McNair Introduces Methods of Harvard Business School In London School of Economics--New Courses Established

M. P. McNair '16, professor of Marketing and managing director of the Bureau of Business Research at the Harvard Business School, has just returned from London, where he has been assisting in the establishment of a new department of Business Administration at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

This new department, which is modeled after the Harvard Business School to some extent, was opened at the suggestion of and with the financial support of several important English companies including Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., British Xylonite Company, Standard Telephone, Harrod's, Selfridge and Company, Ltd., and Lewis's. At the request of those concerned in the direction of the new venture, Professor McNair was granted leave of absence for the first half of the current academic year in order to assist in its establishment. In addition to giving a course in Retail Distribution during the Michaelmas term he was called upon to advise in the administration policies of the new department and to assist in the development of various research projects.

The number of students in the new department is relatively small with 11 students in the preliminary year and 12 in the so-called second year, which, however, corresponds roughly to the first year in the Harvard Business School. About half of this group were nominated by particular companies from the ranks of their junior executives. Nearly all these men, however, had had some University training. The other half of the group were recent graduates of universities, as is the case with men entering the Harvard Business School.