Business and Exec Ed for Social Good

Robert Helsley, Dean of UBC Sauder School of Business and Grosvenor Professor of Cities, Business, Economics and Public Policy, in conversation with Roddy Millar, Editorial Director of IEDP Developing Leaders.

The basic tenets of market capitalism have become increasingly challenged in recent years with a sense that the pendulum has gone too far in pursuit of short-term decision making and profit.

“This is well recognised in the business community,” says Robert Helsley, who has witnessed “a groundswell of support, especially among current students and recent graduates, to do a better job of emphasising and developing the potential for businesses and business training to contribute to positive social change.”

“I think there are real opportunities for the private sector to play important roles in addressing a whole variety of issues and concerns, and that we need to do a better job of educating students and leaders about how they can take a broader view of what they are doing in business and also consider – in addition to profit and prosperity which are important – the impact that their decisions have on other people, future generations, and to consider a whole variety of different outcomes.”

He says this approach chimes with the spirit on the West Coast of North America “which is entrepreneurial and very socially conscious, so it's a good place to try to address some of those issues, but those are big challenges I think for all of us.”

In these six video clips Robert Helsley discusses how business and executive educators can address some of these big challenges:

Innovation as a driver of social change:

The rise of data science in education:

Technology and the future of executive education:

The future of work and how adult education can help:

New venture creation and careers development:

Sustainable business and positive social change:

You can view the full 25 minute discussion here