The Role of Business Education in Building Business Leadership for 21st Century Responsiveness and Environmental Stewardship: Should Business Education Be Re-Developed?

Abstract

st century business graduates need to be well equipped with skillsets that enable them to apply their commercial knowledge in organisations where profit maximisation is not the sole purpose. However, business students continue to be taught classic commercial business principles that predominately value profit and performance, resulting in a significant skill shortage for businesses embracing ethical responsibility, social justice and environment issues. The aim of this project is to blueprint a cutting-edge commerce degree that fills this skill shortage by developing an Integrated Business Education Model with extensive literature review and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. Using the Integrated Business Education Model a traditional commerce degree curriculum will be re-designed and piloted in a business school. Findings and implementation materials will be disseminated to all Australian business schools. Eventually, graduates of this contemporary commerce degree will be skilled to contribute and grow in any form of hybrid organisation.