Ambition is AMBA’s thought leadership magazine, offering regular insights into the challenges and trends that matter most in global management education
Ambiti n The monthly magazine of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Issue 78 DECEMBER 2024
Sustainable to the core How business schools are going for green
LATIN AMERICA LEANS INTO LEARNING AMBA Deans & Directors Rio conference reviewed
THE WAY TO MAKE STUDYING GO WITH A SWING Aalto uses jazz to orchestrate success in exec education
EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER INTERVIEW How UCL labs cultivate lifelong alumni relations
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Issue 78 | DECEMBER 2024
NEWS & INS IGHT
REGULARS
07 | EDI TOR’ S LET TER Business schools have a responsibility to act as champions of change on sustainability 34 | SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS A profile of Canada’s École des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM), a recent recipient of joint accreditation from AMBA & BGA 38 | VIEW FROM THE TOP CEO Andrew Main Wilson looks
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back at an encouraging year of growth and innovation
08 | BUSINESS BRIEFING The latest selection of news and research from AMBA-accredited schools 16 | REFLECTIONS FROM RIO Held in Rio de Janeiro, AMBA & BGA’s latest Latin America conference discussed ways in which management education can create a greater impact on society and how schools can thrive in challenging times 28 | FROM THE GROUND UP An AMBA award-winning initiative for lifelong learning at UCL School of Management that is as focused on real- world impact as it is on the continued development of its MBA community
OPINION
36 | MBA CAREERS With more students seeking purpose and flexibility in their post-MBA careers, we need to ensure they are not weighed down by outdated narratives of success, says Harvard Business School’s Christina Wallace
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Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 3
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Issue 78 | DECEMBER 2024
FEATURES
26 | BEYOND THE SENSE OF SELF
12 | COVER STORY THE WINDS OF CHANGE Jessica Chelekis outlines Brunel Business School’s efforts to work towards a more comprehensive focus on sustainability in its MBA and help students adopt the right mindset for the future
Francisco Javier Vázquez Junior from Iteso uses an analysis of how personalism intersects with pedagogy to look at ways in which educators can foster ethical environments
32 | A NEW ERA IN EDUCATION:PART 4 Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Chahndra Dal Pont considers how to deliver an MBA experience that satisfies Gen Z’s desire for meaning, flexibility and real-world learning
22 | THE RHYTHM OF BUSINESS Aalto University’s Patrick Furu reveals how he integrates live jazz performances into management education sessions to offer participants a real‑time, experiential understanding of complex concepts
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 5
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EDITOR’S LETTER
GOING GREEN FOR THE GREATER GOOD
EDITORIAL Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
As companies face pressure to be more sustainable, business schools can help to champion change
B
Art editor Sam Price Sub-editor Heather Ford
runel Business School makes a compelling argument for integrating sustainability into all aspects of the MBA curriculum in this month’s cover story. The increasing inclusion of sustainability in management education programmes is driven by several key factors, one of which is societal demand. A growing public awareness of environmental and social issues, along with a rise in conscious consumerism and ethical investing, has led to an increased pressure on businesses to adopt sustainable practices. Regulatory scrutiny such as stricter corporate social responsibility standards, plus the need for businesses to comply with sustainability reporting requirements, must also be factored in. Then there is long-term business viability: ie recognition of the link between sustainability and financial performance, as well as understanding the impact of climate change and resource scarcity on business operations and identifying new opportunities in the sustainability sector. This all adds up to an urgent requirement to adequately prepare future leaders. Business schools are proposing a number of solutions, including offering courses on the topic, along with corporate social responsibility and environmental management, as well as incorporating sustainability principles into traditional business programmes such as finance, marketing and strategy. Meanwhile, real-world projects, such as consulting for social enterprises, or analysing the environmental impact of businesses, help engage students in sustainability projects. Moreover, field trips, case studies and simulations can expose them to real-life challenges. Sustainability was also one of the key topics at the recently held AMBA & BGA Latin America conference, reviewed in this issue. Horacio Arredondo, dean of Egade Business School, identified sustainability as one of the primary goals in the context of social impact, while Walter Schalka, former CEO of paper and pulp giant Suzano, noted that sustainability is central to any discussion around implementing change for the future. By incorporating sustainability into their curricula, business schools are equipping future leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to address the complex challenges facing both our society and our planet.
Insight, content and PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
Head of marketing and communications Leonora Clement
Senior marketing executive Edward Holmes
Head of IT and data management Jack Villanueva
Head of events Carolyn Armsby
HR and employer relations manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and commercial director Catherine Walker
Colette Doyle , Editor, Ambition
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
Chief executive officer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@amba-bga.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@amba-bga.com
KAMAL BOUZINAB
JESSICA CHELEKIS
CHAHNDRA DAL PONT
PATRICK FURU
PAOLO TATICCHI
FRANCISCO JAVIER VÁZQUEZ JUNIOR
CHRISTINA WALLACE
Copyright 2024 by Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association ISSN 2631-6382 All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is independent, accurate, objective and relevant for our readers, AMBA accepts no responsibility for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed and advice given are the views of individual commentators and do not necessarily represent the views of AMBA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. AMBA makes every opportunity to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor.
Ambiti n
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 7
BUSINESS BRIEFING
All the latest updates from across AMBA’s global network
Included in our latest selection of updates is a report on how boards rate company leaders’ ability to handle today’s business challenges, an index on artificial intelligence that identifies the world’s leading firms, an experiment designed to encourage consumers to opt for dishes with a lower carbon footprint and research on how a CEO’s political preferences influence company policy. By Tim Banerjee Dhoul and Ellen Buchan
HOW POLITICAL PERSPECTIVES IMPACT COMPANY SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES
SCHOOL : University of St Gallen COUNTRY : Switzerland
At the start of November, people around the world anxiously awaited the results of the US presidential election because they recognised that its outcome would inevitably have ripple effects felt far beyond the country’s borders, influencing economies, policies and global relationships. The leanings of a country’s leadership will be representative of the country’s ensuing political outlook and actions, but can the same be said for organisations? Does the political stance of an organisation’s CEO, in particular, impact that company’s policies? This is what new research from the University of St Gallen has investigated. Specifically, it explored how a CEO’s political preferences might influence decisions taken around sustainability. The findings reveal that left-leaning CEOs tend to drive more green new product introductions in their companies; in other words, products that have been developed to reduce environmental impact.
While this aligns with what most people would expect, the study delved deeper to demonstrate that a CEO’s political leaning will have more of an impact in adverse business conditions. There is also more of a difference between the actions of left and right-leaning CEOs when there is little public interest in their company’s sustainability policies. However, if a company is under scrutiny, or has been accused of greenwashing, political ideology will have less of an impact because decisions are much more likely to be driven by a need to address public concerns and maintain the organisation’s reputation. The research highlights that the implementation of sustainable practices is not directed purely by economic rationality and that much depends on business leaders and their willingness to promote this transition. Entitled Red, blue and green? The association between CEOs’ political ideologies and green new product introductions , the study was published in the Journal of Product Innovation Management . EB
8 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2024
NEWS & INSIGHT
A new report put together by the Insead Corporate Governance Centre (ICGC), in partnership with Heidrick & Struggles and the Boston Consulting Group, has delved into perceptions around organisations’ ability to deal with complex current issues. One of the key challenges currently facing businesses globally is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), with PwC estimating that the technology could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, only 36 per cent of company boards surveyed felt their company was prepared to leverage the full potential of AI. The report also found that 29 per cent of company directors do not have faith in their CEO to navigate their organisation through the current period of uncertainty. This significant lack of trust was in evidence both ways, as 26 per cent of CEOs surveyed said that they did not believe in the effectiveness of their board. The year 2024 has seen the number of global conflicts rise to 56; the highest figure since World War II, according to the Global Peace Index. In this context, boards were asked if their companies had sufficient strategies to address geopolitical risks, yet only 37 per cent believed they did. More positively, the survey found widespread approval on sustainability, with 77 per cent of boards surveyed agreeing that addressing concerns in this area was a responsibility of their companies. “Boards today can benefit from moving from being reactive to proactive,” said ICGC executive director Sonia Tatar. “Beyond understanding disruptions, they can focus on looking ahead – anticipating future shocks and potential risks and finding ways to capitalise on emerging trends to leverage opportunities. By translating insights that inform decision-making into strategic actions, they will be better positioned to guide companies to be more resilient and navigate change effectively.” The report is entitled Boards and Society: How Boards Are Evolving to Meet Challenges from Sustainability to Geopolitical Volatility . EB BOARD DIRECTORS HAVE CONCERNS OVER CEO s ’ ABILITY, NEW REPORT FINDS SCHOOL : Insead COUNTRY : France
Students and recent graduates of Torcuato Di Tella University Business School can now add a master’s in management studies (MSMS) degree from MIT Sloan School of Management to their existing qualifications, after the two institutions signed an agreement. The MSMS is a highly selective nine-month degree programme open to students and recent graduates studying an MBA or equivalent master’s-level degree at one of a number of institutions around the world. In this way, it offers access to a unique community of learners and an international network, on top of an education and resulting qualification with the global reputation of MIT Sloan. Designated as a STEM programme, the MSMS curriculum, meanwhile, is designed to complement the programmes already taken by participants, which would be the MBA, executive MBA or master’s in management with analytics programmes for those at Di Tella Business School. Alongside Di Tella, partners in MIT Sloan’s MSMS initiative include McGill University Desautels, Insead and HKU Business School, the University of Hong Kong. The MSMS class of 2025 comprises 19 students from 12 different countries. A sizeable 63 per cent of the cohort is female and together they hold an average of four years’ prior work experience. At Di Tella Business School, MBA students hold an average of 10 years’ prior work experience, while EMBA students hold 14 years. Founded in 1991 and based in Buenos Aires, Torcuato Di Tella University currently has around 7,500 students and a permanent staff of 160 full-time professors. Di Tella Business School, meanwhile, is an AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2025 finalist in the Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative category for its longstanding Women in Business initiative. Established in 2018, the initiative has added activities each year to support and strengthen the school’s development of women in leadership positions, while promoting better conditions and greater equity within organisations and society. TBD DI TELLA JOINS MIT SLOAN PROGRAMME INITIATIVE SCHOOL : Torcuato Di Tella University Business School COUNTRY : Argentina
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 9
“ANYONE’S GAME”: NEW INDEX FLAGS DISPARITIES IN AI USE
SCHOOL : IMD Business School COUNTRY : Switzerland
The world’s tech giants are not the only companies leading the way in the effective use of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new index launched by IMD Business School. While Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon place first, second and third in IMD’s new AI Maturity Index, Accenture, Visa, Deutsche Telekom and Bayer all occupy positions in the top 20. “It’s no surprise that tech titans lead the way, but the non-tech players are proving that AI is anyone’s game. The AI Maturity Index shows there is a massive disparity both between and within industries in how organisations have invested in and leveraged AI technologies to improve their business operations,” declared Michael Wade, an IMD professor and director of the school’s Tonomus Global Centre for Digital and AI Transformation, which developed the index. The index offers a barometer for tracking companies’ progress across five dimensions of AI implementation: strong executive support; technology and infrastructure; operational excellence; workforce development and culture; and ethics and risk management. In so doing, it aims to identify the field’s leaders, one of which is currently Accenture. Rated seventh on the index, the professional services firm announced a $3 billion investment in its data and AI practice last year and plans to double its AI talent to 80,000 professionals. It also has more than 1,450 patents and pending applications globally, dating back more than 10 years. In 20th position, meanwhile, is the pharmaceutical firm Bayer. Again, the company has backed the technology financially, to the tune of a $1.4 billion AI and data science investment in 2022. The company currently uses AI to speed up product development, improve manufacturing, optimise supply chains and ensure safety and compliance. It has also partnered with Google Cloud on drug discovery and uses the technology in agriculture to help predict crop performance and minimise the need for field testing. TBD
The number of women holding executive directorships on FTSE 250 boards has fallen from 47 in 2022 to 42 this year – an 11 per cent decrease, according to Cranfield University’s latest Female FTSE Board Report . In total, women now account for 12 per cent of executive directorships across these companies. In more positive news, the report also revealed that 42 per cent of all overall directorships on FTSE 250 boards are currently held by women, a three per cent increase over the same time period. Additionally, 70 per cent of FTSE 250 companies have now met the Women Leaders Review target of having at least 40 per cent female representation on their boards. However, a delve beneath the surface reveals that the increase in female representation in directorships on FTSE 250 boards has been driven by women in non-executive director roles. The number of women in key leadership positions are down on the equivalent figures from 2022, including CEO (down 17 per cent) and CFO (down 12 per cent), while female senior independent directors (SIDs) are up 50 per cent. On the FTSE 100, meanwhile, 75 per cent of companies meet the same 40 per cent target for women on boards. However, while women hold 43 per cent of FTSE 100 overall directorships, only 24 companies have female CFOs and just 10 companies are led by female CEOs. “With the percentage of women in director roles meeting the Women Leaders Review targets, the headlines look great – but the reality is that the glass ceiling for women in executive-level positions is still stubbornly in place. An ‘executive gender paradox’ across FTSE 250 boards has emerged, as the gap between the number of women in non-executive director roles and executive roles grows,” said professor of women and leadership at Cranfield School of Management Sue Vinnicombe, who has overseen the Female FTSE Board Report since 1999. EB DECREASE IN WOMEN HOLDING EXECUTIVE ROLES ON FTSE 250 BOARDS SCHOOL : Cranfield School of Management Cranfield University COUNTRY : UK
10 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2024
NEWS & INSIGHT
PATH TO REDUCING RESTAURANTS’ CARBON FOOTPRINT SHOWN IN ON-CAMPUS TRIAL SCHOOL : HEC Paris COUNTRY : France
Adjusting the prices of meals according to their carbon footprint could help reduce a restaurant’s environmental impact, according to an HEC Paris study. In a field experiment conducted at HEC Paris’ cafeteria, the establishment’s carbon footprint was reduced by an average of 27 per cent when the prices of dishes with a low-carbon footprint were made slightly cheaper than high-footprint items. A larger price change, meanwhile, yielded a drop of 42 per cent. This initiative was the most effective of three policies carried out in the study, which ran between August 2021 and mid-June 2023, encompassing data from more than 4,000 consumers and close to 140,000 meals. The alternative measures included banning food with a high carbon footprint one day a week and displaying information about a meal’s footprint at the point of sale. While the occasional ban reduced the cafeteria’s carbon footprint by 10 per cent, listing information yielded no significant impact at all. “Any meaningful reduction in the carbon impact of the meals consumed means you have to make the low-carbon option less expensive than the carbon-intensive alternative. Giving customers information wasn’t enough
in itself to produce a positive effect,” explained HEC Paris professor of finance Stefano Lovo, who co-authored the study with PhD candidate Yurii Handziuk. A follow-up survey conducted from December 2023 to March 2024 presented cafeteria users with the findings and asked them to choose whether or not they would like to opt for one of the three measures introduced during the experiment. Among 864 respondents, 60 per cent voted for adjusting the pricing of meals, 30 per cent opted for an intermittent ban on high-footprint meals, 6.5 per cent preferred displaying each dish’s carbon footprint and 3.5 per cent wanted to do nothing. “We can draw two promising conclusions from the study,” added Lovo. “First: the ‘green’ option only needs to be a little bit cheaper than the ‘brown’ to bring the cafeteria’s emissions down by a quarter. Secondly, this pricing policy would be widely accepted by staff and students.” TBD
SHARE YOUR NEWS AND RESEARCH UPDATES by emailing AMBA & BGA content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul at t.dhoul@amba-bga.com
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 11
Business schools must acknowledge the times and work towards a more comprehensive focus on sustainability in MBA programmes, says Brunel’s Jessica Chelekis , as she outlines the institution’s ongoing efforts to embed the topic holistically in its curriculum and help students adopt the right mindset for the future The winds of change
12 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2024
SUSTAINABILITY
E nvironmental degradation and levels due to human activities. This increase is linked to a greater frequency and severity of extreme weather events, sea-level rise and disruptions to ecosystems and agriculture. Indeed, we are already experiencing the economic cost of climate change: evidence from global re-insurance firms shows that natural disasters alone caused an estimated $210 billion in damages in 2020. Climate change and environmental resource depletion are also the cause of supply chain disruptions, as well as a scarcity of precious metals and forest materials, creating significant challenges for business. climate change present existential threats to humanity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that global temperatures have already risen approximately 1.1°C above pre-industrial The case for sustainability in business In this light, an increasing number of companies and industries are recognising that sustainable practices are not only beneficial for the environment and society but are also crucial for long-term profitability and competitiveness. A growing body of evidence, including business cases in the Harvard Business Review , McKinsey survey results and research from BlackRock, suggests that companies tend to outperform their peers financially when they prioritise sustainability. This phenomenon is often attributed to factors such as enhanced brand reputation, operational efficiencies and reduced regulatory risks. Investors are also starting to favour companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The rise of sustainable investing reflects a broader recognition that long-term financial returns are closely linked to sustainable business practices. Businesses that fail to integrate sustainability into their core strategies, therefore, risk being left behind in a rapidly evolving market landscape. The United Nations (UN), as well as numerous scholars, has described climate change and our current era of the Anthropocene (the geological epoch of human-driven deforestation, pollution and biodiversity loss) as a ‘wicked problem’; a problem of such complexity and multiple dimensions that it defies straightforward solutions. Wicked problems involve numerous stakeholders with
conflicting interests and are influenced by dynamic and interdependent factors. Addressing such a multifaceted problem requires a systemic approach from all actors in society that considers the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The problem with electives In response to businesses’ shifting priorities – as well as an increase in student demand – MBA teaching staff are incorporating sustainability topics and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) into their content. Just as businesses are trying to anticipate, adapt and respond to the implications of sustainability for their strategy and operations, MBA programmes are grappling with how they can most effectively embed the concepts, knowledge and skills required to address the problems of sustainability. Most AMBA-accredited business schools are also signatories of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), highlighting their commitment to integrating responsible management concepts and practices into business education curricula. One approach to embedding sustainability into the MBA curriculum is to offer sustainability electives or MBA concentrations in sustainability. This represents a good first step to address the topic, but I firmly believe we need to do more and work towards a comprehensive focus on sustainability for all MBA programmes. This is no small task: redesigning the structure, content and learning outcomes for an entire MBA requires significant time, effort and administrative burden, with many university quality assurance processes requiring several months of lead time before new content, modules and assessments are approved. Some may believe that offering sustainability-themed electives, or even a full concentration or pathway, is sufficient. But there are two problems with this: the first is that in doing so, the message to students and indeed all stakeholders is that sustainability is an option – it is one alternative among many. The evidence cited above suggests that we can no longer afford such a view; addressing sustainability issues in business, markets, industries and policy is a requirement, not an elective. The second problem with addressing sustainability in the form of electives or a concentration is that the students who select these topics are already predisposed towards prioritising sustainability. For other students, it provides an “out”, or other options that allow them to “focus on other things” and disregard the ‘wicked’ problem of sustainability. Being able to skirt sustainability issues in their MBA education means students will be ill-equipped to address these problems when they go back to their managerial and leadership roles.
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 13
sizes should ensure that sustainability is addressed in their business strategy – surely, they argued, it is the large corporations that should be responsible for such issues, not start-ups or SMEs? I received this information shortly before the survey and consultation with current students and it took me by surprise. Although I knew these individuals did not speak for everyone, the MBA team had been operating under the assumption that students would not only welcome such discussions on sustainability but would also actively demand skills and knowledge in this area, based on different reports and surveys of business school students’ expectations, particularly prospective MBA students. Our own survey of current MBA students was then carried out and largely lived up to expectations. Most respondents expressed the belief that businesses should incorporate sustainability into their mission and operations and that MBA education should prioritise equipping students with the skills and knowledge to do this. Yet, a minority of those questioned expressed different views. Some were on the fence, or noncommittal, while others went further to say they did not believe sustainability should be a priority, either for industry or business education. Furthermore, even among those who are generally positive towards tackling the topic, surveys such as these do not typically reveal how students understand the problems related to sustainability. While there is clearly a general and increasing trend among MBA students to expect and seek out a focus on sustainability, they still come from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, cultures and worldviews. At its core, sustainability requires a complete re-orientation of values and conventional approaches to business and society, since it demands that people, for the first time in modern capitalist history, build into their activities a consideration of the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This orientation is fundamentally at odds with the lifestyles, expectations and ideals that have developed around the world since the 19th century. No wonder climate change and the energy transition are such wicked problems and no wonder that students and experienced professionals alike may be sceptical or hesitant to embrace the change required to work towards sustainable businesses and societies. Going beyond the technical perspective The implication here for 21st-century MBA programmes is that while developing sustainability knowledge and tools from a technical perspective is a start, it does not necessarily mean that students will automatically adopt a sustainability mindset. It is this way of thinking, alongside knowledge of the technical issues and concepts, that we have set out to build into the Brunel MBA’s teaching and learning. The UN PRME Working Group on Sustainability Mindset has developed a set of pedagogical frameworks and resources, as well as an assessment tool known as the Sustainability Mindset Indicator (SMI). These provide incredibly useful and powerful resources to help build a holistic approach to sustainability into MBA programmes.
Adopting a comprehensive approach At Brunel Business School, we have started work on embedding a focus on sustainability and responsible leadership throughout the MBA programme. Given the urgent and holistic threat of climate change and resource/biodiversity depletion, we decided sustainability needs to feature throughout the entire programme and on each of the three pathways we offer: general management, healthcare management and digital innovation management. As suggested above, this will be a multi-stage process, starting with stakeholder consultations. We will then make initial changes to content at the module level, gradually adjusting learning outcomes and introducing sustainability-themed capstone and consultancy projects. We will also conduct informal assessments to capture students’ learning and uptake of key sustainability skills that can be fed back into further curriculum refinement. At the module level, an initial survey and consultation with MBA teaching staff revealed that nearly all core modules addressed some aspect of sustainability or mentioned the UN SDGs, although the extent and depth of this focus varied. This consultation identified the obvious areas where sustainability concepts and issues could be more explicitly addressed in the pedagogical content, with a view towards integrating sustainability into learning outcomes and assessments. Overcoming scepticism & reluctance to adapt In these conversations with faculty, I also learned about an unexpected reaction from some students when the topic of managing for sustainability was brought up in the classroom; they were sceptical about the need for it, questioning an implied assumption that entrepreneurs and business leaders of all company
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SUSTAINABILITY
BIOGRAPHY Jessica Chelekis is the MBA director and a senior lecturer in sustainability and global value chains at Brunel Business School, Brunel University London. She is also a member of the school’s Marketing and Corporate Brand Management Research Group. Chelekis is an expert in marketing and consumer research, with a focus on how socio-cultural forces shape consumption patterns and values in modern societies. She is particularly interested in critical consumption studies – how and why consumers use ethical and political beliefs to guide their consumption choices
The sustainability mindset approach focuses on developing students’ eco-literacy progressively, with the critical thinking skills to re-examine their own worldviews and paradigms and the knowledge and abilities to implement action. The sustainability mindset is comprised of four content areas: ecological worldview, a systems perspective, emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence – or philosophical intelligence, as I prefer to think of it. This approach addresses a fundamental issue in embedding sustainability in an MBA programme: whatever the surveys say, students do not arrive at the start of a programme with the same levels of understanding, awareness or critical thinking skills to dive straight into the technical issues of implementing sustainability. First and foremost, our job as responsible business educators is to equip MBA students with the literacy, perspectives and intelligences to inhabit the values and motivations that will propel them into careers as business and industry leaders. Guiding students to embrace new mindsets In addition to the usual approach of addressing sustainability through a programme of business cases and challenges, guest speakers and learning content, we are introducing a workshop series to guide students in developing their sustainability mindset. It is this required workshop series that will be the foundation for our entire MBA programme – no electives or alternative options. We plan to hold three, in-person workshops throughout the academic year. The initial workshop will work on building eco-literacy and sustainability awareness. The second will engage students in critical thinking exercises focused on developing awareness of their own paradigms and ideologies, alongside exercises for them to scrutinise their own and others’ common assumptions. The third and final workshop, meanwhile, will focus on exploring sustainability in action with practical business cases. We are still in the early stages; we need to experiment with various pedagogical techniques, assess the effectiveness of our design and identify where and how we can improve. Our ultimate goal will be to redesign the MBA programme so that, rather than addressing sustainability in each of the traditional topics – finance, operations management, strategy and so on – the programme will take a holistic view so that individual modules address specific sustainability issues, such as energy transition management and innovation for sustainable impact. As well as offering a far-reaching approach to equipping MBA students with the critical thinking skills and mindset to address the wicked problem of sustainability, this also helps overcome the disciplinary silos in traditional MBA teaching, bringing together considerations of strategy, leadership and operations, for example, as they all bear simultaneously on the sustainability issues businesses face. To embed sustainability in MBA education effectively takes time and careful deliberation and can take place over some years. But starting the process is of vital importance. We have begun this journey in the Brunel MBA and while there is still much work to be done, we are proud of what we have already accomplished.
“While developing sustainability knowledge and tools is a start, it does not necessarily mean students will automatically adopt a sustainability mindset”
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 15
This year’s AMBA & BGA Deans & Directors Latin America conference brought together delegates from around the region to convene in the iconic Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Themes discussed included the ways in which management education can create greater societal impact; how to lead a business school in challenging times; and strategies for differentiation and innovation. Colette Doyle and Tim Banerjee Dhoul report Reflections from Rio
16 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2024
AMBA & BGA LATIN AMERICA CONFERENCE 2024
T he compelling case study presented by INCAE president Enrique Bolaños on leading a business school in turbulent times began by taking a look at the history of the institution. In 1972, an earthquake destroyed the Nicaraguan capital of Managua and Bolaños recalled that faculty members were convinced the institute was finished as its cash flow was “already very vulnerable”. From this tragedy, however, INCAE’s first think tank emerged, the Advisory Centre, dedicated to collaborating with the government in the reconstruction of the capital city. This was INCAE’s first public policy institute and the predecessor to its current Latin American Centre for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS). The Sandinistas (a Marxist movement) took control of the country in July 1979; a full civil war erupted, major cities were destroyed and tens of thousands of civilians died. The takeover led to a serious deterioration of INCAE’s finances and a set of internal conflicts that threatened to bring the institute to its knees. In 1982, INCAE established a campus in Costa Rica and two years later Ecuador became the seventh member country of the Incaísta network. By the end of the decade the school had emerged stronger, with its main campus in Costa Rica and a feeder in Nicaragua. During the 1990s, the institute expanded its impact in the region through an alliance with Swiss philanthropist Stephan Schmidheiny to create the centre known as CLACDS. Fast forward 20 years and in April 2018 a social uprising in Nicaragua threatened to destabilise the country; by June of that year INCAE was forced to move its MBA students to Costa Rica due to security reasons. In March 2020 the pandemic hit, resulting in the school having to close its campus; INCAE accelerated its alliance with provider Emeritus and went fully digital. It began to offer its first-ever online programme and nowadays the portfolio is mainly hybrid, noted the INCAE president. In September 2023, chaos ensued when the Nicaraguan government issued a decree eliminating INCAE’s legal status in the country; the campus was confiscated and its bank accounts seized. A meeting with the authorities in Panama took place last December and the school was given permission to operate there. Support from the local community was also forthcoming and a plan to open an executive education centre at Costa del Este Business Park was mooted. In April 2024 INCAE’s first executive MBA in Panama was inaugurated and construction began on the centre. “Throughout all these years, being in an unstable region socially and politically speaking, we have faced multiple challenges that have made us stronger and given us resilience, as well as the tools to innovate and transform them into opportunities”, remarked Bolaños.
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the Hong Kong finance sector payout of some HK$25 million ($3.2 million) following a video call with a ‘deep fake’ chief financial officer. The next case involved Yahoo, which has confirmed that its CEO has departed following what is being described as “a resumé scandal”; in fact, a recent survey suggests that up to 70 per cent of workers lie on their CVs. POK’s proposition is timely in this regard, commented Daniels, as the company can certify skills with 100-per-cent secure and tamper-proof micro-credentials to maintain high standards. The use of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, helps to build confidence in digital credentials.
Certifying skills in a constantly evolving world The session from sponsor POK, a platform that ensures transparency and provides proof of knowledge, examined one of the principal challenges of the 21st century: namely skill validation in a world of constant change and evolution. Co-founder and chief business development officer Lawrence Daniels began by examining the current state of the workforce, noting that most individuals will change careers up to seven times during their lives and as many as 30 per cent change jobs every year. Daniels then moved on to look at evolving skills, remarking that 76 per cent of the top 20 requested skills have changed since 2016; one in four skills requested for the average US job is an entirely new requirement in the occupation; and three in four jobs changed more between 2019 and 2021 than in the previous three years. In fact, almost half of workers’ skills will be disrupted over the next five years. Meanwhile, some 93 per cent of leaders have gone on record as saying that they need to move from a job‑based to a skills-based approach in order to succeed. Moving on to lifelong learning, the POK co-founder revealed that 63 per cent of working adults see themselves as “professional learners” and are engaged in career development. Meanwhile, some four in five adults consider themselves to be lifelong learners and plan on engaging in professional development every year. No fewer than 72 per cent of executives have reported that talent gaps and shortages represent the top business challenges their companies face. Indeed, 52 per cent of CEOs surveyed by Boston Consulting Group and PwC responded that a lack of skills in the workforce was one of the factors inhibiting the company from changing the way it creates, delivers and captures value. Overall, 60 per cent of organisations report that skills gaps are their biggest barrier to transformation. Turning to the consequences of lack of validation, Daniels reported on a couple of modern-day scenarios: first up was
Transforming institutions to maximise social impact Insights and Innovations for Generating Social Impact was the title of the presentation given by Horacio Arredondo, dean of Egade Business School at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico. He identified sustainability as one of the primary goals in the context of social impact, referring to a 2023 edict from UN-supported initiative PRME (principles for responsible management education). This defines the concept as “the creation of inclusive prosperity while promoting freedom, justice and peace within regenerative and resilient natural ecosystems”. Arredondo noted that business is still the most credible institution, referring to a survey that showed it is trusted by 63 per cent of the population, compared to 59 per cent for NGOs, 51 per cent for government and 50 per cent for the media. Indeed, government is evaluated as being “less competent and ethical” than the business sector, while teachers are among the most respected group of individuals in society, trusted by 77 per cent of the population compared to just 42 per cent for government leaders. “We have a unique opportunity to transform our institutions, so they are more relevant and have a greater impact in shaping a more positive future for our countries and regions”, declared the Egade dean. He then elaborated on the school’s new strategy, which involves developing a framework enabling it to map current actions and desired future outcomes. There has been a greater emphasis on those SDGs defined as priorities; research resources have been aligned with purpose and strategy; and there is an increased focus on the faculty hiring strategy. The school has reformulated its educational model and redesigned its portfolio to increase social impact. In addition, Egade has created spaces where it is an “enabler of change”, building local, national and global alliances, such as with the Secretary for Equality & Inclusion in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
18 | Ambition | DECEMBER 2024
AMBA & BGA LATIN AMERICA CONFERENCE 2024
knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviours. An example of this could be increased graduate employment rates or improved leadership skills among students by the end of their programme. Lastly, output refers to the tangible products, services or results directly generated from activities, often measurable in quantitative terms. Outputs are typically immediate and indicate the volume of work completed. For instance, the number of graduates produced by a business school in a given year, or the number of workshops and courses conducted. Ramos then pondered why impact is considered so important nowadays for business schools; this is due to several reasons, including global competitiveness, economic challenges, changing stakeholder expectations and accreditation requirements. So how can schools best increase their impact? The AMBA & BGA regional representative proposed a number of solutions, including integrating social responsibility into the curriculum, promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening community engagement and enhancing alumni networking. By way of example, he highlighted the work of INCAE Business School and its impact centres: CELIS is the centre of inclusive and sustainable leadership, while CLACDS is the Latin American centre for competitiveness and sustainable development and LACE stands for the Latin American centre for entrepreneurship. Boosting employability in business education Enhancing students’ employability is a fundamental responsibility of business education providers, with seemingly greater scrutiny falling on the strength of a school’s career services every year. To underline this point, Matthew Small and Gabriel Custodio, CEO and regional sales director at Symplicity respectively, began their session by drawing on research from AMBA & BGA and GMAC that highlights how career development lies at the core of students’ reasons for enrolling in business school. The duo then explained how technology can assist schools in embedding career services throughout the student lifecycle and beyond. For example, on entering a programme, information on
It has also collaborated with others to leverage its strengths, for instance by proposing a new bill to the Energy Commission of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. Moreover, Egade has made a renewed commitment to philanthropy in areas where it can channel the commitment and strength of its community; initiatives include organising workshops for non-profit organisations and a charity race called Run 4 the Future. Above all, however, Arredondo said the school has realised that it wants to “lead and disrupt the current understanding of sustainability and social impact”. To this end, it has partnered with VIVA Idea on the Schmidheiny Chair in Sustainable Futures, presented during the Egade Action Week held in May, something that “marks a renewed commitment to sustainability and innovation in business education”, noted the dean. Practical measures for achieving societal influence How business schools in the region can create greater social impact was also the theme picked up on by Carlos Ramos, AMBA & BGA’s international advisor for Latin America. The problem, according to Ramos, is not that schools in Latin America cannot create impact, but rather they have difficulty demonstrating it. Ramos broke down his strategy for achieving societal influence into impact, outcome and output. Impact refers to the significant and long-term changes that result from a specific intervention, programme or activity undertaken by an organisation. It encompasses the broader societal, economic and environmental transformations attributed to these efforts, going beyond immediate outcomes to highlight the lasting value and positive influence on communities and stakeholders. One such example might be a business school that produces leaders who improve local economies, or enhance community welfare over several years. Outcome refers to the specific changes or benefits that occur as a result of a programme or activity, typically observed in the short to medium term. Outcomes measure the direct effects or results of outputs and are often related to improvements in
students’ individual circumstances and aspirations can be collected and used to formulate a personalised career plan. This can then be aligned with practical experiences and activities available during their studies, such as internships. In this way, schools can move from providing transactional career services to a transformational offering. Busy career services teams can, according to the speakers, also save time and money by using an integrated platform, such as the Symplicity Career Services Manager (CSM). This will enable the collation
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Being open to new ideas is also, for Brito, a way of keeping pace with the growing availability and increasingly rich resources of online and hybrid learning. Schools must not sit still here, but rather look for new options and potential connections. Referring to changing views around internationalisation, the FGV EAESP dean noted that old models based around lengthy student exchanges are losing sway and said that there is much to gain by taking a more pragmatic approach to partnerships. By no longer insisting on like-for-like agreements, you open the doors to any number of beneficial arrangements from the very small, such as a faculty member delivering a guest class online to another institution, to the very large, such as a more traditional study abroad experience. A school’s value, meanwhile, can be reinforced by emphasising its expertise in relation to the local business context and societal realities, Brito said. In practical terms, this means undertaking more applied research and offering a greater focus on topics with direct relevance to a school’s region. Evaluating & ensuring faculty excellence Vice-dean of faculty at Esade Business School Mar Vila delved into challenges around undertaking fair and effective evaluations of faculty members’ performance in a thought-provoking session on the morning of the conference’s final day. A good process of evaluation is essential, Vila explained, in ensuring a meritocracy and an environment that supports professional growth, enabling every faculty member to make their mark on the school’s community and advance their own career. However, the level of international diversity among faculty found at many leading schools presents some challenges. For example, Vila noted, cultural differences in teaching styles can complicate assessments, as what is effective in one culture may not be viewed the same way in another. Evaluating research
and analysis of data that can yield insights not just into shifting trends and outcomes affecting programme participants, but also in relation to recruiters who can connect with the school’s team, students and associated resources using the same software. Navigating a competitive landscape The deans of two leading business schools in Brazil and Colombia shared their thoughts on standing out in an increasingly challenging and competitive landscape in a session helmed by AMBA & BGA board member Steef van de Velde. Cristina Vélez Valencia, dean of EAFIT University School of Business in Medellín, talked about her school’s journey to “reconnect with our roots”, as she termed it. “For the past four years, we’ve been trying to identify what we are, in essence and what we’ve realised is that what makes us different from other schools is that we’re highly connected with organisations – with corporations, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and even the public system – and this is where our competitive advantage lies.” Vélez then outlined three key takeaways from this process of discovery. First, she explained why business schools need to align their strategy with that of the wider university. Then, she emphasised the value of co-operation, arguing that “one of the beautiful things about our sector is that co-operating with your competition is the best way to go forward.” EAFIT, for example, has joined forces with three other institutions in Colombia for the Alianza 4U initiative, with the specific purpose of strengthening higher education in the country. Lastly, Vélez said that “the best way to invest your time, as a dean or academic administrator, is to have conversations outside your university.” Luiz Brito, dean at São Paulo’s FGV EAESP, meanwhile, examined some of the specific challenges facing schools in Latin America and beyond, covering the topics of artificial intelligence (AI), internationalisation and online learning. While AI has the power to disrupt
business models, Brito said business schools should be better prepared than most to turn the technology’s challenges into opportunities. “Our faculty are probably some of the best people in the world to evaluate, judge and guide us on how to embrace and use AI effectively,” he said, pointing to the benefits of nurturing a culture of experimentation and allowing faculty to develop their ideas.
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