Business schools have been under scrutiny over the last few years with regard to the type of manager leaders that they produce. This is because the business sector has suffered significantly, both financially and in terms of global reputation due to the unethical conduct of those in management and leadership of the organisations. The scandals that rocked the world in recent times, from business entities such as Enron and Tiger Brands provide examples of the unethical behaviour in the day–to–day running of business and further bring forth the essential need for an in–depth study in the behaviour of the manager–leaders. These manager–leaders are said to be graduates from business schools around the world. Researchers and business schools have started to put emphasis on the importance of ethical behaviour in manager–leaders. Business schools in particular have introduced and included business law and ethics as one of the modules in the curriculum of the MBA program so as to inculcate the ethical conduct in the present and emerging manager–leaders in organisations. Therefore, this study is based on the evaluation of the ethical behaviour of the MBA students at a selected business school in South Africa. The subjects of this study (MBA students) were subjected to questionnaires that prompted their convictions with regard to ethical behaviour at personal (individual) level and on company level as well. The results of the study indicated that the MBA students at this selected business school are ethical in behaviour at both individual and company levels, hence complied with principles that are guidelines in the renowned King reports. However, a comparative study with other business schools will be necessary so as to measure the relative ethical behaviour of the MBA students at other business schools. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Dans la littérature récente en management, l’enseignement de la gestion est décrit comme une activité commerciale qui s’exerce sur un marché dont le produit phare est le MBA. En cherchant à promouvoir leurs MBA respectifs dans cet univers concurrentiel, les écoles de commerce sont ainsi amenées à renouveler ce cursus en permanence. De ce fait, l'industrie de l’enseignement de la gestion est devenue un important terrain de recherche en management.Le MBA bénéficie désormais d’une reconnaissance quasi mondiale et il a connu une croissance remarquable au cours des dernières décennies. Il est par ailleurs abondamment critiqué, notamment au regard de la teneur et l'organisation des enseignements qui y sont dispensés. Cette étude porte sur les relations et les influences croisées des parties prenantes dans le développement du cursus du MBA, en particulier en ce qui concerne l'introduction de modules liés au leadership. Cette étude qualitative longitudinale, menée sur un échantillon de MBA en France, permet de préciser les rôles stratégiques et les influences respectives des principales parties prenantes que sont les régulateurs, les fournisseurs et les « clients » dans le processus d'élaboration d’un programme MBA. La constante amélioration de ce diplôme répond en effet aux recommandations des régulateurs et à la perception des organisateurs, mais rarement aux souhaits de demandeurs. Nous proposons un modèle de croissance en spirale des parties prenantes dans l’organisation du MBA, qui met en évidence une dynamique permettant à la fois à l’industrie et à ses acteurs d’accroitre leur efficacité. / In recent literature, Management Education is frequently described as a business industry, with the MBA program as its flagship product. Whilst attempting to position their programs in an increasingly competitive market, business schools continuously develop and renew the MBA. As a result, Management Education has become a new area of management study. The MBA has enjoyed a remarkable growth in recent decades, to the point that is has become a globally recognised degree. However, it has also received considerable criticism, especially regarding its curriculum content and organization. Using a qualitative interview-based research on French MBA programs and curricula development, this study focuses on the interaction of stakeholders in the MBA curriculum development, notably in light of the introduction of leadership-related modules. Its main findings evidence the strategic role and influence of the main stakeholders, i.e. regulators, suppliers and “clients”, in the MBA curriculum development process. The continuing improvement of the MBA curriculum reflects the recommendations of the regulators as well as the perspective of the suppliers, but the influence of demanders is more limited. This research led to the identification and the specification of a spiral evolution model, for the interaction of stakeholders in the organization of MBA and Management Education creates a synergistic growth in the industry that enables both organizations and the industry to be more efficient.

A sustentabilidade econômica das instituições de ensino superior (IES) no Brasil vem sendo cada vez mais discutida como uma questão estratégica. No setor público, a dificuldade do Estado de garantir verbas para a sustentabilidade das instituições mostra que há restrições a investimentos para melhoria da qualidade e expansão dessas instituições. No setor privado, a dependência quase exclusiva das mensalidades dos alunos também torna-se um forte restringente da capacidade de investimentos em infra-estrutura, qualidade dos serviços educacionais e pesquisa. Alternativas financeiras, por isso, impõem-se como importante suporte à sobrevivência e continuidade das instituições. Captação de recursos na sociedade pode ser uma alternativa viável, usada comumente pelas IES norte-americanas e tem se transformado em item indispensável em seu orçamento. Seria possível aplicar as estratégias de captação usadas pelas instituições norte-americanas em faculdades de Administração no Brasil? Esta pesquisa estuda a exeqüibilidade de aplicação das estratégias de captação usadas por aquelas instituições na realidade das suas congêneres brasileiras. O método usado foi um estudo de multicaso, em três instituições norte-americanas, uma pública e duas privadas, e em três congêneres brasileiras, avaliando-se contexto, origem e estrutura, papel e finalidades, estratégias, cultura e legislação, e voluntariado. Os principais resultados indicam que nas estratégias de captação das instituições estrangeiras pesquisadas as atividades de captação são centralizadas, usufruem de contexto cultural e legal positivo para a doação, focam mais em indivíduos do que em empresas e atrelam as solicitações a atributos institucionais de credibilidade, garantia de execução dos projetos, flexibilidade, conveniência e interesse dos doadores. Um grande contingente de voluntários é utilizado na captação dessas instituições. As conclusões são de que não há restrições significativas para a aplicação das estratégias usadas pelas instituições norte-americanas na realidade brasileira. A captação de recursos nas congêneres brasileiras é ainda incipiente, não é item orçamentário e voluntários não são utilizados para este fim. Finalmente, contribuições à formulação de estratégias de captação nas instituições brasileiras são sugeridas. / The economic sustainability of higher education institutions in Brazil becomes a strategic issue for these institutions\' survival. For public institutions, Government hurdles to guarantee financial resources cause a strong restriction to investments in quality improvement and institutional expansion. For private institutions, exclusive dependence on tuition causes , on the other hand, a strong restriction to the ability to keep infra-structure, quality of educational services and research abreast. Hence, financial alternatives are vital for continuity of these institutions. Fundraising could be a viable alternative, since this is a commonly used way by American higher education institutions and is an indispensable budget item. Would it be possible to use American higher education fundraising strategies in Brazilian Management School of higher education? This research targets at studying the viability of transferring American higher education fundraising strategies to the Brazilian counterparts. A multicase study was used to study three American, one public and two private, higher education institutions and three Brazilian similar institutions. Context, Structure and Origins; Role and Function; Strategies; Culture and Legislation and Volunteering were studied. Main results indicate that American researched institutions centralize fundraising activities, take advantage of cultural and legal context, target more individual donors than organizations and link soliciting to institutional attributes like credibility and continuity of projects. They also leverage on campaigns\' attributes such as convenience, flexibility and donors interest. Main conclusions show that there is no serious restrictions to use American higher education fundraising strategies in the Brazilian counterparts. Fundraising among Brazilian higher education institutions is still very incipient, it did not become yet a budget item and volunteers are not used whatsoever. Finally, contributions to fundraising strategy formulation for Brazilian higher education are proposed.

A common issue in leadership development is the high flyers who reach a position where their lack of “soft” skills hampers their performance and proves a barrier to their continued progression to higher levels of responsibility (Newell, 2002: 288). Business Schools offering Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programmes assist in developing managers with not just managerial competence but also with “soft” skills. By delivering educated business managers, these managers through their intellectual skills and community sensitive values, will lead future transformational processes. It is useful and interesting to consider how important emotional intelligence is for effective performance at work. A considerable body of research suggests that an employee’s ability to perceive, identify, and manage emotion provides the basis for the kinds of social and emotional competencies that are important for success in almost any position. Furthermore, as the pace of change increases and the world of work make ever-greater demands on an employee’s cognitive, emotional, and physical resources, this particular set of abilities will become increasingly important (Cherniss, 2000). The primary objective of this study is to determine the perceptions of the Masters in Business Administration (MBA), B-Tech in Business Administration (BBA), Advanced Business Programme (ABP) programmes and the Business School Alumni to determine the overall emotional intelligence profile of students as well as the effective team functions of the syndicate groups. Based on the main findings of the survey, it was concluded that emotional intelligence is an important factor for the NMMU Business School, MBA Unit students. The skills attained through the course work will not only improve team effectiveness in the syndicate group functioning but also enhance their performance in the business environment. The MBA team learning experiences enhances workplace learning as the ability to work in a team and ability to think and act independently are highly desired skills and competencies for success in the workplace.

Over the last three decades the UK higher education system has operated under an ideological approach sometimes referred to as New Managerialism (Deem, 2004). The psychological contract of the individual actor within this altered environment was the subject of the research in this study. The psychological contract has been defined as an individual’s beliefs regarding the terms and conditions of a reciprocal informal exchange agreement between themselves and their organisations (Rousseau, 1989). The thesis focused on the psychological contracts of higher education lecturers in a post-92 University Business School in the United Kingdom. The study considered the construction of the psychological contract, the appropriateness of the initial contract, perceived influences on the contract, and behavioural consequences of contract breach and/or violation. The research was focussed on the role of the lecturer in interpreting and unpacking his/her perceptions and understandings. The research questions required data that was personal and experiential. Interviews were undertaken which allowed participants to provide life history accounts that described and theorised about their actions in the social world over time. The approach used had a number of limitations which were identified and considered within the thesis. Notwithstanding the limitations of the research approach, the data suggested that each individual had analysed the extent to which a new employment context would deliver transactional, relational, and ideological reward. However, ideology was less relevant in making the decision to accept higher education employment than either transactional or relational elements. Post-entry, sensemaking acted as a confirmation mechanism in respect of the expectations of what the job would entail and the pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits that would be received. Initial contracts were relatively accurate in their conceptualisation of the work involved in being a higher education academic. Within the Business School examined in this study, management decisions impacted on participants from both an economic and socio-economic perspective. Employees described how individual work contexts were altered by management decisions. Reaction to decisions depended on individual circumstances at any given juncture based on the influences from multiple contexts both internal and external to the workplace. Context was not homogenous and wide-ranging individual differences were apparent. These contexts played a part in defining to what extent changed work environments would be accepted or not. Participants were continuously active and involved in the evaluation of the multiple contexts that were relevant to them. The capacity to manipulate managers and influence decisions to counteract context change was also evident. The ability to thwart changes to work context varied between individuals and over time. This study identified how participants were able to create and shape their own work environment to satisfy their needs and wants during their careers within a structure that remained predominantly organic in nature despite a changing higher education environment. The goal of the employee was to create the idiosyncratic deal, the specific individually tailored work environment that would deliver the satisfaction required from higher education employment. The psychological contracts were self-focussed and self-oriented but this did not necessarily mean that employees were not also actively involved in assisting the organisation to achieve its ambitions. The notion that a managerial agenda had resulted in the erosion of individualism in higher education was not supported. There was evidence that the psychological contract was unilaterally changed and altered by the employee whenever he or she chose, rather than a negotiated change to a binding agreement. Alteration was intrinsically a private determination and often not communicated.

The researchers in this study wanted to focus on Business Schools by using management and marketing knowledge. Therefore, the most attractive subject for them was the link between CSR, Business schools and Brand image. Many studies have been developed for companies regarding the importance of CSR, the impact it has on their strategies, the brand image’s impacts, and the effect that CSR has on a company’s strategy. Researchers thought that it was important to adapt those theories to Business schools because they aim to form students to become managers but the world has changed a lot during the last decades: there was an economic crisis, global warming, and also discrimination and inequalities which are still present. Also, Business Schools need to form future responsible leaders who will integrate these aspects into their decisions inside a company. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how Business Schools act to respond to increased demands for CSR and sustainability in education to strengthen their brand image. In order to reach this purpose, five different aspects will be analysed: how do Business Schools perceive the importance of CSR, what are the actions of the Business Schools in order to become a school respecting CSR, what and how Business Schools have changed in their education to form responsible leaders, if and how is CSR integrated into their marketing strategies, how do they perceive the impact on their brand image in order to answer to our research question: how are Business Schools acting to improve their brand image in terms of sustainability and CSR in education? To do so, researchers have chosen to use a qualitative study by leading interviews with directors, marketing and communication executives but also people who are in charge of CSR in Business School in order to get a better understanding of those issues. The result of this study has shown that CSR is taken into consideration by Business Schools, and therefore they have adapted their teaching methods to improve the awareness and knowledge of students towards CSR issues and that it has an impact on their brand image but only on certain conditions. Researchers concluded with this study by saying that Business Schools improved their brand image in terms of CSR through many actions and new teaching methods but also thanks to accreditations and labels. However, our implications to this study have revealed that CSR is not considered entirely by Business Schools and it could have a bad impact in the long term but also that Business schools should communicate more on their CSR actions. Indeed, students gain interest in those issues, and companies need responsible leaders which means that, by communicating more on it, if their strategy is in line with their actions, they will increase the positive impact on their brand image. Thanks to these conclusions, this research can be useful for business schools, students, and every stakeholders.

lntercultural competence is seen as a necessary skill for international business studies graduates. Can faculty and staff members at international business studies programs improve their intercultural competence by participating in a series of intercultural learning activities? In this study 10 faculty and staff members went through nine 4-hour intercultural learning sessions. Their intercultural sensitivity was tested before and after the sessions. The study builds on research that makes use of the Intercultural Development Inventory for the assessment of intercultural competence development. The framework for intercultural learning used in this study is based on a Process Model of Intercultural Competence and the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. The study made use of mixed methods for data collection: IDI pre- and post-testing, participative observation, and interview. Analysis of the data revealed that faculty and staff members gained on average 8.02 points on a 90-point scale (the IDI developmental orientation). The group moved form minimization to acceptance. Faculty and staff members with a positive developmental score reduced their orientation gap with on average 7.47 points. This means they can now more realistically estimate their ability of dealing with cultural differences. In interviews faculty and staff members confirmed to feel more interculturally sensitive and that reflection, engagement and the making of meaning are important elements of mindful intercultural interaction. This study should ideally be followed by a study comparing the intercultural competence development of faculty and staff members with the intercultural competence development of their students, answering the question whether interculturally competent educators hone intercultural competence development of students more or better than those who are less interculturally competent.

The following blink reflects the personal experiences and takeaways made by the author during a selected program at Harvard Business School during March 2022 to August 2022. It is neither intended to pretend, assert, or even assume that similar experiences are not possible in applicable universities or learning institutions at any other place nor is the author financially bonded of either receiving gratuities or benefits of some kind to/from Harvard Business and/or Law School. Therefore, the blink is an aftermath of the specific experience in an extraordinary divers and professional learning environment that has been.

No description available.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The lack of development and growth are characteristics of the Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) region . Globally there are huge concerns about this and there are various initiatives to address the under development and poverty in this region. The most important of these initiatives, is the United Nations' Millennium Goals. In focusing on SSA, various challenges can be highlighted that impact negatively on the business (especially the banking) environment. These challenges are spread across the whole spectrum of spheres of influences, namely from the political to the economical environment on the one side to the social and technological environment on the other side. The region is in desperate need of help with regard to their development. These challenges are unfortunately huge obstacles for prospective investors. Many of the multi national (including South African) banks have identified the region as an area where they can reap high returns on their investments, whilst maintaining and even increasing their presence. In most cases the South African banks are focusing on expanding their involvement in the region but they must realise that they will not only have to compete with the local banks but also with the bigger role players in global banking. Unfortunately the existing multi-national banks have already captured the corporate market. New entrance and expansions will have to target the SMME and large retail markets that carry more risk and will be more challenging to service due to the lack of infrastructure in especially the rural areas. Many opportunities exist for South African banks in the SSA region. The dominant features of these opportunities are the leveraging off their South African operations and building on their experience in handling change and re-engineering of the banking sector. Existing product- and service offerings can be adjusted and rolled out to the region. Creativity will play an important role in assisting in the development of the region. Partnerships with local businesses and the community can assist to mobilize the lower end of the market and capture huge un-banked population. This will generate huge transaction volumes that will spread the cost and contributes to acceptable returns on investments. The involvement of the South African banks will have implications for all the stakeholders in the region. The most important aspect is finding a balance between the needs of the different stakeholders. The benefits stemming from this will contribute towards the region's escape from the deadlock of poverty. Although there are many challenges, the opportunities of extending into the undeveloped market must be seen as outweighing it. The key to success lies in the approach of the banks toward the SSA region and their ability to be seen as partners in developing the region. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gebrek aan ontwikkeling en groei is kenmerke van die Sub-Sahara Afrika (SSA) streek. Wereldwyd is daar groot besorgdheid hieroor en verskeie inisiatiewe is geloods om die onderontwikkeling en armoede aan te spreek. Die heel belangrikste hiervan is die Verenigte Nasies se Millennium Doelwitte. Die fokus op die SSA streek lig heelwat negatiewe uitdagings vir die besighede (veral die bankwese) omgewing uit. Die uitdagings strek oor die volle spektrum van die ekonomiese aktiwiteite, naamlik vanaf die politieke tot die ekonomiese omgewing aan die een kant tot by die sosiale en tegnologiese gebiede aan die ander kant. Die streek smeek vir hulp en ondersteuning in die ontwikkeling daarvan. Die voorgenoemde uitdagings is groot hindernisse vir voornemende beleggers. Baie van die multi-nasionale (insluitende die Suid Afrikaanse) banke het die streek geidentifiseer as 'n gebied waar hulle hoe opbrengste kan verdien op hul investering en waar hul teenwoordigheid behou en selfs vergroot kan word. Die meeste Suid- Afikaanse banke wil hul teenwoordigheid vergroot, maar hulle moet besef dat hulle nie net teen die plaaslike banke moet kompeteer nie, maar ook met die bekende internasionale banke. Die internasionale banke is ongelukkig reeds goed ingegrawe in die korporatiewe mark. Nuwe toetredes en uitbreidings sal op die kleinsake ondernemings en groot klein handel mark moet fokus. Die mark segmente het hoer risiko profiele en is ook uitdagend om te diens as gevolg van die gebrek aan infrastruktuur in veral die plattelandse streke. Baie geleenthede vir die Suid Afrikaanse banke bestaan in die streek. Die belangrikste hiervan is die geleentheid om te steun op hul Suid Afrikaanse aktiwiteite, asook om te steun op hul ervaring ten opsigte van hantering van verandering en die herontwerp van die prosesse in bankwese. Bestaande produkte en dienste kan aangepas en uitgerol word in die streek. Kreatiwiteit sal egter 'n groot rol speel in die ontwikkeling van die streek. Vennootskappe met plaaslike besighede en gemeenskappe sal help om die onderste deel van die mark te mobiliseer en die groot getalle kliente wat nog nie van bankdienste gebruik maak nie te bereik. Dit sal bydra tot groot transaksie volumes wat die koste per transaksie sal verminder en aanvaarbare opbrengs op belegging sal gee. Die betrokkenheid van die Suid-Alrikaanse banke sal 'n invloed he op alle belange groepe in die streek. Die belangrikste sleutel tot sukses is om 'n balans te vind tussen die behoeftes van die verskillende belange groepe. Die voordele wat hieruit spruit sal die streek help om van die wurggreep van armoede te ontsnap. Alhoewel die onderontwikkelde markte baie uitdagings het, word dit oortref deur die geleenthede wat dit bied. Die sleutel tot sukses is die aanslag van die banke en hul vermoe om gesien te word as vennote in die ontwikkeling van die streek.