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The purpose of this paper is to review and categorize the different strategies Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs have adopted towards incorporating environmental sustainability into business administration.

Through extensive internet research looking at colleges and universities, data are collected from primary source web sites and administrative school contacts. There are 35 institutions whose MBA programs address sustainability in some way. Each of these institutions is then organized by location, tuition cost, enrollment, year founded, accreditation, and curriculum.

Green educational strategies differentiate themselves by the size and maturity of the program. Larger, established institutions typically opt for the green major, or a dual degree, and tend to leave systematic integration of sustainability to the individual student. Newer and smaller entrants tend to either dabble in green with a few sustainability courses, or completely embrace and systemically integrate sustainability throughout the program.

The sample focuses on US institutions and treats sustainability as an externally validated curricular choice when it may merely be an educational fad. The sample excludes potential green MBA programs that lack a strong internet presence.

Four archetypes are identified: dual degree, all‐green, green major, and green coursework. Institutions can analyze their performances and see where they fall on the two major continua – integration and maturity/size.

Green MBA programs are relatively new on the academic landscape, and this research paper is one of the first to systematically analyze and categorize them.

Reflect on the influence of different lifecycle stages on the strategy of a family business; evaluate the impact of family, industry and company dynamics on the evolution of a family firm; assess the impact of ownership, governance and succession considerations on the sustainability of a family firm; and develop decision-making skills to overcome specific dilemmas and secure the family business longevity.

Five industries, three generations and one family business. What started off as an entrepreneur’s ambition, Almajid Limited has proven itself to a sustainable source of revenue and a diverse portfolio of businesses for multiple generations of a Saudi Arabian family. This case study offers an exclusive opportunity to follow the tumultuous journey of a Saudi family business and analyze the different phases of its evolution over seven decades and three generations. In particular, the case aims to highlight the complexities surrounding the management of a family firm and illustrate how various lifecycle stages stemming from a number of areas (e.g. family, company, industry, ownership and governance) simultaneously influence the family business strategy. Being deeply embedded in the context of Saudi Arabia, the case unveils the unique challenges of managing a family business in a conservative cultural setting. The case study is divided into four parts, with each of them putting the emphasis on a different lifecycle area of significance for the evolution of the family business. Each part culminates with the identification of an area-relevant dilemma that needs to be addressed for the family firm to be able to move into the next stage of its development. Part A focuses on the family area or axis, the Part B on the industry axis, Part C on the company axis, while Part D is based on the sustainability axis, which embraces as many as three dilemmas in relation to the ownership, governance and succession in the family firm. Moreover, each part incorporates a timeline of critical events that contributed to the emergence of a specific dilemma and a culturally-rooted anime that helps the readers visualize the story, picture somebody else’s reality, and empathize with the key protagonists of the case to achieve optimal decision-making.

Graduate audience: Master of Business Administration or Master of Global Entrepreneurial Management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree of satisfaction and perceived relevance of the Graduate Business Education (GBE) programme at the University of Botswana.

A self‐administered questionnaire and face to face interviews were used to collect data from Master of Business Administration (MBA) participants on their reason for studying MBA, level of satisfaction, and the extent to which the skills and experiences obtained correlate with those required by the corporate world. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics.

The majority of the respondents are male adults attending part time MBA classes and working full time in administrative positions in the public and private sectors. The study found that improved managerial skills, career development and broader business insights are major reasons for joining the MBA programme, while employability and economic gains were ranked low as driving forces. Even though the overall satisfaction with the programme is mixed and inconclusive, the MBA programme has assisted participants to develop basic management and administration skills. However, the programme puts greater emphasis on conceptual, technical and analytical skills than on problem solving, innovation, communication and entrepreneurial skills which are perceived to be most needed by employers, implying a relevance gap. What the MBA participants learnt does not correlate with what they perceived to be most needed by employers.

Since the findings are based on perceptions of MBA participants, the conclusions drawn from these findings must be considered tentative and interpreted with care. Future research must include representative sample of all MBA stakeholders such as faculty, students, graduates, employers and administrators to get rich information about quality of inputs, processes and products of MBA programme.

There is strong need for the MBA programme to integrate traditional management and administrative skills with experiences and skills relevant for today's world of work. Bridging the growing theory‐practice gap requires attracting professors with practical business experience, revising staff recruitment policies and procedures, establishing formal partnership with external organization, and develop long‐term strategies to reduce teaching load and staff turnover.

Most of the studies on the relevance and quality of GBE programmes are conducted in western higher education institutions, very little has been done in African universities. This is the first of its kind in the context of Botswana, an important contribution to existing literature and foundation for further advanced studies in the area.

Exploratory insights into the graduate student experiences of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are presented. Students are considered key stakeholders in the higher education (HE) debate, and their views were sought in light of recent shifts in HE worldwide, associated business education changes, nagging questions around the quality of MBA programmes, and the need to consider how all these factors might influence the MBA student experience in a developing economy such as Vietnam. The literature confirms a disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education users (here, students) are actually receiving, especially when compared to student expectations, needs and outcomes. Here, a portion of the findings from a larger exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, is presented. Graduate students’ views as to what they were seeking when enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, and how the programme subsequently met their needs, are shared. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Findings from an exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, are presented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, drawn from the graduates of three case study HE provider organisations. Interviews were transcribed verbatim in Vietnamese, then translated into English.

Graduates’ views as stakeholders in the provision of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are shared. Qualitative analysis revealed evidence of their attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge relating to offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. The narratives and interpretations offer insights into both the perceived benefits and limitations, and empirical evidence as to whether graduates’ original expectations were met.

This was a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study, deliberately undertaken in the absence of others like it in the literature. The research relies upon interview and focus group data gathered from three case study organisations and exploring the perceptions of three different stakeholder groups: graduates of offshore MBA programmes (findings shared here); employers of offshore MBA graduates; and MBA programme providers (including programme managers, administrators and/or teaching staff). This paper includes only the perspective of graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, on the basis that rich exploratory information can be derived from a few cases (Perry, 1998).

The literature confirms a potential for disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education graduates actually receive, compared to graduate’s original expectations, needs and wants. Here, empirical evidence of this intersection is examined.

The graduate narratives share crucial exploratory evidence offering a better understanding of the needs and expectations of MBA graduates who might be considering enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. These findings are especially important with regard to understanding the sustainability and value of offshore MBA programmes being delivered in Vietnam, especially given the country’s current state of economic, political and cultural transition, and the associated need for businesses and workers to be able to operate successfully in an international business environment.

No previous studies evaluating the value of MBA programmes in Vietnam have been located. At a time when Vietnam is in economic, cultural, and political transition, knowledge to assist and support their HE sector is crucial. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in Vietnamese offshore MBA programme curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings.

The case is designed to be used with the digital business model framework developed by Peter Weill and Stephanie Woerner of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Weill and Woerner, 2015) and is referred to as the W & W framework. This approach provides a useful structure for thinking through the strategic options facing environments ripe for digital transformation.

Research for this case was conducted through face-to-face interviews with the protagonist, as well as through a review of their business planning documents and other data and documentation provided by the founder. Some of the market and industry data were obtained using secondary research and industry reports. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed to ensure accuracy.

The case follows the story of Kurt Waltenbaugh, a Minnesota entrepreneur who shared the dream of using data analytics to reduce costs within the US health-care system. In early 2014, Waltenbaugh and a physician colleague founded Carrot Health to bring together their personal experience and expertise in both consumer data analytics and health care. From the beginning, they focused on how to use data analytics to help identify high-risk/high-cost patients who had not yet sought medical treatment. They believed that they could use these insights to encourage early medical interventions and, as a result, lower the long-term cost of care.

Carrot’s initial success found them in a consultative role, working on behalf of insurance companies. Through this work, they honed their capabilities by helping their clients combine existing claims data with external consumer behavioral data to identify new potential customers. These initial consulting contracts gave Carrot the opportunity to develop its analytic tools, business model and, importantly, to earn some much-needed cash flow during the start-up phase. However, they also learned that, while insurance companies were willing to purchase data insights for one-off market expansion projects, it was much more difficult to motivate them to use data proactively to eliminate costs on an ongoing basis. Waltenbaugh believed that Carrot’s greatest potential lay in their ability to develop predictive models of health outcomes, and this case explores Carrot’s journey through strategic decisions and company transformation.

This case is intended for either an undergraduate or graduate course on entrepreneurial strategy. It provides an effective introduction to the unique structure and constraints which apply to an innovative start-up within the health-care industry. The case also serves as a platform to explore the critical criteria to be considered when developing a digital transformation strategy and exposing students to the digital business model developed by Weill and Woerner (2015) at MIT (referred to in this instructor’s manual as the W&W framework). The case was written to be used in an advanced strategy Master of Business Administration (MBA) class, an undergraduate specialty health-care course or as part of a health-care concentration in a regular MBA, Master of Health Care Administration (MHA) or Master of Public Health (MPH). It may be taught toward the end of a course on business strategy when students are building on generic strategy frameworks and adapting their strategic thinking to the characteristics of specific industries or sectors. However, the case can also be taught as part of a course on health-care innovation in which case it also serves well as an introduction to the health-care payments and insurance system in the USA. Finally, the case can be used in a specialized course on digital transformation strategy in which case it serves as an introduction to the MIT W&W framework.

The case is particularly well-suited to students who are familiar with traditional frameworks for business strategy and business models. The analysis builds on this knowledge and introduces students interested in learning about the opportunities and challenges of digital strategy. Equally, the case works well for students with clinical backgrounds, who are interested in how business strategy can influence changes within the health-care sphere. Finally, an important aspect of the case design was to develop students’ analytical confidence by encouraging them to “get their hands dirty” and to carry out some basic exploratory data analytics themselves. As such, the case requires students to combine and correlate data and to experience the potentially powerful combination of clinical and consumer data. Instructors should find that the insights from these activities give students unique insights into the potential for of data analytics to move health care from a reactive/treatment ethos to a proactive/intervention ethos. This experience can be particularly revealing for students with clinical backgrounds who may initially be resistant to the use of clinical data by commercial organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the main factors that contribute to teaching and learning sustainability in management education (SiME), which is defined as a body of knowledge that meets the needs of both current and future generations of students.

The authors adopt the Biggs’ Presage–Process–Product (3P) learning model to guide and categorize the findings from the literature review on SiME. This study provides an overview of journal articles published between 2002 and 2017.

In the context of SiME, Biggs’ 3P model shows how teaching context and students’ background (presage factors) influence students’ approaches to learning, which can range from surface to deep learning (process) and result in various learning outcomes (products).

The literature review may have excluded important and relevant work from the sample.

This review highlights that personal and institutional commitments are necessary to promote effective learning of sustainability.

Effective learning outcomes (deep learning) in sustainability should encourage students to reflect on their personal values and behaviors and to acquire analytical skills aimed at promoting conservation and remediation of social, environmental and economic problems.

This paper provides an application of Biggs’ 3P learning model in the context of sustainability, which highlights the conditions for deep learning as critical given the complexity and urgency of addressing sustainability crises.

Postgraduate business education in the higher educational institutions in Japan was poorly developed, and lagged far behind not only the other advanced economies, but in some of the developing countries until the end of the 1980s. However, during the 1990s it has undergone considerable changes as part of the reform in postgraduate education in Japan. This article attempts to explain why MBA education did not develop in Japan in the first place, and then how these changes came about. It also looks at the changes in social and economic backgrounds that promoted and speeded these changes. Finally it attempts to view the future of postgraduate professional education in Japan.

Describes international management development programmes at the University of Hawaii. The programmes prepare business people for economic development in the Asia Pacific region and the international marketplace. A unique feature is the strong interaction of participants with multinational and multi‐cultural students.