to leave it like this. "B.J., how can I put your mind at rest about this?" He signals that he is ready for business.
"I'm not concerned with the immediate future," she responds. "My nightmare is to be stuck with an expensive burden that will be almost impossible to trim. For example, you are budgeting for tenure for eight more professors. If push comes to shove such decisions may kill us. What about putting a freeze on all tenure, at least until the situation becomes clearer?"
"No, B.J., that would be a mistake. We need these people. If we don't give them tenure now, we have to let them go. Think of the implications. Think of the shock wave it would send. I understand your concerns, but, in my opinion, there is no reason for alarm. Definitely no reason for such drastic actions."
"Delivering some message is appropriate," she insists.
He knew that eight new tenure appointments would not fly. It was worth a try. "Maybe you are right," he smoothly bargains. "Maybe we should send a signal. The departments should not take us both for granted."
She waits for his proposal.
"I guess we could accept only six," he offers.
To his surprise she is not willing to counter-offer his number. "I'm still worried that what is happening in law schools can happen in business schools," she insists. "What are you suggesting we do about the possibility of a change in the trend?"
Page tries his usual tactic. "I'm not suggesting we dismiss it," he comforts her. "Not at all. We should think about it. Examine the probabilities. Do some research."
"Exactly right," she sails along. "Do we agree that the first, decisive indications will appear as the ability of graduates to get jobs?"
"I guess so," Page answers coldly, thinking about this new angle.
"Do we have to wait until it will not be easy for MBA graduates to get a job that matches their initial expectations?"
"When that happens I agree that the alarm bells should go off. But we are so far from it. Actually, I wonder if such a time will ever come."
Her way of arguing is to say, "Don't you think that as the two people with the responsibility we should monitor the situation?"
"Good idea." He starts to see how he can drag the issue to a committee, where it can be buried for good. "How do you suggest monitoring it?"
"Three years ago the school of business made a broad-scale survey among our graduates. They used the results as a promotional tool to encourage more enrollment."
"I initiated it," he says proudly. "It worked very well. And I do agree with you, we have to repeat the survey. Every year. That will enable us to hold our hand on the pulse of things. I'll initiate a committee to handle it. Right away."
She gently smiles at him. He tries hard to maintain his "collaborative" expression.
"We don't have time for committees, Chris." Before he can object, she turns around and walks to her desk. "Here are the results of our new survey. I think you'll find it interesting. Even quite alarming. But once you study it, I'm sure you'll agree with me that we have to put a total freeze on granting more tenure."
"First I'll read it, then I need time to evaluate, then we'll talk." Page tries to get back his balance.
"We definitely will. More tea, Christopher?"
Chapter 6
I enter the classroom. It's still noisy, not all the students are sitting yet, but on my table there is a pile of papers. I arrange them into a neat stack, and skimming through