Creating an interconnected global community is a core value of the College of Business Administration (CBA) and a strategic priority for the university. The establishment of new partnerships and a shift to virtual learning has enabled CBA to further expand its global footprint, resulting in the launch of several innovative programs and courses.
This spring, CBA is set to deliver a graduate-level, international course titled “Globally Responsible Leadership for Sustainable Transformation” in collaboration with six other universities from Asia, Europe and North America. This innovative course is a gateway initiative of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), an international, multi-sector community focused on catalyzing the development of globally responsible leadership and practice.
The idea for this virtual course, first piloted in spring 2022, was developed by CBA Dean Dayle Smith and Jeff Thies, director of LMU’s Institute for Business Ethics and Sustainability (IBES), both of whom serve in governance roles with GRLI.
“We wanted to try something cool for GRLI with the goal of bringing in a number of schools from around the globe,” said Smith. “Jeff took the lead and built a truly unique educational experience. This is global imagination and impact operationalized!”
“This course provides graduate and executive education students the opportunity to explore sustainable leadership from a number of unique perspectives, engage with colleagues from around the world, and use technology to build teams and collaborate on shared projects,” added Thies.
Each GRLI institution teaches a three-hour module with topics ranging from transpersonal leadership to supply chain management to cross-sector partnerships. The LMU module, “Sustainability and the Entertainment Industry,” taught by Thies and developed in consultation with members of the IBES Sustainability Advisory Committee, covers the topic of sustainability as defined, engaged and implemented within the entertainment industry.
Last spring, around 50 global participants, a mix of graduate students and business professionals, worked in integrated groups on strategic projects in which they selected a company and evaluated its sustainability practices. One dimension of the experience is building global/diverse time zone project teams. Five LMU MBA students participated in the course along with two MBA students from the Jesuit network of schools – one from Santa Clara University and the other from Seattle University.
“Participating in the Globally Responsible Leadership program was a great experience, and I found the information taught by all the professors very valuable,” said Jay Fall ’17, MBA ’22. “Hearing different viewpoints from different parts of the world was really interesting and the course opened my eyes to how interconnected we all are despite being so far away from each other.”
LMU is offering the course to MBA students once again, this time opening it up to business professionals as an executive education opportunity.
“Our commitment to collaborative work across the globe is strong,” said Thies. “The pilot was a success and we’re excited to build upon what we’ve started and make the program bigger, better and even more impactful for participants.”
The “Globally Responsible Leadership for Sustainable Transformation” course will run March 6 – May 15, 2023. Limited space available. Click here for more information, module descriptions and to express interest in applying. For questions, email ExecEd@lmu.edu.
