The Greening of Business Schools

"New modes of thinking" are necessary to meet a new set of complex environmental challenges-greenery, globalization, diversity, complexity and acceleration of technological change of the 1990s. The green challenge to business schools is to articulate, develop, and deliver environmental education for managers as an effective tool for a sustainable world economy and society. Every business student must have at least broad understanding of the social, political, ethical, technological, economic, and ecological context of global business. The challenge of educating business leaders for a global future requires a new portfolio of capabilities, commitments. and visions on the part of business school faculty, the multinational corporations, and other stakeholders in management education. Business schools around the world have an obligation to present the ecological challenge as clearly to students as to faculty members. The more environmentally conscious business student community of the 1990s probably will demand to have structured learning opportunities about environmental issues and their impact on business management- with a superordinate goal of improving environmental sensitivity and environmental performance of individuals and their institutions.     

Research Expectations at Business Schools: Responding to Changing Business Education Pressures

This exploratory study examined the importance of various types of research for promotion and tenure decisions given the need of business schools to respond to internal and external pressures for change, such as globalisation and managerial relevance. U.S. business schools were classified as AACSB- and non-AACSB-accredited and as high-teaching-emphasis and low-teaching-emphasis schools. Respondents included management and marketing faculty and business deans. Contrary to expectations, few significant differences were found between the two classifications of business schools. While schools differed regarding the importance of theory-based and empirical research, no significant differences were found in terms of the importance of internationally oriented and managerially relevant research for promotion and tenure decisions. Significant differences, however, were found between deans and faculty responses, with deans being more responsive than management and marketing faculty to these pressures. Also, perceptions regarding monetary and non-monetary support varied significantly for all classifications.     

The African View of Participatory Business Management

In this paper I delineate the group of activities concernedwith business and then proceed to give an exposition of the concepts usedby Ubuntu as an example of the African view of business managementindicating those activities of human performances regarded by them asbasic to their world view. I proceed to deal with the way these Ubuntuconcepts are applied to business management using the ideas of LovemoreMbigi as an important advocate of the Ubuntu style of participatorymanagement. In doing so. I try to establish what some important Africanthinkers themselves regard as the special position of Ubuntu in contrastto individualism, collectivism and Western Humanism. I then focus on themost important topic of this paper, to wit, the application of the Ubuntuconcepts to a real case and analyse it as a case study. I conclude bycritically assessing the suggested Ubuntu style of management in terms ofuniversal and specific applications.     

Business Sponsorship in British Schools

Is it ethical for a school to accept sponsorship from business, and if so under what conditions? Indeed, given the poor provision of many UK local schools for their pupils is it ethical to refuse business sponsorship? Where does responsibility lie? “To attract and persuade is not an appropriate behaviour in dealing with inexperienced parties.” The author completed her MBA at London Business School in July 1997 and is currently setting up a new family business, The Organic Food Company Ltd.     

The Response of Canadian Business Schools to Consumerism

Of the major issues dominating the public interest in recent times, perhaps consumerism is by far the most vital one. Reaching the forefront during the second half of the past decade, consumerism has drawn considerable attention from virtually all groups having a stake in the performance of the market place. The interest of the academic community in consumerism is no exception. For business educators, the prevalence of consumer protests and dissatisfaction with the market behavior yields a number of compelling but, nonetheless, crucial issues. For instance, should a business school try to improve its existing image—that of preparing its student to be a shrewd businessman with one pervasive criterion in mind, namely, profit maximization? Or, should business schools adopt the concept of training its graduate to be an enlightened businessman who attempts to maximize the profit of his firm, but in the context of what is best for the whole society? Should a business school play the role of a mediator between consumers and the business sector at large? It is to these and similar questions that the present investigation is directed.     

Implementing an Organizational Ethics Program in an Academic Environment: The Challenges and Opportunities for the Duquesne University Schools of Business

This paper acknowledges the paucity of attention regarding the development of ethics programs within an academic environment and describes in a case study how the Duquesne University schools of business attempted to introduce, integrate and promote its own ethics program. The paper traces the business school’s attention to mission statements, curriculum development, ethics policy, program oversight and outcome assessment. Lessons learned are offered as suggestions for others seeking to develop and implement an ethics program in their school.     

African Business Research: A Review of Studies Published in the Journal of African Business and a Framework for Enhancing Future Studies

ABSTRACT

The development of Africa depends on productivity and effectiveness of businesses. One objective of the Journal of African Business (JAB) is to facilitate business effectiveness through dissemination of research and practitioner knowledge. Reviewing 96 articles published over a seven year period (2000–2006) published in JAB, the study looked for patterns in the research described (i.e., disciplinary focus, geographic coverage, characteristics of authors, etc). The study also focused on the degree of correspondence (or fit) between Western theory and data provided. Four important findings are: (1) JAB published research from diverse disciplines; (2) there seems to be a bias toward Business rather than Management disciplines, (3) a majority of the research is empirical; and (4) there seems to be a lack of context-specific theories. A proposed framework and implications for future research are discussed.     

The Domains of Undergraduate International Business and International Management Courses in Accredited Schools of Business

ABSTRACT

This study compared undergraduate international business and international management course syllabi from 190 management departments at accredited U.S. business schools. Comparisons revealed considerable overlap in topic areas in the two courses. The findings indicate the need for greater domain clarity and differentiation in objectives, topic areas covered, and textbooks used. Domain clarification could lead to more truthful representation of the two courses, better training and disciplinary grounding of course instructors, more appropriate hosting of the courses in business school departments, and enhanced skill-sets among students in these courses. Finally, clear domain definitions are necessary for reliability and validity in international business research.     

Introducing Practical Wisdom in Business Schools

This article echoes those voices that demand new approaches and ‹senses’ for management education and business programs. Much of the article is focused on showing that the polemic about the educative model of business schools has moral and epistemological foundations and opens up the debate over the type of knowledge that practitioners need to possess in order to manage organizations, and how this knowledge can be taught in management programs. The article attempts to highlight the moral dimension of management through a reinterpretation of the Aristotelian concept of practical wisdom. I defend the ideas that management is never morally neutral and that Aristotelian practical wisdom allows the recovery of moral considerations in management practice. I analyze the impact and implications that the introduction of practical wisdom in business schools entails for the conception and objectives of management education. This view reconfigures management education in terms of attention to values, virtues and context. Therefore, management programmes should prepare students to critically evaluate what they hear and to make decisions coherent with their values and virtues. In the final section, I reflect on the pedagogical implications of this approach. I point out that an integrated model of ethics and practical wisdom promotes education of cognition and education of affect as well. I provide an example to illustrate my perspective and to support my conclusions.     

South African Business Dynamics

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to develop a scale to measure the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) of persons in South Africa. Respondents were subjected to a survey instrument and provided information on items pertaining to their demographics, entrepreneurial orientation, and values. The results showed substantial differences on the range of items between black and white entrepreneurs.     

The Development of Undergraduate International Business Practicums in Small Business Schools: An Experiential Learning Framework

The value of the inclusion of experiential learning opportunities in international business education has been well established in the literature. We set out to examine industry-identified skills and experiences that could lead to enhanced employability and early career performance. Through our extensive review of theory, empirical work, leading programs, practicum channels, and our own qualitative study, we proposed frameworks to help guide small business schools best structure their undergraduate international business experiential learning offerings. Specifically, we suggest the establishment of tracks or concentrations with supplemental skill focus, emphasis on foreign language proficiency, and requiring at least two international internship or service learning practicums, preferably abroad, that include mini-consulting projects, presentations, and deliverables.     

FOCUS: Equal Opportunities: The Challenges for Business

The equal opportunities issue constitutes one of the biggest ethical and practical challenges ever faced by business, because it strikes at fundamental cultural assumptions about the purpose and responsibilities of business and the rights of individuals which are ingrained from childhood. The author is chairman of Business in the Community's'Opportunity 2000'.     

Challenges and Opportunities of Business Education in Southeast Europe: The Case of a Balkan Business School

In 2004, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) concluded a 4‐year, 10 million dollar contract with the University of Delaware to create the Sarajevo Graduate School of Business, the first Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business [AACSB]‐accredited business school in Southeast Europe. This case study examines inconsistencies in the school's mission and goals, the structure and operation of the joint venture between Delaware and the University of Sarajevo, the fit between Delaware's MBA program and the local environment, pricing in an emerging market, the impact of the school's business model on its sustainability, challenges of market estimation and new product introduction, and the realism of USAID's goal of cultural change. The article concludes with an up‐to‐date epilogue and summary of conclusions that pertain generally to organizational strategies in emerging markets.     

The Globalization of Business Schools: Curriculum and Pedagogical Issues

In this article we explore the connection between learning goals, cognitive skill development, and pedagogical strategies. We identify cognitive skills that are important to students of international business, and link them to the pedagogical strategies that support them. The characteristics that impact the effectiveness of international business pedagogy are described. Finally, three university programs are used to illustrate the connection between explicit learning goals, pedagogy, and cognitive skill development.