STRATEGY A
thus rely on fossil fuels. They are both contributors to, and victims of, climate change. As a global Business School community, it is imperative that we should reach out beyond the walls of our institutions and address the most important issues facing our society, especially when these relate so closely to why we do business: to provide a living for ourselves and those around us in a global marketplace. But can Business Schools also be considered contributors to the current state? They are the producers of talent for the financial and consulting elites. The aim of corporations is to maximise shareholder value; asset stripping, private equity or suppressing wages are sometimes in the best interests of the firm. To tackle these issues and more, AMBA, in association with Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), hosted a roundtable with Business School leaders, during which we sought to delve into the role of Business Schools in addressing global inequality, to examine what’s changed and how far the points above resonate with decision-makers in higher education. Here are some highlights from that conversation. Sangeet Chowfla, President and CEO, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) As s a Business School community, we have to change the conversation from one that puts the needs of shareholders and capital first to one that also looks at social, environmental, equity and social issues. A shift from the shareholder primacy view of business to a multiple stakeholder model. We should certainly do the tactical things – recruiting and admitting more diverse classes, creating the appropriate curriculum – but we need an intellectual framework around the role of business that goes beyond the Friedman model of shareholder primacy to one that is more inclusive in terms of environmental and social equity. Who else will build this framework if not the university? The other thing is that technology has fundamentally changed how we deliver education. Education is no longer reserved for those who
ccording to UNICEF, almost half of the world’s population – more than 3 billion people – live on less than $2.50 a day. This problem is exacerbated by the sharp divide between these extreme levels of poverty and the extreme wealth that exists on the other side of the income spectrum. Data from the World Inequality Report shows that inequality is rising or staying extremely high nearly everywhere. Since 1980, the share of national income going to the richest 1% has increased rapidly in North America, China, India, and Russia and more moderately in Europe. Before Covid-19, in the US, the top 1% controlled 38% of the total assets in the country – which is 16 times the total wealth of the bottom 50% combined. Other countries show similar patterns. The pandemic has only expanded these differences. In fact, the International Monetary fund (IMF) found that while the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is clearly seen in the numbers – 120 million people pushed into extreme poverty, and a massive global recession – some data show an increase in another extreme: the wealth of billionaires. This inequality has moral consequences for the structure of our global society. Inequality exacerbates social differences and reduces upward mobility – leading to greater stratification within communities. This, in turn, tends to lead to greater crime and social instability. The Equality Trust reports that rates of violence are higher in more unequal societies and goes as far as to suggest that more permanent decreases in inequality would reduce homicides by 20% and lead to a 23% long-term reduction in robberies. Political participation suffers as the ‘have nots’ struggle with daily needs and the ‘haves’ entrench themselves further. Nationalistic and nativist narratives harden. Another consequence is the impact on sustainability and the planet. The have-nots are forced to live off the land leading to deforestation – the Amazon and Indonesian rainforests being examples of this. These individuals are less likely to be able to access alternative energy solutions and
14 |
Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online