Are Our Business Executives Good Leaders?

We all agree that all business executives are not good leaders. However, these days this topic is highly debated across the business schools all over the world. Employers wish to hire graduates who have leadership skills and so they are also complaining about this.  

In order to further understand and elaborate on this, AACBE conducted a study among its 2200 accredited schools and 67,000 students about how they view the role of the company in society and how their views are shaped by what they learn in business school.

The findings were: 

·         MBAs shift their priorities during the two years of the business school program, from “customer needs” and “product quality” to “shareholder value.”

·         MBAs believe that they can’t change company values. If they experience a values conflict, they are more likely to leave than try to change the organization.

·         MBAs are not sure what “social responsibility” is. Many think it’s an internal issue, and that it is the job of the corporation’s human resources department to help create a happier and more productive work force.

·         MBAs would like their business schools to show them the financial benefits of fulfilling social responsibility—as both an internal and external force. They also would like to see social responsibility incorporated into the core curriculum, rather than being taught as an elective on ethics or corporate philanthropy.  

This is the first time MBA student attitudes have been documented over the course of the MBA program. And the results tell us that MBA programs do indeed influence students’ attitudes toward business and society, and that business schools are not adequately preparing students to see the link between the two.

"Recent disasters have brought societal issues to the fore, making the training of future business leaders in these topics not only timely, but urgent,” says Nathan K. Hall, Program Director at AACBE said.