Innovations in Graduate Business Education: The Challenge of Developing Principle-Centered Leaders

Abstract

In light of the many corporate scandals worldwide in recent years - from Enron and Tyco to Parmalat and ABB - this chapter focuses on the growing need for principle-centered leaders, and the question of what graduate business education programs can and should do to address that need. The chapter reviews both traditional and non-traditional approaches to business education and focuses primarily on innovations in several graduate business programs, particularly MBA Programs, to meet industry needs in leadership development. It is ironic that business schools are responsible for preparing the next generation of leaders, because business schools have not yet figured out themselves how to perform a basic function of leadership - setting a clear direction for the future. We believe that the future of graduate business education lies not in discovering how to teach the usual disciplines more effectively, though that is certainly a noble goal, but in discovering how to teach students more effectively. We believe that developing the person is at least as important as developing the curriculum.