Chinese companies have been told to take note of a survey of MBA students that shows they are taking more account of business responsibility issues when taking on jobs.
Researchers from the Aspen Institute Center for Business Education interviewed MBA students at 15 schools around the world on their attitudes towards the relationship between business and society.
The report, commended to Chinese companies by CSR Asia, which provides sustainability information, training, research and consultancy, found business students were now thinking more broadly about a company’s main responsibilities.
Students were not only interested in the close involvement of stakeholders and meeting customers’ needs, but also insisted that companies should create ‘value for the communities in which they operate’. CSR Asia said this would have a bearing on Chinese companies, which are increasingly in the market for international MBA students.
The survey showed that today’s MBA students were more interested in finding work offering the potential to contribute to society. Last year 26 per cent of respondents said this was important in their job choice, against 15 per cent in 2002.
However, the further the students progressed through their MBA courses, the less confident they felt that their training was equipping them to manage conflicts of values.
