There’s a gap between the role business schools want to play in alleviating global poverty and the impact they’re actually making, according to a new study by the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association.
The international survey polled 1,917 business school professionals, alumni and students – mostly from the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Asia and Africa with smaller percentages from Latin America, Eastern Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Oceania. Research included an online survey with business school leaders and students, five interviews with business school professionals and graduates and three case studies of business schools working to reduce poverty.
While business school professionals could argue that poverty isn’t their problem, the study found that 75 percent of the nearly 2,000 respondents felt that their business schools could make a “substantial impact” on poverty.
“Integrated into the fabric of our communities, business provides individuals with necessary opportunities to explore, create, build, and serve, and also serves as a driver of economic empowerment,” said Julianne Iannarelli, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Half of respondents believed business schools can change how students think about poverty, and about 87 percent said that the business school community needs to collectively do more to help low-income earners.
“There is a big interaction between business schools and poverty,” one study participant commented. “If business is not responsible, it can create poverty. I think [business schools] need to give people an opportunity, such as through scholarships. And if the program content is not focused on the responsibility of business then it will contribute to poverty, and businesses will not think about the impact of their actions.”
