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Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Katrin Muff

The purpose of this paper is to outline a path for entrepreneurial universities to embrace their purpose as custodians of society and to hardwire it institutionally.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline a path for entrepreneurial universities to embrace their purpose as custodians of society and to hardwire it institutionally.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is conceptual in its approach, drawing on practical and theoretical insights in the fields of responsible leadership, business sustainability and transformational change. The resulting Circle Model offers a developmental perspective connecting individual and organizational development in service of society.

Findings

A key finding lies in expanding the current understanding of an entrepreneurial university beyond its organizational effectiveness to become a true custodian of society in the way it educate, researches and lives this intended purpose. The model offers a next conceptual step for the 50+20 vision (Muff et al., 2013) which had outlined a radical new role for business schools.

Research limitations/implications

More research is required to understand how not only the educational and research strategies but also the organizational structure can be transformed to serve a given purpose.

Practical implications

Concrete insights and examples of the developmental perspective of the model illustrate the opportunities for educating responsible leaders, for consulting business organizations to serve the common good, and for walking the talk by hardwiring a purpose-driven organization.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies in the introduction of the idea of a common space of sustainability and responsibility as a foundation to reorient education and research of an entrepreneurial business school and hardwire its organizational structure truly around purpose.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2013

Katrin Muff

It is 50 years since the Gordon/Howell and Pierson reports substantially influenced and shaped management education. “Vision 50+20” offers an alternative future in management…

2034

Abstract

Purpose

It is 50 years since the Gordon/Howell and Pierson reports substantially influenced and shaped management education. “Vision 50+20” offers an alternative future in management education for the next 20 years. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the suggested new purpose of business schools as role models in providing responsible leadership for a sustainable world. The article proposes a model of implementation of the vision in the domain of teaching and learning, with concrete best practice examples collected from around the world. The evolution of teaching and learning in business education is briefly reviewed in light of newly proposed “collaborator” method, hopefully launching a debate and further research in this important domain.

Design/methodology/approach

The 50+20 vision of management education for the world resulted from an 18‐month collective creative visioning and back‐casting process, looking into the future and based on explicitly normative assumptions about the need to change business education. The vision was thus primarily developed deductively from a vision of the future, rather than inductively from existing literature and theory. The scholarly assessments of business schools and business school education were used as a starting point for a normative approach, but cannot explain the vision which spans a broad area of topics and fields both within management and beyond. The author complements the vision with examples from around the world to illustrate the emergence of this vision and suggests a model for considering the implementation of vision 50+20.

Findings

Business schools need to fundamentally transform their purpose to serve society by providing responsible leadership for a sustainable world, embracing three relevant roles and becoming themselves a role model and a showcase for transformation.

Practical implications

The paper summarizes the result of the global co‐creative visioning process of project 50+20 offering an alternative vision of management education for the world. More importantly, the paper also suggests a model on how to implement the vision in the domain of teaching and learning by providing concrete applications and leading examples from around the world. As such, it provides a visionary guide for any business and management scholar interested in engaging the future of management education.

Originality/value

The paper summarizes the 50+20 vision and introduces a practical perspective for implementing a meaningful new approach to teaching and learning.

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2012

Katrin Muff

The purpose of this paper is to further the debate on relevance in business education by sharing one business school's experiences.

1520

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to further the debate on relevance in business education by sharing one business school's experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative survey was carried out, reviewed by two independent collaborators. Conclusions drawn from interviews with more than 30 CEOs and HR Directors, from across all industries, provide findings on how business leaders think about higher education in business.

Findings

The results highlight their perspective regarding: how academic programs can add real value in business; what business schools should teach more; and what they should teach less in their MBA programs.

Research limitations/implications

There was a limited sample size of 30 participants. Also. the research is used as a part of a case study being conducted about Business School Lausanne by Prof. Dr J.B.M. Kassarjian, Professor in Management at Babson College, Boston, USA.

Practical implications

A detailed account of an ambitious academic revision provides insights into how entrepreneurship can be applied and lived in the academic world.

Originality/value

This paper examines how a boutique business school in Switzerland has undertaken a profound program revision based on the input and perspectives of business leaders. It demonstrates how key learnings from personally‐conducted interviews were effectively translated into the school's MBA curriculum, thereby transforming not only the program but also the way the school interacts with program participants.

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2012

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Abstract

Purpose

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Rampant globalization and the seemingly endless advances in technology are often cited as key reasons why today's business environment is growing ever more demanding. Throw in the prevailing economic uncertainty and it's easy to comprehend why the challenges faced by many companies rate on an almost unprecedented scale. Effective leadership is a must at the best of times. In a world where intense competition and uncertainty are the norm, it becomes even more critical. The development of current and future leaders has thus arguably never been as important. Not surprisingly, the spotlight falls on business schools to a considerable degree. Firms depend on these institutions to produce graduates capable of navigating the business ship through increasingly stormy waters. Expectations are naturally high.

Practical implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 28 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Thomas Dyllick

The reforms in business schools based on the Ford and Carnegie Foundation reports (Pierson, 1959; Gordon and Howell, 1959) have been very successful in embedding management in a…

3273

Abstract

Purpose

The reforms in business schools based on the Ford and Carnegie Foundation reports (Pierson, 1959; Gordon and Howell, 1959) have been very successful in embedding management in a research-based body of knowledge, thereby elevating the academic status of business administration. These reforms, however, did nothing toward making management more socially trustworthy or management education more responsible. In the light of the pressing economic, social and environmental crises the world is facing, the feeling is spreading that not only business and economics but business schools also need to change fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to these crises and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the fundamental challenges facing the role of business schools and their contributions in the areas of education, research, managing faculty, and role of the business school. It presents suggestions what responsible management education for a sustainable world could and should look like.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on the existing literature on the needed changes in business schools and has been written as part of a large international project, the 50+20 initiative (www.50plus20.org), which was developed by a broad coalition of organizations with the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) at its core and 16 business schools and organizations from all around the world as supporters (Muff et al., 2013).

Findings

Business schools need to transform themselves fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to the crises of responsibility and sustainability and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy.

Originality/value

The paper pulls together insights from a diverse area of literature and develops practical conclusions.

Content available
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Abstract

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

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