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Posted 11-22-99
Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management was one of 10 top business schools honored in New York City recently for playing a leadership role in incorporating social issues into M.B.A. programs. The awards were presented by the World Resources Institute (WRI), based in Washington, D.C., and the Initiative for Social Innovation Through Business (ISIB), a New York-based program of the Aspen Institute.
In addition to Weatherhead, the honorees include Harvard Business School, Kellogg Business School (Northwestern University), Stanford Business School, University of Michigan Business School, University of Notre Dame, Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania), Katz Business School (University of Pittsburgh), Darden Business School (University of Virginia), and Loyola Marymount University.
In their joint report, Beyond Grey Pinstripes: Preparing M.B.A.'s for Social and Environmental Stewardship, WRI and ISIB documented the results of their survey of the nation's 313 accredited business schools assessing their efforts to train M.B.A. students to manage the social and environmental challenges facing business.
"Society's future is tied to the quality of business leadership and the ability to recognize and measure the long-term impact of business decisions on the natural environment, on employees, and on the communities in which business operates," the report states.
However, only 20 percent of business schools have incorporated environmental and/or societal activities into their M.B.A. programs. "M.B.A. programs focus on the analytical and technical skills needed for traditional business tasks. A select few, celebrated in this report, are also training their students to handle complex social issues and provide stewardship of fragile environmental resources."
The Weatherhead School was honored for a range of initiatives to raise students' awareness of vital social issues. These include the Weatherhead Community Service Recognition Program, which begins during orientation programs for first-year students; the annual student-run Workforce 2000 Diversity Conference; and student organizations such as Students for Responsible Business, the Multicultural Task Force, Weatherhead Women in Business, and the International Business Group.
The school was also cited for its numerous M.B.A. courses focused on social and environmental topics, and for its unique Social Innovations in Global Management Program, a federally funded research and education program focused on new forms of voluntary, transnational organizations that can address pressing global issues such as poverty, health care, and environmental sustainability.
"At the Weatherhead School, we believe that contributing knowledge, skills and energy to our community and society is a sound investment for all future leaders," said Kim S. Cameron, dean and the Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Management. "Besides adding social value, this type of service learning also helps M.B.A. students to develop their emotional intelligence -- or 'EQ' -- competencies, such as personal initiative, negotiation, team management, empathy, and oral communication."
Findings of the WRI/ISIB report were endorsed in a letter from the national Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs committed to improving public policy. "We applaud your schools' efforts to date and hope you will continue to serve, not only as models for other business schools, but as leaders in training M.B.A.'s to be stewards of our human and natural resources."
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