CHAIR'S EXCHANGE with JUDY OLIAN
Dean, UCLA Anderson School of Management
2007–2008 Chair, AACSB International

Making a Difference in Global Societies

I believe that if we want to ‘get respect’, we have to be engaged in the issues that are important, top of mind and relevant to people that matter in the business community, in government, and in global communities. So I asked myself, “What should I be doing as dean of a school of management that I’m not doing, or not doing enough of now?”

I came to that answer by considering the trends in the economic and social landscape, pre-occupations of business leaders, and the lay of the land among business schools. I also considered some unique examples and programs that many of our peers in the business school world have initiated, programs that I believe are making a difference and can lead us to some answers for how to ‘get respect’.

Addressing a Broader Issue

Schools of management and business are developing the next generations, and I mean plural, the next generations of leaders of institutions around the globe – profit, non-profit, government and non-government. And I think most schools successfully deliver on that mission – in many diverse forms – and that’s part of the strength of our industry.

I also believe that we have an opportunity to do more than we are doing now by engaging directly in the issues of the day that matter most to business and community leaders, globally. We’ve made some initial strides as an organization – AACSB recently endorsed the UN Compact Principles for Management Education, called PRME. We also issued a call for action in the important report, chaired by Carolyn Woo, titled “Peace through Commerce.”

Schools of management all over the world are involved in exciting innovations that address the broader agenda of global societies in three general areas: stewardship of the environment, globalization, and social entrepreneurship. These programs are having an impact not just in their communities but across the planet. And they are getting noticed.

The Environment

Business schools are starting to ‘get it’ with regards to environmental leadership and their own environmental stewardship. According to World Resources Institute and Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey, 54% of business schools now require a course on environmental sustainability or corporate social responsibility, up from 34% in 2001. But schools are also “doing it”, beyond just teaching it.

Students arriving at Thunderbird School of Global Management embark on a new kind of MBA degree – a carbon-free one. The idea is that by cutting the carbon footprint of the campus and offsetting emissions through credits from reforestation projects, the school can not only mitigate its impact on global warming, but can also teach sustainability issues with greater credibility. The school also engages in some less glamorous but important green initiatives, including double-sided photocopying, turning off computers at night, or separating waste for recycling.

Switzerland’s IMD is installing a system that will use water from Lake Geneva to cool the school’s buildings. Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment -- a joint effort between Yale’s School of Management and School of Forestry and Environmental Studies -- is establishing an “eco-services clinic”, much like a small business or legal services clinic, staffed by students, to help companies address environmental issues. For many of us, it is indeed our students who are leading, and in some cases demanding from us that we engage in these environmentally responsible business and administrative routines.

Globalization

One of the best examples of globalization is the recent Live Earth concert, led on the ground by university students from around the world. Being part of a global community is natural for the millennial generation when the medium is the Internet. Live Earth reached 178 countries, 35 territories, and resulted in more than 30 million web downloads. Participants used technology for the greater good. Music was the hook for those who watched or went online, but the purpose was larger – to solve the world’s climate crisis.

UCLA Anderson’s partnership with Johnson & Johnson reflects globalization around social entrepreneurship. We deliver a 1- week intensive program for heads of HIV treatment programs from East Africa. The program focuses on management and leadership and is delivered with the assistance of faculty members from African universities. In fact, one of the objectives of the program – which is now entering its 5th cycle and will be expanded into West Africa – is to share the training content with faculty in African universities and to leave behind the program content for further expansion – a self-sustaining strategy. I taught in that program and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a faculty member.

Click Here to purchase an audio CD of Judy Olian's AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting Plenary Session entitled, "The New Imperatives for Management Schools: How Can We Excel." Look for SB-S20 Plenary IV. Cost: 11 USD.

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