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ways of integrating the learning experience and profes- sional practice. Achieving this closure is sure to require closer collaboration between organizations and busi- ness schools, so that professional performance objec- tives would be linked with those of professional devel- opment, weaving together training, consulting, and research. In the future I predict that we will see the line between degree programs such as the MBA and executive training become increasingly blurred, because programs that provide an intelligent combina- tion of the best of both worlds are already under way. Placing the learning process in context is also To close distances, programs must incorporate new going to require enlightened use of the Internet and other technologies. In Instituto de Empresa's International Executive MBA, for example, a from their places of work and residence. A training environ- ment of this nature connects training content with localized professional development more closely than we were ever able to do before. The most important role of technology, we have found, is not to cut costs but to increase the effec- tiveness of the learning process. The opportunities here are enormous, and they are going to require a clear investment in resources and an innovative and flexible approach. community of students and teachers from different countries spend the year "together" by interacting Societal Responsibilities. Regardless of the level of attention we have given in the past to corporate ethics, schools must assume their share of responsibility for the current, wide- spread lack of confidence in business organizations and their leaders. In a recent international poll by the World Economic Forum in Rio de Janeiro, which was based on 34,000 interviews with respondents in 46 countries, cor- porations emerged as the least trusted institutions world- wide, topped only by congresses and national parliaments. The untrustworthiness of corporations should be of great concern to those of us dedicated to the training of new business leaders. Many of the business leaders involved in recent scandals, and many others involved in the perpetuation of corruption in societies around the world, have been trained in some of the world's most prestigious schools. This does not mean that the training they received destroyed their values, or that with- out that training these directors would have acted differently. It does mean, however, that the schools did not equip these managers with the tools they needed to tackle some of the most complex decisions that their organizations face. problem of how we teach ethics. I'm convinced that the most effective solution does not lie in multiplying corporate ethics courses. It is important to know and foresee the most com- mon ethical dilemmas, but it would be naïve to think that a business school can alter a person's scale of deeper values. Nonetheless, training can help participants understand In one way or another, our schools must face up to the the long-term consequences associated with situations such as the lack of transparency, weak governance structures, or the lack of responsibility toward the environment. Training can also help develop a true professional attitude among stu- dents, a form of professionalism with strong moral and deontological foundations. Most important, we must be capable of incorporating these subjects into the core of our programs, and not treat them as isolated issues. Toward Transformation While we all share universal concerns regarding the advance- ment of management education, growing competition among schools is another driver that obliges us to seek inno- vative ways for confronting these and other issues. To rise to the challenges posed by globalization, schools may open more remote bases, form cross-border alliances, or merge with partners overseas. Alliances will give rise to business school clusters, following the pattern that has emerged in other sectors, such as commercial aviation. This trend will also spark investment in the learning tech- nologies needed to enhance contextualization and integra- tion in our curricula. The cost of these investments will sure- ly give rise to both large- and small-scale collaborations that can extend to related sectors such as consulting. In the next few decades we may see the end of the domi- nance of the case method as we now know it. Simulators, interactive cases, collaborative and constructionist learning methods, and mixed teaching models will replace many of our current methodologies. Some of these methods will require professors to be more involved with firms, or they might combine learning with specific research projects that maximize content relevance. Perhaps it is true that we have evolved slowly over the past z five decades, but I maintain that dramatic change is under way. I'm predicting that the next decade will mark an unprecedented transformation in management education. ■ Ángel Cabrera Izquierdo is dean of Instituto de Empresa graduate busi- ness school in Madrid. BizEd MAY/JUNE 2003 41