Crisis sparks soul-searching at business schools

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers plunged the world into financial meltdown and jolted the foundations of capitalism, business students don't just want to learn how to maximize profit for shareholders and themselves.

Instead, many talk about sustainability, ethical leadership and managing companies for the benefit of all "stakeholders."

"It's fair to say that 15 or 20 years ago, the vast majority wanted to find lucrative careers," said Liz Maw, executive director of Net Impact, a non-profit organization that promotes socially sustainable business practices.

"Now the great progress is that people see an MBA as a tool to learn how to be an effective manager of many organizations," she said, pointing to growing interest in the non-profit sector, government and entrepreneurship among MBA students.

Maw said the trend started around 7 or 8 years ago, coinciding with growing awareness of corporate social responsibility and the environment. But it has accelerated during the financial crisis, which revealed how a short-term thirst for profits fueled risky business practices.

Asked to name their role models, a group of MBA students at New York's Columbia University cite freedom hero Mahatma Gandhi, a CEO known as an environmentalist and financier-philanthropist Warren Buffett.

"The financial crisis is going to be so deeply associated with our generation, it will put a sense of responsibility on all of us as future leaders," said Gary Schueller, 28, who has just started a two-year MBA at Columbia Business School.

Schueller named Gandhi as his role model, and within the business world singled out Jeffrey Swartz, chief executive of environmentally conscious shoemaker Timberland.