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A degree of responsibility

Words | Laura Latham As corporate social responsibility becomes key to business strategy, MBA courses are adapting to stay ahead of the trend ONE OF THE MOST important aspects of MBA degrees is their ability not just to teach the fundamentals of business but to draw on important new developments. Chief among these at present [...]

Words | Laura Latham

As corporate social responsibility becomes key to business strategy,
MBA courses are adapting to stay ahead of the trend

ONE OF THE MOST important aspects
of MBA degrees is their ability not
just to teach the fundamentals of
business but to draw on important
new developments. Chief among
these at present is corporate social
responsibility (CSR), or the ability of companies to take
into account the effects of business practices on local
communities and the environment.

Several MBA courses are at the forefront of changing
business trends and many now include important
lessons about CSR. In a recent survey by the University
of California, Santa Barbara, MBA students at 11 top
business schools ranked CSR high on their list of values.
Many claimed they’d be happy to accept a lower salary to
work for an employer adopting ethical business practices.
This echoes society’s steady shift towards greater public
awareness of corporate responsibility.

Professor David Grayson, chairman of the Doughty
Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of
Management, believes responsibility, sustainability and
issues surrounding the globalisation of trade are becoming
increasingly important in the corporate world.

“Our goal is to make sure students have the opportunity
to be exposed to debate about the role of business in
society and a globally connected economy,” he says.

Grayson sees this new breed of MBA as a way of creating
future managers able to implement sustainable and
responsible business practices.

At Nottingham Business School, Professor Jeremy
Moon says there is a growing demand for more socially
responsible courses within the MBA structure.

“There’s evidence that more business schools are
integrating social and environmental stewardship into
their MBAs, as well as developing specialist CSR modules
and programmes,” he explains. “There appears to be a
growing interest in the business world as to what skills and
competences a CSR manager requires and this may create
a greater future interest in the subject.”

Moon says the main aspects MBAs should address
are: “the responsibilities of business; the scope and
limits of these responsibilities, particularly in respect to
governments, societies and individuals, and the different
global, national, cultural and company contexts of these
responsibilities”.

He adds that the growth of interest in CSR among
the wider public is what makes it so important to MBA
students. “Increasingly, investors, employees and customers
bring social and ethical criteria into their decisions about
investment, work and consumption. Companies value our
graduates for their CSR positions, but they also value CSR
education in graduates entering other business positions.
This suggests CSR training will have an impact on the
future of global business.”

David Rodger, communications manager for the
Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group and a graduate of
Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, agrees that CSR
skills now being taught on MBA courses are paramount to
tomorrow’s business models.

“There’s been a real shift in our culture and issues of
CSR now have a broader application in business than
previously,” he says. “Companies need to think about the
way they’re doing things and how they can change.”

While at university, Rodgers studied the renewable
energy industry and he finds satisfaction in using his
education in the sector. “MBAs with a CSR relevance
definitely encourage students to consider how they can
achieve business targets while still having empathy for
society and the environment,” he says.

CSR issues are now regarded as so important that
Manchester Business School has devoted a department to
them. Professor Rosa Chun says: “Corporations are under a
lot of pressure to be responsible and universities are also
under pressure to include ethics into the curriculum.

“MBA students are future business leaders and, therefore,
our mission is to put the curriculum into our courses.”

The school aims to provide a framework to help students
understand how aspects of running a business and making
a profit can exist alongside ethical issues. However, Chun
explains that, because the subject is still relatively new,
there’s little evidence yet to indicate whether CSR training
is making any discernible difference to business practice.

“It’s doubtful whether new graduates can completely
change the way companies or governments do business.
But if we supply them with the knowledge and a framework
then maybe change can happen by degrees,” she says.

“There’s no doubt multinationals are welcoming
students with a CSR background and demand is growing
among students, as it’s seen as something that could help
you find a better job after graduation.”

CASE STUDY

Steven Lang, 34, from Bromley, Kent,
graduated recently with an MBA from
Manchester Business School and was
formerly a marketing professional
with Disney in France. He majored in
corporate social responsibility (CSR)
but was president of the business
school’s CSR club. “Students now have
a better awareness of CSR issues,”
he says. “They are conscious about
corporate ‘greenwash’ and want to
be able to tell when a company is
genuinely involved in CSR and those
just paying lip service to it.”

Lang believes corporate
responsibility used to be merely
part of a company’s marketing or
PR strategy but the issues are now
becoming so critical to consumers
that they are beginning to form
the core of many corporations’
business practices.

“It’s definitely important to MBA
students,” he says. “Our CSR club got
more students to its talks and events
than those for investment banking.”

Lang now seeks a position in a
mainstream company that allows
him to practise his knowledge of CSR.
“Responsibility crosses all sectors
– retail, banking or renewable energy,”
he says. “Companies realise there has
to be someone in their organisation
who is taking responsibility for how
those concerns are met.”