LESSONS IN HELPING THE WORLD DEVELOP

FINANCIAL TIMES
Feb 25, 2008

To judge by their activities, one might think some MBA students at Cornell's Johnson Schoolin the state of New York were pursuing a degree in international development. Their projects range from water purification technologies for poor African communities to a sustainable tourism initiative in Croatia. Among the schools it highlighted in a report was Kenan-Flagler, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the marketing course includes a session on understanding customers in emerging countries and how to increase social as well as monetary value.
At the University of Michigan’s Ross school, students can choose a course that looks at the innovations in business models and technology needed to enter low-income markets. Other business schools that incorporate similar material into their courses include: Egade in Monterrey, Mexico; Iese at the University of Navarra, in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; the OWEN SCHOOL at Vanderbilt University, Nashville; San Francisco State University; and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.