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Business Degree doesn't mean you have to stop caring:
Canadian management students pursue careers that fit their social,
environmental and community concerns.
By Kariann Aarup, co-founder of CEI
Typically students in business school, after the grueling years
of study, seek high paying jobs in the corporate world. Having majored
in finance, accounting or marketing, the average graduate looks
for a position as a financial analyst, an investment consultant
or perhaps as part of a marketing team focusing on brand management.
These are fast-paced, high- pressure corporate environments. They
are also positions with hefty salaries and high stress levels.
Such work environments are not, however, appealing to all management
students. There is a growing number who are voicing concern over
the lack of meaning in their studies and the work opportunities
they face. These students are less motivated by the salary they
will earn and more concerned with the level of meaning and personal
value they will derive from their jobs. These students care about
social and environmental responsibility, about community and civic
engagement. They see their business education not so much as defining
who they are, but rather what they can do. Their MBA's and Bachelor
degrees give them a set of skills which they carry, like a tool
box, and apply in a work environment that better fits their values,
their social concerns, their environmental awareness, their community
involvement. They don't see these concerns as hobbies but instead
consider them as fundamental to their choice of work and career.
This mounting concern for issues pertaining to social responsibility
and environmental sustainability among business school students
is also evidenced by a growing number of newly formed student groups
such as Net Impact and Business Watch. Net Impact, is a North American
wide network of MBA students for social responsibility. With over
25 chapters in the US, 4 in Canada (McGill, Ivey Business School,
University of Alberta, York's Schulich School of Business and a
similar initiative at Dalhousie), and affiliates in Europe and Australia,
Net Impact has a membership of close to 5000 MBA students and alums
worldwide, and is growing rapidly. Careers are a big part of the
Net Impact agenda for its membership:
"The mission of Net Impact McGill is to address the intersection
of business and society, by equipping its members with the tools
and knowledge that will help them create meaningful future career
paths."
Similar efforts are starting at the undergraduate level as well.
McGill Business Watch, a club started in 1999 by a handful of concerned
bachelor of commerce students, attracts members with the slogan
"You don't have to stop caring!" written in bold under
the graphic image of a flattened planet earth, scarred with tread
marks from a tire. On the walls of a business school, the image
is a compelling one. These undergraduate students are well aware
of the reputation they have on campus due simply to the fact that
they are in management. It is a reputation they are not proud of
and want very much to change! They also want to raise awareness
among their peers and their professors of the importance of social
and environmental issues in the context of getting their business
degrees. Their membership is growing and undergraduate management
students in other universities are expressing interest in starting
Business Watch chapters (University of Manitoba's Asper School of
Business).
These concerns expressed by students are not out of line with larger
societal trends occurring both in Canada and worldwide. In a recent
Environics Millennium Poll, it was shown that 89% of Canadians want
large companies to go beyond their historical role of profit making
and integrate broader societal goals into their core business as
well. Similarly in the US, 53% of MBA students that were surveyed
stated they would accept taking a salary cut to work for a socially
responsible company . A Wall Street Journal article, "Corporations
Still Put Profits First, But Social Concerns Gain Ground" ,
cites findings from the Aspen Institute's "Beyond Grey Pinstripes
Report", featuring business schools that integrate social issues
and environmental management into MBA curriculum. They are relatively
few, but they exist. Likewise in Canada, a recent Globe and Mail
article, "In Praise of an ethical education", points out
the importance of including courses on ethics and social responsibility
into management programs in light of the recent Enron scandal. In
Europe, in July 2002, a European Academy on Corporate Social Responsibility
was launched, and is a joint effort between business schools, the
business sector and non-governmental organizations. And it goes
on… Net Impact and Business Watch students are among the trendsetters
and future leaders in Canada, in this growing move to balance social
and environmental concerns with economic ones. And these are future
leaders who want jobs with social vision and environmental foresight!
Recognizing this change in Canada, several initiatives have been
started to help foster links between business schools and these
emerging 'alternative' career paths within organizations that are
directly working on issues of social justice, environmental sustainability
and community development. These organizations, termed voluntary
sector or civil society organizations, are becoming more appealing
places where students can apply their "tool box" of learned
management skills while nurturing and respecting their values and
sense of greater social responsibility. Furthermore, these organizations
are in need of management skills, such as strategic thinking &
planning, financial analysis, information systems development, marketing
& awareness campaigns, fundraising planning, etc. Voluntary
sector organizations are fulfilling important roles in Canadian
society and need educated and skilled managers to help them achieve
their objectives. Management students fit this bill!
One such career-focused program is Community Experience Initiative.
Founded in 2000 by two McGill MBA graduates, CEI is an internship
program that focuses specifically on placing management students
in paid summer positions in not-for-profit organizations, community-based
organizations and for-profit enterprises with a strong directive
for social & environmental responsibility. CEI works with organizations
and business schools across Canada and has thus far placed 15 students
in summer jobs: The Troubadour Institute (Mayne Island, BC); Tides
Canada and the Elizabeth Fry Society (Vancouver); Kids Help Phone,
Evergreen, and Feed The Children (Toronto); COCo and The Canadian
Human Rights Foundation (Montreal); Big Brothers Big Sisters (St.Johns,
Newfoundland). In their second year of operation, CEI is growing
quickly and interest is high. Over 200 applications were received
for the positions posted for this summer!
A second career-focused initiative, the first of its kind in Canada,
was organized with the help of the McGill Management Career Centre.
Recognizing the changing interest among the students they serve,
the Director of the Centre, Jocelyne Younan, has been very responsive
and innovative in its career fair & recruiting efforts: "In
the last few years, we have noticed more Management students leaning
towards a non traditional employer and career direction. We have
more students looking at Socially Responsible businesses as well
as voluntary sector and not for profit organizations. They are telling
us that they want to use their business knowledge towards helping
the community and that they want to work for an organization that
makes a difference locally and in a global context." In line
with that and instigated by Net Impact and Business Watch students,
the Career Centre co-hosted a "Social Careers Fair", in
March 2002. The intention was threefold, to respond to students'
changing career interests, to expose them to the increasing professional
opportunities in voluntary sector organizations in Canada, as well
as to introduce these organizations to business schools as valuable
and important sources of talent.
The Social Careers Fair was a huge success! Over 100 MBA and Bachelor
of Commerce students attended and were able to hear from and network
with representatives of close to 20 organizations from the non-profit,
non-governmental and community sectors (such as the Canadian Human
Rights Foundation, MADD, YMCA, Orbis Canada, Ottawa Arts Council,
etc). The success of the event has motivated the McGill Management
Career Centre to work closely with CEI to further develop links
and opportunities for its students in this newly growing area. CEI
is also discussing the possibility of bringing this career fair
model to other business schools in Canada, where student interest
is also high.
Kariann Aarup, co-founder of CEI, is a doctoral candidate at Hautes
Études Commerciales and teaches Social Context of Business, Alternative
Organizations & Practices, and Strategy, in the management faculty
of McGill.
For more information:
European Academy : www.csreurope.org/csrcampaign/csracademy
Net Impact: www.net-impact.org
McGill Business Watch : www.management.mcgill.ca/mbw
Beyond Grey Pinstripes: www.beyondgreypinstripes.org
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