How MBA Students Make a Positive Difference

Making money and making a difference are often seen as diametrically opposed goals. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

According to experts, an increasing number of people are looking to change the world through business.¹ While this business-centric approach to social change is relatively new, it’s quite promising. In fact, many social change models now include business-related aspects designed to improve standards of living and access to resources. And many of the best, contemporary examples of social change programs were developed in part by people who hold a business degree, particularly those with a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

If you’re thinking about earning an MBA degree, here are some ways you can use your degree to create social change.

Volunteer With a Business-Centric Nonprofit

A number of nonprofits incorporate business people into their missions of social change. When you volunteer with such a group, you can help disadvantaged people and communities learn how to start and/or manage their own businesses/farms, giving them the tools they need to sustain a better quality of life. MBAs Without Borders² and MBAs Across America³ are two organizations specifically seeking MBAs willing to volunteer their time to help improve the world.

Work for a B Corp

B Corp is an official designation for socially conscious companies. It recognizes for-profit businesses that commit themselves to embracing environmental sustainability and/or social change, thereby benefiting their communities. The bylaws of B Corps require the businesses to be truly beneficial and provide benefit reporting to shareholders. Unlike at traditional businesses, shareholders hold B Corps accountable not just for their profit but also for how successfully the business is benefiting the greater good.

Found a Mission-Focused Startup

If you want to commit yourself to improving the world, why not start a company focused on solving a social problem. From food supply to energy to education to housing, there are plenty of areas that need innovation. Through a mission-focused startup, you can create a product or service designed to improve access to needed resources or alleviate common problems. And thanks to modern technology, there are more cost-effective ways than ever to create products and provide services.

Go Into Sustainable Finance or Impact Investing

Can you work on Wall Street and still make a positive difference? You can if you focus your career on sustainable finance and/or impact investing. Sustainable finance offers financial services to sectors focused on sustainable development. The goal is to integrate environmental, social, and governance objectives with financial ones, so that both the client and society benefit. In impact investing, investors put money into firms and funds seeking to make a beneficial social and/or environmental impact alongside a financial profit. Some of the largest financial institutions in the world have divisions focused on sustainable finance and/or impact investing, giving you the opportunity to work at a traditional firm while helping to improve the world.

What’s the Best Business School If You Want to Create Social Change?

Many top MBA programs include social change in their educational mission. That’s true of the MBA degree program at Walden University, where a mission of social change underpins everything it does.

Through Walden’s Master of Business Administration program, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills you need to succeed at the management level of business, including at businesses focused on improving the world. Plus, you can earn a Walden MBA online.

Why does the online education aspect make Walden ideal? Because through an online MBA program, you can earn your degree without significantly disrupting your life. That’s because online learning lets you learn from home using a flexible online platform designed for working professionals. This gives you more freedom to control when and where you attend class—an advantage that can help you earn your master’s in business administration while you continue to work or even volunteer.

You can make a difference in the world through business. And thanks to Walden’s online MBA, you can gain the skills you need to advance in socially conscious business.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.

¹Source: www.ft.com/content/04a5ceba-b30d-11e2-b5a5-00144feabdc0

²Source: www.pyxeraglobal.org/mbas-without-borders

³Source: www.mbaxamerica.com

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.