天美传媒

The first edition of听天美传媒听and听Shizenkan University鈥�s course on the future of capitalism came to a close听last week,听in a special session听where students presented听their vision of how听business can have a more positive impact on the world.听

During the course, students听received听input from a group of prominent business leaders and CEOs听who are supporting the initiative, including:听听

• Paul听Polman,听Co-founder and Chair of Imagine,听Honorary Chair of International Chamber of Commerce and former CEO of Unilever听
• Tak听Niinami, CEO of Suntory Holdings听
• James听Higa, Executive Director of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and former Senior Director of Office of the CEO at Apple听
• B.听Muthuraman, former Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Chairman of Tata International听
• John听Elkington, Founder and Chief Pollinator of Volans听
• Nitin听Nohria,听professor and former dean of Harvard Business School.听

罢丑别谤别鈥檚 鈥�a need to bend the curve of capitalism to make it more sustainable, more inclusive and more functional for the generations to come,鈥� Paul听Polman said during the final session鈥�s keynote address.

He also听stressed the importance of creating听leaders who听can drive听this change in business, highlighting听how the听Future of Capitalism听MBA course can听help听lead the way.听鈥淲e听certainly听need more business school programs that听create the business leaders the world needs, so I commend this program for doing that.鈥澨鼿e particularly praised the global nature of the program, which involves听collaborating听with schools from Brazil, India, Japan and Spain.听鈥淲e cannot tackle听these big issues听alone, so having听these broader partnerships听in the academic world听is key.鈥�

A global MBA project for social change听

The Future of Capitalism is听an MBA course that听is designed听to help students听critically observe the current state of capitalism and explore the roles of business leadership required to create a better future.听

The course听was developed by 天美传媒听and Japan鈥檚 Shizenkan听University,听in cooperation with the School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL), India, and听贵耻苍诲补莽茫辞听Getulio听Vargas (FGV), Brazil.听Launched in January 2021,听the course is open to MBA students from all four schools. In total,听81 students of听22 different nationalities took part in the course.听听

Over the last three months,听the听MBA students听have听engaged in virtual conversations with听a variety of guest speakers from around the world, including听Mark Thompson,听former CEO of New York Times;听Jennifer Morgan,听Executive Director of Greenpeace International;听former child soldiers in Uganda;听and听formerly homeless children in Bangladesh, among others.听

In the final session听of the course, two听finalist听student groups presented their vision for how capitalism can become more听inclusive.听The first group听to present explained听the problem of听adequately听defining capitalism.听They听also highlighted how one of the issues with听the current system听is that听鈥渨hile听we may have greater wealth creation,听we also have greater inequality.鈥澨�They attribute this to the听widespread听use听of return on investment (ROI)听instead of value creation as听the听main way to assess听performance, which can ultimately end听up destroying value. For them, the single biggest听issue with the current system听is 鈥�the shift from value creation to money creation.鈥�听

The second group听of students focused on听how to听encourage听an even balance听between promoting economic improvement and social well-being. Among their proposals,听they looked at听the need for business to think more long-term, explored听changes in听how听to incentivize CEOs, and听also听emphasized the importance of collaboration.听听

Muthuraman praised听the 鈥渂rilliant presentations鈥� and how they highlighted听the importance of looking at the system as a whole,听measuring performance in a proper and holistic way,听and understanding the importance of听balancing competing needs.听He concluded听by reminding the participants听to make sure they apply the听learnings from the course to their听own lives, because听鈥渨e need more advocacy.鈥�

Business leaders听on the future of education听

The听final听session also听included听a听high-level听panel听discussion听among听five business supporters听of the course听and IESE Dean Franz Heukamp.听One of the topics explored how education needs to change to have a more positive impact on society.听听

Polman听highlighted the key role responsible business leadership must play in tackling climate change and inequality,听and the crucial part business schools can play in that.听听

鈥淲e need the听willpower of our leadership. Sixty percent听of climate change solutions are available to us now. We need to use them. We also need a new听economic narrative.鈥澨齌o do that,听鈥渨e need to create听leaders who are听good human beings with empathy and compassion. Never has听the role of business schools听been more important.鈥�

John听Elkington听said that, 鈥�the future generations are being massively disadvantaged by our current actions and non-actions.鈥� He added that, 鈥渨e can鈥檛 just simply say to younger people that we will educate you so you can help with this. This is a pan-generational issue. We also need to re-educate the older generation鈥� who have the experience, connections and perhaps time to do something about it.

James听Higa听talked about how the听style听of leadership has changed in his听lifetime, and education needs to reflect this.听鈥淏eing a CEO or leader is not done anymore within the confines of four walls and at the head of a conference room table.听How do you听help leaders听bring听this sense of collaboration听and working with outside groups into being?鈥�

He听added听that the new generation of leaders need听to know how to lead in online settings, and have the ability to listen, empathise, persuade and build trust with disparate people.听

For his part,听Nitin听Nohria, former dean of Harvard听Business School, pointed out how business听schools听are听now听over 100 years old, so what they need to focus on now also has to change. He said the values of this generation are in the right place, the issue is now for business schools to understand how to arm students with a body of knowledge听that can equip听them to better听translate these values听into businesses.听听

To conclude the session,听Tomo听Noda,听Professor and Chair of the Board of Trustees at听Shizenkan听University,听reiterated听that the aim of the Future of Capitalism is to be听鈥�not only a course but a project for social change.鈥�

The next edition听of the Future of Capitalism听will take place in 2022, with the aim听of听opening up the course to more participating schools thus increasing its impact. The objective is to convert the course into a platform where around 300 students from 30 schools can join for the 2024 edition.听