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University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB)

USB achieves top 100 ranking

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:51

According to Prof John Powell, director of the USB, this is the third consecutive year that the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) has been ranked in this survey. “We are very proud to be the only African representative to achieve a top 100 ranking this year, as well as being recognised for our teaching and research methodology on issues pertaining to business and society,” says Powell.

“As a business school we have a responsibility to prepare our business leaders for the ever-changing needs of global commerce and we do so by to taking a more holistic view of business success, one that not only measures financial results, but social and environmental impacts as well,” says Powell.

The Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey is the only MBA ranking that looks beyond reputation and test scores to take into account how well schools are preparing business leaders for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business.

According to Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program in the United States of America, which conducted Beyond Grey Pinstripes, the survey marked the first opportunity since the global economic downturn to comprehensively measure the extent to which MBA programs have altered the content of their courses and whether faculties are pursuing research that questioned assumptions about the role of business in society.

“In the wake of the financial crisis we’re seeing an increased willingness to address these issues. This willingness is coming from a variety of factors, including student demand, faculty readiness and a desire on the part of business schools to clarify what exactly they are doing to prepare business leaders to serve the needs of society, such as job creation and energy conservation.”

The USB was the first South African business school to introduce business ethics and corporate governance as a key part of its MBA over 20 years ago, as well as one of the first business schools internationally to do this.

Powell says that the USB has created research centers that focus, amongst others, on sustained leadership development, conflict resolution, governance and ethics and the role of business in society. “In the teaching process renewed emphasis is placed on personal development, integrated course delivery and nurturing positive values and attitudes, while the analytical backbone of our internationally accredited MBA remains intact,” concludes Powell.