Its funny to me reading posts like this one and others with a similar nature. I am an university educated person with an undergraduate degree and a masters degree in business. I honestly believe that yes there is too much emphasis put on education especially in the US. University study should be seen as getting a good grounding of key concepts and looking at what has worked in the past and what we can do in the future, although I don't believe universities here in Australia do a great job teaching innovation in the business schools.
I also don't subscribe to the thought process of this is how it has always been done and I have been doing this for 40 years... This works to a point but there are a few guys like Henry Ford and the Boy's who started Google (both have Degree's) that may disagree.
I for one have seen many peers get out into the work force and make a complete balls up of it because the text book said to do it one way and that didn't go over to well. I have also seen so many other people with years of experience that have no idea about how they could be doing something a better way because there is no other way.
I would say don't put too much emphasis on a uni degree (I am not that smart and can't spell for sh!t), I made it through, but don't disregard best practice as it may save you allot of time and hassle experimenting.
As for QANTAS, I think there are some executives that do need to go and take some weekend courses in employee engagement and motivation as well as a bunch of other courses as they are clearly incompetent or are purposely destroying the company, but pilot's don't do themselves any favours by saying board members don't know anything about aeroplanes so they shouldn't be there... you sound like a miner on an excavator for BHP saying that the boss couldn't do my job so he is no good. How many pilot's know about Directors' fiduciary duties?