Training the CSR Sensitive Mind-Set: The Integration of CSR into the Training of Business Administration Professionals

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 754
• Main Authors: Stonkutė, Eglė, Vveinhardt, Jolita, Sroka, Włodzimierz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 09.03.2018
• Subjects: Asia; Australia; Business ethics; corporate social responsibility; corporations; education programs; educational institutions; ethics; Europe; Higher education; leadership; MBA programs & graduates; North America; Professionals; Social responsibility; surveys; sustainable development; Australia; Asia; North America; Europe
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su10030754

Current corporations are subject to stringent requirements in terms of sustainable development; however, a relevant problem is highlighted on the basis of the studies conducted. On the one hand, corporations experience greater or lesser pressure, while on the other hand, it must be admitted that the problem of demand for professionals, which is presupposed by the insufficient quality of training in higher education institutions, is important. This is somewhat strange given that the issues of business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability have attracted increased attention in management education in recent years, and a five-fold increase in the number of stand-alone ethics courses has been noted since 1988. This interaction could contribute to the development of CSR, however a certain dissonance of cooperation between higher education and business exists, as there is a lack of leadership in this area in the study programs of business administration approved by the states, as well as in higher education institutions. Given these facts, the goal of the paper is to analyze the Master of Business Administration programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia to offer direction to the challenge of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into management and training. The method of analysis of professional business and administration training program content in terms of the integration of CSR was used during the survey. Using panel data of 28 full-time MBA programs, our findings show that that the core parts of MBAs under analysis merely—and mostly indirectly—cover CSR issues through one core course on business ethics. However, the leading MBA programs are currently missing an opportunity by ignoring their responsibility to support the training of CSR-minded future business administration professionals. The results of our research may act as a guide to which areas should be modified and/or changed.