Doing Social Good As An MBA - Poets&Quants

Doing Social Good as an MBA

For Angad Singh Padda, there’s a difference between doing good business and engaging in the business of doing good.

In his May 2017 graduation speech to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Padda discussed using his business degree to do social good in the world.

“Whenever there’s a kid in Oakland who can’t afford school, that’s a problem,” Padda said in his speech. “Whenever climate change wipes out a species, that’s a problem. Whenever a Muslim woman gets bullied because of her hijab, or a Jewish man because of his yarmulke, or a Sikh man because of his turban, that is a problem.”

Using business students to solve these societal problems is one thing that Ivan Bofarull, director of global insights and strategic initiatives at Spain’s Esade, argues for in his Financial Times article.

“Global full-time MBAs hardly have any engagement and impact on the city in which they live and study for up to two years,” Bofarull writes. “If local authorities knew they were there, they could use these students to help solve social problems, such as homelessness in San Francisco, or unemployment among young adults in Paris or Barcelona.”

Social Good Initiatives

There are a number of opportunities available to MBA students who wish to apply their education to accomplishing social good.

MBAs Across America is an initiative that brings MBAs and entrepreneurs together over a summer to revitalize small towns across America.

At New York University’s Stern School of Business, a new Center for Sustainable Business aims to incorporate sustainability into the MBA through co-curricular platforms, experiential learning, and executive course. In an interview with Clear Admit, Center for Sustainable Business Director Tensie Whelan says that business students can have a real impact on sustainability and social good.

“We need more business leaders in finance who are looking to incorporate sustainability into their investment decisions,” she tells Clear Admit. “On the consulting side, I believe that more and more consulting efforts will be focused on helping companies transition to become more sustainable. It is exciting to have students going into these sectors where they will have real impact.”

Mainstream Wall Street Firms Can Do Good Too

For MBAs who want to contribute to social good, non-profit and social enterprises offer a number of opportunities to have a social impact. Yet, more traditional financial firms such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are also focusing on “impact investing” and “sustainable investing” that aim to build stronger and more sustainable communities, according to the Fast Company.

The Healthy Futures Fund (HFF) is a $200 million initiative by Morgan Stanley, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and The Kresge Foundation.

“HFF is connecting health care and affordable housing for low-income residents. It responds to the clear association between poverty and disease by incorporating a health lens into traditional community development work. And it supports broader efforts to improve the quality of life in distressed neighborhoods,” according to the HFF website.

At consulting firm McKinsey, Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT)  is a non-profit initiative that encourages a “longer-term focus in business and investment decision-making by developing practical tools and approaches to support long-term behaviors across the investment value chain,” according to FCLTGlobal’s website.

Cities Should Lead MBAs to Solve Social Issues

In his Financial Times article, Bofarull argues that social good efforts should be “localized” and led by cities. He references how innovative companies, such as Google, form specialized teams that focus on accomplishing “radical growth” projects.

Such a model, Bofarull argues, could be applied to city initiatives aimed at accomplishing social good.

“These teams should be formed of MBAs as well as a diverse pool of scientists or designers,” Bofarull writes. “Students from MBA, design and engineering programs work together to find market solutions to great scientific discoveries.”

Both cities and MBA students would benefit from this relationship, Bofarull argues. On the one hand, cities would have clear benefits from the skilled work that MBAs provide. On the other, MBAs develop important and useful entrepreneurial skills.

“Ultimately it will be a high-value experience and can be applied to any job following an MBA,” Bofarull writes.

Sources: Financial Times, MBAs Across America, Clear Admit, Fast Company, Focusing Capital on the Long Term, Healthy Futures Fund, Poets & Quants, New York University

How Artificial Intelligence is Making Its Way Into the Business Curriculum

Across the world, business schools are teaching artificial intelligence (AI).

Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and France’s INSEAD are among the top schools weaving into the curriculum, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Learning From Experts in the Field

When determining whether a school has a strong AI curriculum, it’s important to consider a few factors. Ilana Kowarski, a reporter at US News, recently discussed ways prospective business students can tell if a business school has a strong AI curriculum.

Simon Johnson is a professor of entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Johnson tells US News that students should seek out courses with multiple guest speakers who actually utilize AI in their business.

“I call them live case studies or expert witnesses – people who come and don’t lecture to you, but they’re willing to engage and to be a living case study in your classroom,” he says. “That’s a lot of fun. It’s super interesting.”

Importance of Fundamentals

Willem-Jan van Hoeve is an associate professor of operations research at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. He advises students to look for a curriculum that offers fundamentals in AI concepts.

“If schools do not offer you the fundamentals, the methodological foundations of AI, you probably are not going to get access to the state of the art – and if you want to make a difference in your career, you probably want to know about the fundamentals,” he tells US News.

At Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, students are even expected to have a fundamental foundation in AI before enrolling in specific AI courses, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Mohsen Bayati is a professor of operations, information, and technology at Stanford. Bayati tells The Wall Street Journal that all students are required to pass a probability and statistics exam in order to register for his course “Business Intelligence from Big Data.”

Learning How to Run an AI Company

For the most part, an MBA getting trained in AI won’t necessarily go on to become an engineer.

Randall K. Minas Jr. is an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii—Manoa’s Shidler College of Business. Minas tells US News that it’s less about learning the intricacies of AI technology, but more about learning how to run a company that uses AI.

At India’s S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), two new courses on machine learning and supply chain have been implemented into the curriculum.

Anil Vaidya is area head of information management at SPJIMR. Vaidya tells the Economic Times that business leaders will need to have a level of understanding about how AI technology will influence their company.

“A management graduate will not do an engineer’s job, but in a world where automation is fast disrupting businesses, anyone in leadership position must have knowledge of technology, which they can use to improve business,” he tells Economic Times.

Business students are increasingly finding an interest in the tech industry. According to a Poets & Quants analysis, an average of 22% of the Class of 2017 went into the tech industry. Compared to 2013’s average of 16.5%. For prospective students interested in the field, it’s important to consider a school’s curriculum and understand how the field of AI will continuously influence tomorrow’s business world.

Sources: US News, The Wall Street Journal, Economic Times, Poets & Quants

How Business Schools Are Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility

A growing number of MBA programs are implementing opportunities for business students to learn about corporate social responsibility.

Peter Moizer is executive dean of Leeds University Business School. In a Financial Times article, Moizer discusses how Leeds is approaching teaching CSR to its students.

“After recognizing that graduates needed a more thorough understanding of CSR, Leeds University Business School has refined its approach to teaching the subject,” Moizer writes. “And it is one of a number of business schools — including Warwick, Cass and EDHEC — which signed up to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Management Education.”

Principles for Responsible Management Education

The Principles for Responsible Management Education is a UN supported initiative that, according to its website, serves as a “platform to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world, and to equip today’s business students with the understanding and ability to deliver change tomorrow.”

According to Moizer, Leeds students can participate in research where they work with local organizations and charities. The research projects, Moizer writes, are intended to help students discuss ethical issues and understand charitable giving.

At Leeds, an annual seminar by the CSR Research Group provides Leeds students and faculty with an overview of the latest research in CSR. This year, Dr. Ioannis Ioannou discussed his work in CSR and an overview of his paper, “The Dog That Didn’t Bark – Long-Term Strategies in Times of Recession” – an argument for how “strategic resources such as innovation capability and stakeholder relations are instrumental in sustaining a competitive advantage during (and beyond) times of crisis,” according to Leeds.

Leadership and Corporate Accountability

At Harvard Business School, Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA) is a required course for MBAs. The course is intended to teach students the complex responsibilities business leaders face.

“Through cases about difficult managerial decisions, the course examines the legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of corporate leaders,” Harvard’s website reads. “It also teaches students about management and governance systems leaders can use to promote responsible conduct by companies and their employees, and shows how personal values can play a critical role in effective leadership.”

Joseph Badaracco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School and established the semester-long LCA course.

Badaracco tells The Economist that MBA programs should create good managers who can exercise good judgment. This is exactly what courses like LCA are trying to teach.

Badaracco adds that globalization means global firms must understand and comply with countless international rules. Social media also now puts companies on the spotlight, which means they’re expected to do and say the right thing.

“Things that were kept private in the past can and do get out, and you’ve got this transparency, whether you like it or not,” Badaracco tells The Economist.

Sources: Financial Times, Leeds University, UN PRME, The Economist

How MBAs Should Prepare for Automation

Technology and automation are increasingly making their way into nearly every industry. The future of tech leaves business leaders with a tough decision about whether to cut jobs or train their staff to work with automation.

Oxford University researchers predict that 47% of US jobs will be replaced through automation.

The Tough Decision

Andrew Hill, management editor at Financial Times, argues in an op-ed piece that business leaders need to not simply create more jobs, but better jobs.

“Job numbers alone are an increasingly crude barometer of economic health. For workers under pressure from changing technology and globalization, a new measure is required, based on job quality as much as job quantity,” Hill writes.
In a Poets & Quants article, Zach Mayo – chief operating officer of MBA hiring marketplace

RelishCareers, says that while automation won’t likely affect job prospects for MBAs, it will directly affect workers under their management.

“While MBA orthodoxy dictates that managers should always err on the side of operational efficiency, there will come in a time in the not-so-distant future when replacing workers with robots en masse will have profound effects on both a micro business level as well as a macro societal level,” Mayo writes.

The decision seems far away, yet Mayo stresses the importance of managing for an uncertain world. How does one do that? Mayo argues that it starts with how and what business students learn in business school.

“The holistic approach to business that is taught in most MBA programs can offer valuable perspective on these issues, but business schools and MBAs both will need to be ready to adapt traditional rules of business to a brave new world of rapid technological change,” Mayo writes. “How well they handle this transition might just determine whether the rise of robots will represent a boon or a burden for society in the 21st century and beyond.”

Preparing Workers for Automation

In his FT article, Hill talks to Rick Wartzman, author of The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America. Wartzman argues that business managers will need to figure out how to reposition workers to fit automation and maximize effectiveness. “Doing an across-the-board cost-cutting exercise isn’t management,” Wartzman tells Hill.

Another responsibility Hill highlights in his piece is the need for educating workers. He calls it “ground-level digital education.” Wartzman says it will be essential to change the model of learning to one that offers lifelong learning opportunities.

“Ideally, this should happen on the job, rather than after redundancy, when the efficacy of retraining may be undermined by the general lack of opportunities, as happened to Janesville’s unemployed car workers in the depths of the 2008-09 recession,” Hill explains in his article.

How MBAs will Prepare for Automation

MBAs themselves also need proper education to prepare for automation. Since skillsets such as building spreadsheets will be out powered by robots, Mayo argues that MBAs should focus on building interpersonal skills, or “soft skills.”

“Soft skill classes can often seem trivial or unimportant in comparison to the academic rigor of quantitative disciplines, but absorbing and implementing lessons from those courses will be the primary way in which the MBAs of tomorrow demonstrate true value to their employers and ensure the continued viability of their careers,” Mayo writes.

Sources: Financial Times, Poets & Quants, Oxford University

 

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