Many of the report’s key findings were related to shifts in student attitudes on corporate social responsibility. The Institute reported that:
- Business school students are thinking more broadly about the primary responsibilities of a company. In addition to citing shareholder maximization and satisfying customer needs, the students surveyed in 2007 also said that “creating value for the communities in which they operate” is a primary business responsibility.
- MBA students are expressing more interest in finding work that offers the potential for making a contribution to society (26 percent of respondents in 2007 said this is an important factor in their job selection, compared with 15 percent in 2002).
- Though MBA students are clearly seeing the benefits of social responsibility in terms of a good public image, they aren’t seeing the connection to such other business benefits as increased revenue, fewer legal or regulatory problems or reduced operating costs.
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