Dean’s diary
What is the next great
business school innovation?
W
hile we heard a lot about climate knowledge and skills, but only 7% believe that
change in 2006 and 2007, the they are being developed effectively.
financial crisis and recession have The global leader of tomorrow needs to
pushed it down the agenda. But both the understand the changing business context, needs
sustainability crisis and the financial crisis have the skill to lead in the face of complexity and
been long in the making and show that the longer ambiguity, and finally needs connectedness – the
risk is ignored, the bigger the consequences. ability to engage with people from different walks
The UK’s 2006 Stern Review on Climate of life, cultural backgrounds and worldviews.
Change, highlighted the expected increase in If these are the kinds of knowledge and skills
extreme weather, with the associated problems needed, how can they best be developed?
of agricultural failure, water scarcity, disease and At Ashridge we are taking a number of steps
mass migration. Stern extrapolated the costs and to address this challenge. We established a
suggested that climate change could swallow up specialist research centre as long ago as 1996.
to 20% of the world’s GDP. The current recession, We’ve launched a joint venture with
the most serious for nearly a century, dwarf InterfaceRAISE, the award winning
climate change cost estimates by comparison at manufacturer. On our MBA programme, a
approximately 1-2%. Investing to avert the climate compulsory module explores how these issues
crisis now, Stern’s report says, is likely to cost us cut across all the functional silos and Kai Peters
something similar per annum – about 1% of sustainability reappears in all of the other Chief Executive,
global GDP – and could even provide a route out modules. We’ve also been looking for ideas Ashridge Business School, UK
of the current crunch. more broadly. The 2009 Ashridge Sustainable
What Stern makes increasingly clear is Innovation Award, for example, invites MBA
that the scale of change needed is not simply a students to submit their best ideas to create value direction, collectively, there is still a long way
case of business as usual with a few low wattage from the shift to a low carbon economy. The to go. Really achieving transformational
light bulbs here and there, but really award sponsors, HP, have been working with the change needed in management education
transformational change. This means putting global conservation organisation WWF to will require reaching the hearts and minds of
sustainability at the heart of strategic decision- identify the business opportunities for the ICT every single MBA and every member of
making and into all the key business systems sector available from substituting high carbon faculty. It also means that the management
and processes. It also means reaching the activities with low carbon alternatives. The education world collectively must reassess
hearts and minds of individuals working right business opportunities at stake are substantial each and every one of the key principles,
across the organisation. – from telepresencing to substitute air travel, to models and frameworks that inform our
Management education and leadership replacing paper with digital documentation, to thinking. The task is daunting, but the need is
development have an important role to play in ICT solutions that streamline logistics operations great and, as this research demonstrates, the
meeting this challenge, and it is this that lies to minimise CO2 emissions. companies we are developing people for are
behind the new United Nations Principles for While these examples can provide some demanding it. We must rise to the challenge.
Responsible Management Education (PRME)
initiative, in which Ashridge Business School
played a leading role. The Global Leaders of Tomorrow received financial support from the EABIS Founding
More recently, Ashridge has worked with Corporate Partners IBM, Johnson and Johnson, Microsoft, Shell and Unilever in support
the European Academy of Business in Society of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative.
and a number of global business schools to The research was led by Ashridge Business School in the UK along with Case Western
understand just how important this agenda is to Reserve University, the Center for Creative Leadership, China Europe International
companies. The research, based on extensive Business School, IEDC-Bled, IESE, INSEAD, Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of
interviews and a global survey of senior executives Cape Town and the University of Waikato.
presents a stark message: 76% say it is important The full research report is available from
www.ashridge.org.uk/globalleadersoftomorrow
that leaders in their organisations have the
50 TopMBA CAreer Guide
www.topmba.com
TopMBA CAreer Guide
www.topmba.com 51
MBA_SPR09_pp_001-051.indd 50 17/2/09 15:36:55
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