A certain theme in MBA admissions started as a whisper and over the years has increased in volume to a roar: Sustainable development and corporate social responsibility are becoming more and more important in business school and on the professional scene.

Since 2001 the Aspen Institute's "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" alternative ranking of MBA programs has ranked MBA programs for their commitment to integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into their curricula and research.  But it is no longer just BGP.

The MBA Tour announced recently that most top universities are incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, demand for these topics is not just driven by idealistic students; hard-nosed businesspeople are demanding managers knowledgeable in these areas. "At no other time in history has the recognition of the critical importance of global responsibility to society and the planet been as great a focus with executives.   Corporations no longer have profit as their sole bottom line.  Human capital and natural capital now join monetary gain as indicators of success."

I admit I was (and probably still am) skeptical of the idea that corporations are not using profit as their primary bottom line. Return on investment is a tried and true measure of executive success and responsibility. I also can't help but remember that in the days of the dot-com insanity, I read articles and press releases about eyeballs and clicks replacing revenue and profit as measures of business success. They did, and the aftermath wasn't pretty.

Consequently, I was pleasantly surprised to read that Renault's Carl Ghosn has teamed up with Israel's Shai Agassi to mass produce electric cars in 2011 for the Israeli market. Both these men are savvy enough to keep their eye on the bottom line and concerned enough to care about the greater good. Perhaps that duality is the key to corporate responsibility.

For an interesting take on corporate responsibility, please see the video at the Forte Foundation called "Women in Business." 

To meet with schools and discuss the elements of their program that incorporate CSR and sustainability, check out the MBA Tour in:

• Washington, D.C. Feb. 7
• New York City       Feb. 9
• San Francisco      Feb. 12

A couple of important product announcements:

The Nine Mistakes You Don't want to Make on an MBA Waitlist, our most popular ebook ever, is on special this month -- 20% off. If you are waitlisted, this is the ebook for you. Short, concise, and to-the-point.

All ebooks are going up in price on February 1.

General Admissions

• Submit a Stellar Application: 42 Terrific Tips to Help You Get Accepted
  

College:

• How to Write Great College Application Essays and Stay Sane

MBA Ebooks:

• Best Practices for MBA Admissions
• MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance
• MBA I.V. - Mainline to Top MBA Programs: MBA Interview Questions & Tips
• The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist
  
• The Consultant’s Guide to MBA Admission
• The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Admissions Success
• The Techie’s Guide to MBA Admissions
• Create a Better Sequel: How to Reapply Right to Business School

Medical School, Residency & Fellowship Ebooks:

• The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Med School Waitlist
• Write Your Way to a Residency Match
• Write Your Way to a Fellowship Match

Law School Ebooks:

• The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Law School Waitlist

Click on the links to gain access to this library of admissions info. Then beat the price increase. Buy the ebooks of your choice by January 31. That's this Thursday.

I am pleased to invite you to a chat tomorrow at Accepted with UNC Kenan Flagler's Director of MBA Admissions, Sherry Wallace will answer your questions about UNC's program, admissions policies, and student life. Joining her are:

• Julie Wiley, Assistant Director of Admissions
• Matt Kippeny, UNC MBA Student

Sherry and her team can answer any questions about UNC admissions from domestic or international applicants. This is an outstanding opportunity for you to get solid, reliable answers to your important queries. 

The chat will take place on Wednesday Jan. 30 at 1:00 PM PT/4:00 PM ET/9:00 PM GMT. Please note that there has been some confusion about the time and it is different from most of our chats. So mark your calendars. Set your reminders and join us in the Accepted chat room.

BusinessWeek this week has an article, "Just Say No To Drug Reps" about the growing number of schools that train doctors to resist pharmaceutical pitches from well-trained, slick sales people. Schools with such programs include Georgetown and Mt. Sinai.

According to the article, research shows that "A doctor who spends just one minute with a sales rep typically ends up prescribing 16% more of that rep's product than he or she was prescribing before. And a four-minute encounter is likely to prompt a 52% jump in prescriptions."

Using proceeds from a legal settlement, medical schools have $21 million in grant money to teach students how to handle the sales pitches as well as patients who ask for specific prescriptions based on ads they have seen in the media.

Despite dizzying volatility in the financial markets and unprecedented losses at certain major financial institutions, banks are still recruiting and hiring MBAs according to "Bump or Bust for MBA Jobs?".  A few highlights from this BusinessWeek article:

• Merrill Lynch plans to hire 170 to180 people for summer internships globally -- the same number it planned to hire before announcing its largest quarterly loss in its history.
• "According to an Employment Trends Survey Report conducted this fall by the MBA Career Services Council, most of the 85 business schools surveyed reported a 20% increase in overall recruiting activity this fall over last year and a 14.9% increase in on-campus recruiting. The average full-time base salary for the class of 2007 increased by 5.5%, with an 8.8% increase in the signing bonus, the survey showed."
• Carnegie Mellon reports that  "nearly 78% of second-year MBA students already had job offers by Jan. 21, up about 10% from this time last year."
• The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) anticipates uncertainty in the undergraduate hiring market. Although their last survey of employers (in the fall) showed that employers planned to hire 16% more graduates in academic year 2007-2008 compared to the previous year and give them higher signing bonuses, the NACE is planning an earlier than usual survey to explore whether the financial survey is affecting undergraduate recruiting and hiring.