Nottingham University Business School has again been named the UK leader in ethical and sustainable business in a global league table of innovative MBAs. The School has climbed five places in the world rankings, to number 23, and comes third in Europe.
Nottingham has demonstrated significant leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into its MBA programme,
according to the Aspen Institute’s 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and alternative ranking of the Top 100 business schools.
While many MBA rankings exist, only one looks beyond reputation and test scores to measure something much more important: how well schools are preparing their students for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business. As well as evaluating MBA courses, the survey measured the CSR content of all research produced across the Business School.
Nottingham came fifth worldwide.
Nottingham University Business School has long been a world leader in this vital field, led by the work of Professor Jeremy Moon, Director of its International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR).
Professor Moon’s work has been exceptional for successfully integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) throughout the School’s programmes and for introducing the UK’s first MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as an MA in the subject.
The School is committed to teaching responsible business, and the CSR and business ethics courses are available to all its students.
Reacting to the news, Nottingham University Business School Director, Professor Leigh Drake, said: “To retain first place among UK business schools and rank in the world’s top 25 for both our research and teaching is an extraordinary achievement and reflects our commitment to responsible business education.
“The School’s International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility has been an extremely important catalyst for curriculum innovation in this area and the Nottingham MBA is a pioneer in shaping responsible business leaders.
“We have integrated corporate social responsibility and business ethics into all our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The School will continue to influence global debate on these important matters and we have seen a generational change in terms of our students’ understanding and interest in sustainability issues.”
This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in an 18 month effort to map the landscape of teaching and research on issues pertaining to business and society. Relevant data collected in the survey, as well as the entire ‘Global 100’ list of business schools, is available at: www.BeyondGreyPinstripes.org.
“The best business students move quickly into the front ranks of business – and the attitudes and values they bring to the table are deeply influenced by their time in business education,” said Judith Samuelson, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program.
“Will they accept the status quo or act on their passion about the positive role business can play at the intersection of corporate profit and social impact? The schools that are competitive in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking are the real trailblazers – they assure that students have the right skill as well as the will to make things happen.”
“In these challenging economic times, the general public, not just scholars, are questioning whether the established models of business are broken,” said Rich Leimsider, Director of the Aspen Institute’s Center for Business Education. “Beyond Grey Pinstripes schools are thoughtfully pursuing new approaches. They are preparing students who take a more holistic view of business success, one that measures financial results as well as social and environmental impacts.”
School highlights from this Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey cycle are featured in a new guidebook for prospective MBA students, titled The Sustainable MBA.
