Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58061
At the Graziadio School, we not only integrate ethics into The Students' View While potential employers give new MBAs passing grades—with room for improvement—recent graduates are more enthusiastic about their b-school experience. According to the 2006 Global MBA Graduate Survey, conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), 22 percent of new MBAs rate their MBA degree an outstanding value. Forty-one percent rank it an excellent value, and 29 percent consider their degree a good value. Overall, this year's graduating class mem- bers rate the value of their MBAs higher than their 2004 counterparts did. The GMAC survey, now in its seventh year, analyzes the responses of more than 6,000 students graduating from 147 schools around the world. Students base their assessments on five top factors: curriculum, skill development, faculty, school culture, and a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement. In the category of skill development, survey respondents rank strategic thinking, leadership ability, and quantitative skills as the top three most valuable factors for employment. Corporate recruiters tend to agree. In its 2006 rank- ings survey, The Wall Street Journal asked recruiters which employee attributes they would rank as "very important." Eighty-three percent chose analytical and problem-solving skills, while 72 percent selected leader- ship potential. Strategic thinking received 67 percent of recruiters' votes. These are significant changes from the attribute that received the highest percentage of votes last year: communication and interpersonal skills, which took the top spot with a resounding 88 percent of survey responses. Clearly, employers are looking for MBAs who have real-world training, problem-solving skills, and the ability to lead strategically—but who can also step up as indi- viduals in clutch situations. In all these areas, communi- cation remains a critical skill for students to learn and for business schools to help them develop. 54 BizEd MAY/JUNE 2007 every single class, but we also promote activities outside the classroom that challenge students to consider ethics. Early in our program, students participate in a workshop that helps them clarify their personal values and consider how those values could impact their organizations. We also have a student-initiated Values Centered Leadership Lab that recently hosted a case competition focusing on ethics and social responsibility as critical components of a balanced business strategy. In addition, business and civic leaders regularly visit campus to talk about the role ethics and social responsibility play in business. Many other schools also are finding ways to build a values- based curriculum, often with the help of local business lead- ers. For example, at Northern Illinois University, the Board of Executive Advisors directed the creation of an Ethics Task Force. The task force has produced an ethics workbook that business students are required to complete prior to their junior year. This initiative was presented at AACSB's Teach- ing Business Ethics Conference in 2005. The Priceless MBA If we want business executives to be impressed with—not just satisfied by—our graduates, we need to work continu- ously to improve the experience we offer our students. When only 7 percent of executives rate our offerings as "excellent," we know we have some work to do. We must seek out our customers' needs and match, or exceed, the performance of the business world we serve. We must ensure that our scholarship addresses real, pressing business issues. And like any successful industry, we must look ahead and determine how to meet the needs of the customers who will come next. Tomorrow's students will be seeking a broader, more glob- ally and socially integrated education that encompasses more than functional competencies. Finally, we should never lose sight of the fact that we are guiding the next generation of global business leaders—a generation that will seek to change the world through busi- ness. As one Pepperdine alumnus, an executive with British Petroleum, told me: "Attending business school was like going to the land of Oz. I entered as the Scarecrow hoping to find a brain, but quickly discovered I was also the Tin Man trying to find a heart. The program helped complete me as a person." Perhaps that kind of personal growth can contribute to the priceless value of tomorrow's MBA. n z Linda A. Livingstone is dean of the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California.