Former professional golfer Harold L. "Jug" McSpaden, Major General Edward W. Anderson, and Baron Alexandre de Posson may appear to have little in common, but in truth they are linked by one of the strongest of bonds-they are all at present classmates at Harvard.

These three, along with 160 other business and industrial leaders, make up the present class in the Business School's Advanced Management Program, a 12-and-a half week course designed to bring executives up to date on theoretical work in their fields. They take no exams and receive no grades, yet they form one of the most conscientious groups in the University.

Being a member of the 21st Advanced Management Program is no three months of mere gay living. Each man must take six required courses-Business Policy. Administrative Practices, Business and the American Society, Cost and Financial Administration. Marketing Management, and Problems in Labor Relations.

In addition, there are optional seminars on related topics every afternoon; since "business curiosity" is the theoretical driving power for most of the members, the program encourages the taking of still more additional courses. For example. 90 men are enrolled in public Speaking.

Prerequisite Accomplishment

Criteria for admission to this executive training program are accomplishments rather than formal training. There are no educational prerequisites, and the courses are designed to supplement or serve in place of company methods for developing and upgrading their men.

To insure this practical approach to management problems, the Busy School "case method" of class discussion almost wholly replaces the usual lecture system of the College. The case studies used are all descriptions of real business situations.

The discussion-learning process has its adherents among the Program's members. Lawyer and oilman Hamilton P. Rogers, for instance, feels that this system places emphasis mostly on original thought, and is thus superior to the retrospective method used in Law Schools, where a student is constantly citing previous cases as a yardstick.

But when the management men get together for informal talk, the main criticism of their own program revolves around the presentation of the case material. For example, in a group interview, Ronald L. McVey complained that "management never does anything right in any of these cases. Everyone is an example of management doing something poorly."

"You learn by making mistakes," Rogers countered. "It's an advantage to see management's errors as an example of what not to do."

Many also complained because accomplished specialists in various fields are not allowed to take over the classes and seminars more often-especially when students have a better knowledge of a particular phase of a course than the professor.

Homework is Hard Work

Homework for the Program's enrollee's takes anywhere from three and one-half to four hours a day, on the average. But most members agreed with General Anderson, who said that although it takes "a little adjustment" to get back to studying again, being a student is no harder than being an executive.

A few men felt that this adjustment takes about a month-especially in getting accustomed to the quantity of assigned reading.

"And it takes a while to get used to being regulated. When you're used to regulating things yourself," commented Ingwald T. Monseith of Westinghouse Electric.