Leadership

MBAs Pledge to Produce Corporate Citizens

By Joanna Higgins

Updated on: September 10, 2009 / 12:13 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Management education took a particular bashing last year, from Philip Delves Broughton's much-publicised book on Harvard's MBA output last year to Henry Mintzberg's more expected attack on traditional courses.

So Matthew Stewart's criticism isn't exactly out of the blue. But are b-schools listening?

Jeanette Purcell, the head of the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the international accreditation body, thinks so. She foresees three big priority shifts among the MBA and management education providers:

Interpersonal skills -- collaboration, team-building and communication will be the hallmarks of future leaders, as mavericks are replaced by a more 'servant-leader' style of executive.
Managing change -- whether it's as a result of the recession, or simply a response to the ever faster pace of change and growth across global markets, MBAs will be expected to learn how to deliver timely change programmes.
Responsible management -- front and centre in most leading b-school modules, believes Purcell, as MBA courses recognise the importance of educating MBAs of the responsibility that goes with all that power.

This last, responsibility, focus is one that's close to the AMBA's heart. It has partnered with the UN and, as of 2010, any b-school going after an AMBA accreditation will have to meet the criteria of the UN Global Compact's "Principles for Responsible Management Education" initiative.

This means sticking to six principles that taken into account an MBA's purpose, values, methods, research, partnerships and how it talks to others, broadly summarised as pledges to educate students...

. ...to be 'future generators of sustainable value' -- in business and in global economies.
...on global social responsibility
...using materials and frameworks that encourage responsible leadership.
...using research that "advances our understanding about the role, dynamics and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable, social, environmental and economic value".
...in partnership with managers, so that courses truly reflect the challenges businesses face when trying to meet social and environmental responsibilities.
...while maintaining an open dialogue on social and environmental issues, drawing stakeholders together from businesses, government, consumers, special interest groups, the media and education.

Admirable as these sound, the big question is around delivery -- how do you teach someone to become a future generator of sustainable value? There's already a danger of words like 'sustainability' or 'responsibility' becoming hollow in the hands of the wrong businesses. Here's hoping the PRME pledges will be able to support grand-sounding aims with substance.