Perspectives towards jobs are changing, and those at the beginning of their careers want more than just a string of promotions. Young professionals across sectors are hoping to make a difference. ESMT, for example, reported that over 91% of its MBA graduates were seeking a job with that goal in mind.
In line with this trend, many MBAs are incorporating social impact into their programs. They are building in specializations that differ from usual MBA topics, focusing on impact, sustainability, and social responsibility. They are encouraging their graduates to use the skills they gain as a force for good, and to apply their business expertise to back a growing shift in values across the industry.
The shift towards social impact appears to be coming from all directions. Incoming MBA students want courses that suit their dreams of purposeful careers; programs themselves are adapting to meet growing demands for social impact MBAs; and the world of business is centering social responsibility in corporations as well as non-profits.
So what, exactly, does this shift look like? How is it appearing across the world of business, and how are MBAs incorporating social impact? And, the most important question of all, in which career directions will this take MBA graduates?
Social Impact and Business
The world of business is changing. Consumers no longer subscribe to conglomerates who place profit over people in all instances. Demand for corporate responsibility is growing, values are shifting, and companies are being held accountable for their effect on social issues.
Against this backdrop, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are taking center stage, and B corporations are on the rise—many companies have even launched social impact venture capital funds.
These venture funds—set up inside larger companies and invested in social projects—work best when profit is generated, due to the fact that companies are more willing to put money into venture capital funds when financial returns are made from them. They, therefore, demonstrate neatly the balance of impact and profit that drives social impact in business towards success.
The balance of profit and people only increases the appeal of social impact careers to MBA graduates. This sector is a chance to put their knowledge to the test, to have real impact, and to make money as well.
If businesses are gearing up for increased social responsibility and pivoting to new goals, they need leaders who know how to get them there. With the leadership, organizational, and strategic experience gained through their MBA, who better to lead the charge than social impact MBA graduates?
MBAs and Social Impact
Businesses want leaders who understand social responsibility while possessing the business acumen to lead them to success. MBAs are adding social impact to their curriculums and rising to the challenge of meeting this demand.
Courses and dual-degree programs
One way in which MBA programs are evolving is through adding courses to their curriculum that cover social entrepreneurship, sustainable practices, impact investing, and corporate responsibility. Another is via the introduction of dual-degree programs and specializations, where the organizational, leadership, and financial aspects of an MBA are tailored to social impact contexts.
One business school to do both the former and the latter is Yale SOM. First, SOM offers over 50 social impact electives (for example, one called “Global Social Entrepreneurship”), and second, the school offers a dual degree program, MBA and Masters of Environmental Management.
Other schools that offer social impact courses and electives include MIT Sloan and IESE. Eighty percent of all MBA students take at least one elective in sustainability, while IESE’s new elective, titled “Social Impact Consulting,” teaches students to guide corporations, non-profits and investors towards greater social impact.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning—or the process of learning by doing—is central to social impact teaching in an MBA. Lauded for its ability to help students connect theory to practice, it has been proven to improve student knowledge by instilling high ethical standards in students and actively involving students in learning.
Many of Northwestern Kellogg’s social impact-focused courses are experiential in nature. Take, for example, the school’s Education Consulting Lab, in which students team up to complete a strategic consulting project, creating recommendations to tackle common issues affecting the U.S. public school system. Additionally, in the course titled “Medical Technologies in Developing Countries,” students conduct in-country market research for medical technologies for developing countries.
ESMT is another on the list of business schools offering experiential learning experiences to their MBAs. For ESMT, this occurs in the form of its Responsible Leaders Fellowship (RLF). The RLF is a chance for MBAs to apply their learnings directly to global challenges, leveraging skills in a meaningful way and preparing them for impactful careers.
Careers for MBAs in Social Impact
The skills acquired during an MBA can be applied to almost any business or organizational context. That said, there are a few areas in which most MBA graduates in social impact find employment. In general, these are:
- Impact investing and sustainable finance.
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG leadership roles.
- Public sector, nonprofit management, and international development.
- Marketing strategy, brand management, and content development for non-profits or social enterprises.
- Social entrepreneurship and B Corps.
Take a more detailed look at social impact career breakdowns from Kellogg, Chicago Booth, and Wharton.
The skills that MBA graduates possess will prove vital in the corporate pivot towards greater emphasis on social responsibility. Businesses need leaders who can steer them towards profit in order to hang on to investment, while creating positive social impact and leading the charge towards a fairer society.
In order to hit their social impact goals, they need people at the top who can make strategic decisions, creatively solve problems, manage financial and operational aspects, and scale sustainably. And who better to do this than social impact MBA graduates?
MBA students are demonstrating their readiness to rise to the challenge, committing to social impact via dedicated electives and programs and seeking employment in the field; while MBAs are evolving to better allow them to do so.
