Business schools must acclimatise to the emergence of China and India, writes Erica Webster

A master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification equips managers and entrepreneurs with technical skills and knowledge across a range of disciplines. More than that, however, an MBA is about instilling in them the curiosity, confidence and competence to adapt to economic, societal, political and global issues, says Professor Piet Naudé, director of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School.

"Today's context can change tomorrow, so an even more valuable skill business schools can impart is an ability to interpret the environment and translate that into business strategies," he says.

During a recent tour of some of the leading business schools in Europe, Naudé observed several consequences of the post-downturn MBA. "According to the Association of MBAs (AMBA), ethics and sustainability are no longer seen as soft issues, but have moved to the core of the curriculum. Secondly, the issues of risk and the conflict between short-term rewards and longer-term sustainability have come to the fore."

He says AMBA also reports a growing need for leaders who can address complex global matters.

"The moment you live in a globalised world and your company functions on a multinational level, you have to take many factors into account, especially with the power of the economy having shifted from west to east."

The downturn affected SA in a subtle albeit more complex way than the European and American economies, says Professor Nick Binedell, founding director and Sasol chairman of strategic management of the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

"We've been very fortunate not to have been severely affected. Our strong reputation and governance in the corporate sector stood us in good stead ...

"An issue that is gathering momentum, however, and which we've been talking about for years, is the dynamics of globalisation. The three areas we need to address are China, India and Africa - there is a growing awareness that they constitute 50% of the world's population and we need to pay serious attention to how these dynamic markets are shaping the global economy and what that means over the long run."

Sustainability and green issues remain high on business schools' agendas, although some have been more responsive than others, says Professor John Powell, director of the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

"We're fortunate in SA as a group of business schools, because of the context in which we work and the regulatory structures; stratification and the need for social impact hit you at every turn.

"That's not true of countries like France and the US - the stratification is there, it's just as real and just as demanding, but it's not as obvious and, frankly, it's not as well respected and observed."

Appointed to the USB earlier this year, Powell, who hails from the UK, says South African business schools in general have done well to include in their MBAs courses such as social entrepreneurship, as well as in giving students opportunities to make their mark.

"I've noticed a validity in the South African understanding of business problems and business situations that is better than the rest of the world," he says. "This should come as no surprise - because of South Africa's complex history, South African managers are uniquely placed to understand some of the complexities that arise in the rest of the world."

A long-standing concern for South African business schools - and one that the South African Business Schools' Association has been trying to address for some time - is that government does not regard an MBA as a master's degree and, therefore, does not subsidise it as such.

"This situation is very unusual in the tertiary education world and globally unique," says Binedell. "MBA programmes should cover their costs, but in SA they don't - the schools have to subsidise them. This is a strategic concern for the business community because we should be expanding the sector and we're unable to.

"To be fair, there are many pressures on SA's tertiary education system. The policy makers believe the private sector should support the business schools and, of course, it does. Our argument, however, is that the private sector is the engine of the economy and the MBA is the leading management qualification."