For the global business school community, the twenty-first century inaugurated a season of introspection. As global sustainability concerns grew in prominence, critical debate about the purpose of business and its role in society could not be left without an educational response. At the same time, however, it raised the question of whether business schools were at all ready to equip their students for leadership in a world faced by crucial economic, social, and environmental challenges. The answer is not self-evidently positive. Various authors grapple with questions on the purpose of business schools and their relationship with business and society. This empirical study examines the influence of EQUIS accreditation standards on business school practices in the areas of institutional strategies, programmes, faculty, research, and development, as well as in responsible management education at large. Although accreditation is not the only factor that determines what business schools believe, do, and become, it is an important shaper of the direction in which they will find their way forward in the face of twenty-first–century management education imperatives. This has especially become the case since the inclusion of ethics, responsibility, and sustainability (ERS) in the revised EQUIS standards. The analysis is drawn from a qualitative multi-case study where the author outlined a theoretical framework by developing an understanding of the organisational responses to EQUIS standards, using interviews and document review as the primary source of information. The case study included private, public, stand-alone, and university-embedded business schools. The findings show that business schools engage in a variety of ERS activities in their research and education portfolio. However, different stakeholder expectations pressure business schools to become more ethical, responsible, and sustainable, which leads to a decoupling of the schools’ “ERS talk” from their “ERS actions”. The decoupling can be seen as the consequence of a school’s translation, editing, and imitation activities in order to appear committed to society’s demands. Despite budget constraints and limited autonomy, public business schools seem to be more engaged in ERS education and research as compared to private institutions. Also, a multidisciplinary environment further supports ERS development as compared to stand-alone business schools. The research proposes core changes and developments that business schools may take into consideration to provide a systematic response to EQUIS ERS standards and criteria.

Innovation processes require organizations to transcend current boundaries. These include not only technological as well as social limitations but "above all" the way we address the future. We are used to face the future with our existing knowledge and experiences from the past. This strategy, however, can hardly lead to knowledge off the beaten path. We therefore suggest a new learning approach for organizations, which enables to literally envision a desired future scenario and thereby, allows for the creation of radical new knowledge. We argue that the created knowledge yields a higher degree of novelty and radicalness. Along with an enhanced theory of learning including learning from the future, we present our empirical findings from comparing the outputs of Learning from an Envisioned Future and learning from the past. For this purpose, we use data from two organizational learning projects; one, which was conducted with a high school in Austria and another one, which was conducted with members of the Austrian Economic Chamber. Our findings from both case studies suggest that Learning from an Envisioned Future does produce significantly more paradigm challenging knowledge compared to the output gained from conventional learning from past experiences. We conclude that the combination of both learning sources may lead to best learning outcomes in organizations.

Devido à evolução acelerada da tecnologia e à mudança das práticas de gestão, uma série de teorias e análises sobre o futuro do trabalho têm surgido. No entanto, o foco tem se mantido em questões tecnológicas e comerciais, com pouco aprofundamento na área de relações humanas e na compreensão do homem sobre sua própria realização. O aumento do nível de complexidade da discussão do papel do trabalho com temas como propósito e significado nas atividades profissionais desperta a busca por conhecimento sobre os mecanismos da satisfação das necessidades humanas por meio da ação produtiva. Novas formas de trabalho, têm demandado o aumento da autonomia e da individualidade na execução das tarefas. Portanto, este estudo aprofunda-se no conceito de Autorrealização e das pessoas autorrealizadas, segundo Maslow (1954), para identificar sua relação com variáveis de perfil do indivíduo e de sua relação com o trabalho e se há correlação de variáveis de perfil pessoal, histórico profissional e preferências/visão de trabalho, com o índice SISA, que classifica autorrealização nos indivíduos. A pesquisa foi elaborada por método de abordagem quantitativa e aplicada por meio de questionário online composto pelo índice de identificação de autorrealização (SISA) e por questões de identificação de perfil e preferências no trabalho, no 1º semestre de 2018, durante o período de 7 dias, com uma amostra total de 4.048 pessoas. Foram identificados 394 (9,7%) indivíduos autorrealizados. O percentual de pessoas autorrealizadas foi mais acentuado no grupo mais maduro e com mais experiência profissional. A chance de um indivíduo ser autorrealizado mostrou-se correlacionada com o nível educacional. Em relação a pessoas que cursaram apenas o Ensino Médio, indivíduos com nível Superior, Pós-Graduação ou Mestrado/Doutorado têm, respectivamente, mais chance de serem autorrealizados em 1,23, 1,87, 2,48 vezes. Profissionais que atuam em organizações flexíveis, com gestão modernizada, apresentaram o perfil autorrealizado 1,39 vez mais do que os sujeitos que atuam em empresas hierárquicas. A maior parte da amostra (50,7% ou 2.053) trabalha sob o vínculo tradicional (CLT) e apresentou percentual de pessoas autorrealizadas inferior à média da amostra (7,4%). Indivíduos com vínculo de empresário, empreendedor ou autônomo somados apresentaram índice de autorrealização superior (21,3%). 90% das pessoas informaram ter sofrido impactos emocionais negativos no trabalho. Deste modo, verificou-se que profissionais com mais experiência e nível escolar mais elevado, bem como indivíduos que atuam de forma mais autônoma ou trabalham em empresas flexíveis e com modelos de gestão modernos e objetivos negociados tendem a ser mais autorrealizados / Due to fast advances in technology and changes in managerial practices, several theories and studies on the future of work have emerged. However, the focus has been on technological and commercial issues, with little interest for human relations and man\'s understanding of his own actualization. Discussions about the role of work, its meaning and purpose have awakened the search for knowledge about mechanisms of satisfaction of human needs through productive action. New ways of working have demanded an increase in autonomy and individuality in the execution of task. This study relies on Maslows (1954) concept of Self-actualization and aims to identify personal information and historical professional profile and work preferences that will connect and correlate with on statistical basis with the SISA Short Index of Self Actualization. Quantitative data was gathered through online questionnaire applied in the first half of 2018, for a 7-day period, presenting questions about personal and professional profile identification and preferences at work + SISA. Total research sample = 4,048. SISA index of the exercise has identified 394 (9,7%) self-actualizing subjects. Higher self-actualization percentages were identified in the older and more experienced group. The odds of being a self-actualizing person has shown to be correlated with educational level and age. The higher the formal education level of a subject, stronger the probability of being a self-actualizing individual. Subjects working on flexible organizations and contemporary management models show 1,39 times more chance of being self-actualized, than workers on hierarchical organizations. 50,7% of the total sample is composed by individuals working under traditional employment strict rules (CLT). Subjects in this group presents lower probability (7,4%) of being self-actualized. Individuals whose jobs and employment agreements are more flexible and autonomous have superior index for self-actualization. 90% of the sample have mentioned negative emotional impact from previous jobs. Conclusions are that self-actualization potential will be higher as the subject is older, more experienced and has higher educational level. Flexible and autonomous working conditions will also have a positive impact on self-actualization index

Devido à evolução acelerada da tecnologia e à mudança das práticas de gestão, uma série de teorias e análises sobre o futuro do trabalho têm surgido. No entanto, o foco tem se mantido em questões tecnológicas e comerciais, com pouco aprofundamento na área de relações humanas e na compreensão do homem sobre sua própria realização. O aumento do nível de complexidade da discussão do papel do trabalho com temas como propósito e significado nas atividades profissionais desperta a busca por conhecimento sobre os mecanismos da satisfação das necessidades humanas por meio da ação produtiva. Novas formas de trabalho, têm demandado o aumento da autonomia e da individualidade na execução das tarefas. Portanto, este estudo aprofunda-se no conceito de Autorrealização e das pessoas autorrealizadas, segundo Maslow (1954), para identificar sua relação com variáveis de perfil do indivíduo e de sua relação com o trabalho e se há correlação de variáveis de perfil pessoal, histórico profissional e preferências/visão de trabalho, com o índice SISA, que classifica autorrealização nos indivíduos. A pesquisa foi elaborada por método de abordagem quantitativa e aplicada por meio de questionário online composto pelo índice de identificação de autorrealização (SISA) e por questões de identificação de perfil e preferências no trabalho, no 1º semestre de 2018, durante o período de 7 dias, com uma amostra total de 4.048 pessoas. Foram identificados 394 (9,7%) indivíduos autorrealizados. O percentual de pessoas autorrealizadas foi mais acentuado no grupo mais maduro e com mais experiência profissional. A chance de um indivíduo ser autorrealizado mostrou-se correlacionada com o nível educacional. Em relação a pessoas que cursaram apenas o Ensino Médio, indivíduos com nível Superior, Pós-Graduação ou Mestrado/Doutorado têm, respectivamente, mais chance de serem autorrealizados em 1,23, 1,87, 2,48 vezes. Profissionais que atuam em organizações flexíveis, com gestão modernizada, apresentaram o perfil autorrealizado 1,39 vez mais do que os sujeitos que atuam em empresas hierárquicas. A maior parte da amostra (50,7% ou 2.053) trabalha sob o vínculo tradicional (CLT) e apresentou percentual de pessoas autorrealizadas inferior à média da amostra (7,4%). Indivíduos com vínculo de empresário, empreendedor ou autônomo somados apresentaram índice de autorrealização superior (21,3%). 90% das pessoas informaram ter sofrido impactos emocionais negativos no trabalho. Deste modo, verificou-se que profissionais com mais experiência e nível escolar mais elevado, bem como indivíduos que atuam de forma mais autônoma ou trabalham em empresas flexíveis e com modelos de gestão modernos e objetivos negociados tendem a ser mais autorrealizados / Due to fast advances in technology and changes in managerial practices, several theories and studies on the future of work have emerged. However, the focus has been on technological and commercial issues, with little interest for human relations and man\'s understanding of his own actualization. Discussions about the role of work, its meaning and purpose have awakened the search for knowledge about mechanisms of satisfaction of human needs through productive action. New ways of working have demanded an increase in autonomy and individuality in the execution of task. This study relies on Maslows (1954) concept of Self-actualization and aims to identify personal information and historical professional profile and work preferences that will connect and correlate with on statistical basis with the SISA Short Index of Self Actualization. Quantitative data was gathered through online questionnaire applied in the first half of 2018, for a 7-day period, presenting questions about personal and professional profile identification and preferences at work + SISA. Total research sample = 4,048. SISA index of the exercise has identified 394 (9,7%) self-actualizing subjects. Higher self-actualization percentages were identified in the older and more experienced group. The odds of being a self-actualizing person has shown to be correlated with educational level and age. The higher the formal education level of a subject, stronger the probability of being a self-actualizing individual. Subjects working on flexible organizations and contemporary management models show 1,39 times more chance of being self-actualized, than workers on hierarchical organizations. 50,7% of the total sample is composed by individuals working under traditional employment strict rules (CLT). Subjects in this group presents lower probability (7,4%) of being self-actualized. Individuals whose jobs and employment agreements are more flexible and autonomous have superior index for self-actualization. 90% of the sample have mentioned negative emotional impact from previous jobs. Conclusions are that self-actualization potential will be higher as the subject is older, more experienced and has higher educational level. Flexible and autonomous working conditions will also have a positive impact on self-actualization index