The Moral Responsibilities of Business Schools –In Pursuit of Excellence and Social Justice

Abstract

In recent years, many business schools have struggled -- particularly as Generation Z (Gen Z) and Millennial students have questioned the practical value of a four-year business degree (Salhotra, 2022) and have expressed dissatisfaction with a work world that increasingly treats employees like commodities (Maloni, Hiatt & Campbell, 2019).  Coupled with the pressures of inflation (June, 2022) and the paucity of funds available from both governmental sources and private donations (Zusman, 2005), the typical secondary school has attempted to make do financially by increasingly relying on part-time adjunct and untenured faculty to whom they offer fewer benefits and lower salaries (Colby, 2023).  This approach to cutting costs has predictably lowered the quality of education (Bettinger & Long, 2010) despite the fact that business schools have long been criticized about the relevance of their courses and the low quality of business graduates (Mintzberg, 2004).The purpose of this special edition is to address selected social justice issues facing society that also affect business schools. These papers have substantial importance for society in the 21st century.  Each of these papers addresses factors associated with the moral responsibilities of business education in a world where business schools are under tremendous pressure to improve their quality – despite the fact that their resources are often limited. We begin the paper by briefly addressing the general issue of moral responsibility and its specific application to schools of business.  We define moral responsibility, identify duties owed to several business school stakeholders, and offer six recommendations for business school administrators, accrediting bodies, and faculty. We then briefly introduce the articles contained in this special edition and explain their contribution to social justice issues.