Management Education for Sustainability in Business Practice

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Ethelbert Griffin
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1 Management Education for Sustainability in Business Practice PRME Regional Chapter DACH Chur / Switzerland Gabi Hildesheimer former CEO, Swiss Sustainable Business Network Öbu future Associated Partner FehrAdvice Partners AG

2 Preliminary remarks Needs of sustainable companies / actors Needs of «unsustainable» companies / actors Characteristics of «good managers» Characteristics of «good business schools» Gabi Hildesheimer

3 Criticism of Business Schools Being too market driven 1 Having sold out to the «tyranny of rankings» 2 Their research being seldom relevant and actionable 3 Their education being too narrow and academically specialized 4 Teaching and propagating amoral theories 5 in which the lack of morality and responsibility provide fuel for the financial and economic crisis 6 Dyllick 2013: Responsible management education for a sustainable world: The challenges for business schools 1 Bennis and O Toole, 2005; Pfeffer and Fong, 2002; 2 Khurana, 2007; Adler and Harzing 2009; 3 Hambrick, 1994; Pettigrew, 2001; 4 Mintzberg, 2004; 5 Goshal, 2005; 6 Podolny, 2009; Starkey and Tempest, 2008 Gabi Hildesheimer

4 Swiss Sustainable Business Network Öbu Founded 1989 by Oikos, University of St.Gallen 400+ member companies all sizes, all industries every 6th workplace in Switzerland Common goal: jointly tackle improving Swiss economy according to the principles of sustainable development; not only to act responsible in ecological and social aspects but to strengthen their competitiveness. Since 2013: Member of the global network of WBCSD From 1997 to 2014: Gabi Hildesheimer Managing Director Gabi Hildesheimer

5 WBCSD s 10 messages by which to operate 1. Business is good for sustainable development and sustainable development is good for business. Business is part of the sustainable development solution, while sustainable development is an effective longterm business growth strategy. 6. Business has to earn its license to operate, innovate and grow. The way business acts and is perceived is crucial to its success. Accountability, ethics, transparency, social and environmental responsibility and trust are basic prerequisites for successful business and sustainable development. 10. Cooperation beats confrontation. Sustainable development challenges are huge and require contributions from all parties governments, business, civil societies and international bodies. Confrontation puts the solutions at risk. Cooperation and creative partnerships foster sustainable development. Gabi Hildesheimer

6 Asking Öbu entrepreneurs / managers 20 representatives where asked about their experience 16 answered Do you employ staff with a basic education or with a substantial advanced training in management? Are these people a driving force in solving sustainability challenges? If you had one wish: What would you like business schools to do differently / better? Gabi Hildesheimer

7 Findings from Öbu entrepreneurs / managers Main feedbacks: SME employ only few graduates from business schools «When I joined the company after Business School, nobody understood me when I spoke as I had learned it. None of the employees so far had a management education.» Owner and CEO, building and logistics, ca. 300 staff members Sustainability engagement comes from personal attitudes and passion «We have staff with management education and we have people who drive us towards sustainablity. I m afraid, I see no correlation between the two aspects. Most curricula are still mainstream-oriented.» CEO, consulting, ca. 70 staff members Business schools should open the minds of students to complex connections, to models of growth within the boundaries of our planet, more practice, less theory «Sustainability should be a mandatory subject. Understanding is the first step, then accepting the facts, and at least taking personal responsibility.» CEO, food sector, ca. 120 staff members Gabi Hildesheimer

8 The «unsustainable» sample Gabi Hildesheimer

9 The «unsustainable» sample NZZexecutive the job advertisement supplement of NZZ Weekly 33 questions to «very important people» 2 relevant questions Is management education state of the art? Where would you change the focus in the training of leaders? 53 out of 154 interviews with a link to responsible management found Gabi Hildesheimer

10 Findings of the «unsustainable» sample Not (only) hard facts count, but the human factor: interpersonal skills, vision, passion, empathy, emotionality, integrity, ethics «The older I get, the more I m convinced that in management human leadership and empathy are crucial.» Ivo Furrer, CEO, Swiss Life Schweiz Too weak focus on practice, too little knowledge of complex connections and long term «The hardest teacher is experience. Management has to be practiced not studied.» Urs Kessler, CEO Jungfraubahnen Entrepreneurs are needed, not managers! «A lot of managers act despite their position like employees. They lack visions and focus on immediate success. ( ) A manager should aim for a sustainbale positioning of the company.» Danilo Menegotto, CEO BSS&M Real Estate AG Gabi Hildesheimer

11 «Good managers» as to Behavioral Economics Remember WBCSD message no 10: Cooperation beats confrontation Coordination and cooperation are complementary elements of collaboration Cooperation does not sustain itself a small number of people that do not participate (mainly egoists) let cooperation break down in a short period of time The majority of people are conditionally cooperative social norms, belief management, corporate culture help to keep them on board. (from FehrAdvice Partners)) Gabi Hildesheimer

12 Characteristics of «good business schools» Following up on Thomas Dyllick s collection of critisism Being too market driven Focus on both societal and business issues Having sold out to the «tyranny of rankings» Establish meaningful rankings with balance of sustainability issues Their research being seldom relevant and actionable Empirically driven research Their education being too narrow and academically specialized Educate with focus on empirical evidence as well as business and societal case studies Teaching and propagating amoral theories Highlight the side effects of tools, frameworks and theories Gabi Hildesheimer

13 Management Education for Sustainability in Business Practice Thank you for your interest! Contact: Gabi Hildesheimer

Trust Drives Business Advantages Percent who engage in each behavior based on trust

Trust Drives Business Advantages Percent who engage in each behavior based on trust Behaviors for Distrusted Companies Behaviors for Trusted Companies 48 Refused to buy products/services Chose to buy products/services