Morris Mthombeni, dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Pretoria, South Africa: “The growing prominence of climate denialists is fast undoing all the progressive work towards a more inclusive society. In this context, the kind of responsible management education being offered by business schools ought not to rely on optimism, but on relentless action aimed at a more sustainable world because, in the long run, science will prevail”
This article originally appeared in Ambition, the flagship publication of AMBA, a global accreditation body that has been evaluating business schools around the world for almost 60 years. It has 300 members across 57 countries.
Professor Morris Mthombeni, dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria, talks to Ambition editor Colette Doyle about managing dilemmas in a post-complexity world, turning the Global South’s numerous challenges to your advantage and nurturing students to become humane-centered leaders.
In addition to his deanship, Mthombeni is a professor of strategy and governance. Prior to becoming dean, he was the institute’s executive director of faculty. He is a senior academic who actively researches and teaches at the intersection of the micro foundations of corporate strategy and corporate governance. At GIBS, he is one of the academics in the areas of business environment, corporate strategy and innovation. He also lectures on its master’s, doctoral and executive education programs, including the flagship Global Executive Development Programme, as well as on Harvard Business School’s Senior Executive Programme Africa.
Mthombeni wears many more hats: He is an advisory board member of UN PRME, a working board member of RRBM and active in the international accreditation of community as the dean of a triple-accredited school. He is especially proud of being a champion for Africa in terms of GIBS being one of the pioneering schools accredited by the Association of African Business Schools. He also takes pride in his leadership role within the PRME Chapter Africa eco-system, especially the Business Schools for Climate Leadership Africa, a research and thought leadership partnership that he co-founded.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to take up the role at GIBS.
“Before taking up my initial faculty role at GIBS in 2014, I had a substantial career in the financial services industry. I held a number of senior leadership roles that gave me the opportunity to gain experience in the insurance, investment and banking sectors across Southern Africa, as well as in the UK, the Middle East and India.
“While on sabbatical, I started a PhD at GIBS and, within a year, was subsequently recruited as a faculty member of the strategy department. I rationalised that a faculty role would complement my journey as a late-career doctoral student. The senior leadership team seemed to have other ideas, however, as indicated by my rapid ascent, which culminated in my appointment as interim dean in 2020 and then as dean proper in 2022.”
What have been the highlights of your career?
“Teaching on the MBA programme as one of the lead faculty members; refreshing the programme’s core strategy course; leading the development and implementation of our specialist master’s in corporate strategy; and driving the internationalisation of GIBS faculty.
“I also need to mention contributing to the positioning of GIBS as a world-class, responsible business education provider, as evidenced by our three global accreditations and the premier African accreditation. Over the four years since I took on the role of dean, we have been accredited and re-accredited respectively by AMBA, AABS, AACSB and EQUIS, with the latter beginning with an initial three-year accreditation in 2022, followed by a five-year accreditation in 2025. Beyond these institutional-level highlights, I have had the privilege of interacting with local and global leaders on a continuous basis, enabling me to be part of a number of events that have shaped our society.”
Do you believe that in the 21st century, with the rise of alternative providers such as LinkedIn and Coursera, the MBA is still able to stand out and distinguish itself in the marketplace?
“Alternative providers are responding to an important business educational need in society, but they are not fulfilling it in the same manner as traditional MBA providers such as business schools. Crucially, the MBA qualification has long ceased to be homogenous and MBAs are designed to prepare specialists for general management roles, but do so in a wide variety of ways. The multiple paths are made possible through differences in curricula and pedagogical approaches.
“This heterogenous characteristic of the MBA qualification is central to its appeal and resilience. Those business schools that ensure the relevance and resonance of their MBA programmes, through continuous improvement at the intersection of theory and practice, will continue to distinguish themselves from alternative providers of business education.”
What kind of skills do you think are necessary nowadays in order for MBA graduates to become effective and productive leaders?
“MBA graduates need to be skilled at managing dilemmas in a post-complexity world that is characterised by deep uncertainty and elevated self-interest. This means that they will have to be as skilled at navigating ethical dilemmas as they are at analysis and synthesis.
“Our alumni need to manage multiple time horizons – the now and the next. The now is often high velocity and chaotic; the next is always unclear. How they navigate this is something they should be able to look back at with pride – this is where the ethical dimension of management and leadership will be critical.”
What has becoming AMBA-accredited meant to your school?
“International accreditation is a mark of quality for our institution. We are especially proud of our AMBA accreditation because it was the first such validation afforded to our school’s flagship qualification. Prior to that, GIBS was only known in its immediate vicinity.
“Naturally, since the initial accreditation in 2007, GIBS has been of interest to students and employers across our region and, latterly, at a global level. This means we have been able to attract students from throughout our country and beyond from the leading companies with interests in Africa. Consequently, the GIBS MBA is one of the most sought after in the whole of the region.”
The management education sector is truly international, but what do you feel are the challenges specifically affecting Africa and the Global South?
“On the one hand, I could regale you about the difficulties in balancing the interests of both local and international students. For example, in local markets the need for higher management education outstrips the supply. Also, the cost of such education is prohibitive for most students in the Global South. Many of the students operate in complex home and organisational contexts and these impact how they show up in the classroom.
“Moreover, providers of management education are under-resourced compared with their peers in the Global North. This is further exacerbated by overseas students preferring to pursue their international exposure in the Global North, due to their socio-economic advantages. All these challenges are real and, at times, debilitating.
“However, operating in the Global South has its advantages because our contexts expose students to a wide variety of managerial challenges with varying degrees of complexity. In short, and in my view, the advantages of the variety and complexity of managerial challenges far exceed the obvious liabilities of operating in the Global South.”
We hear so much nowadays about diversity and inclusion, as well as the concept of ‘belonging’; how can schools best train the next generation of managers and entrepreneurs to implement DE&I practices in a responsible manner?
“GIBS has three strategic imperatives aimed at amplifying the best of Africa to the world. The one relevant to diversity and inclusion involves nurturing our students to become humane-centred leaders. Given our history in South Africa, this is achieved through ensuring that DE&I is embedded in both the informal and formal curricula of our MBA.
“Informally, diversity and inclusion as a topic is operationalised through our norms, values and socialisation mechanisms. Formally, it is mainly embedded in core MBA courses such as Business in Society, Organisational Behaviour and Strategy. We induct our students into this approach at the start of their MBA journey, enabling us to embed responsible management education approaches throughout their stay at GIBS.
“Our active engagement in the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and the Responsible Research in Business Management (RRBM) communities also contributes to our formal curriculum. Our approach to teaching DE&I practices is grounded in respect, humility and willingness to be vulnerable.”
The impact of AI and other generative algorithms such as ChatGPT on business school education has been well documented – what’s your take on it at GIBS?
“Informed by the growing digital divide between the Global North and Africa, it should come as no surprise that another of our three strategic imperatives is digital leadership. We are keen to embrace technological advancements, including AI and other generative algorithms.
“While GIBS is not a school of engineering nor an institute of technology, we are determined to ensure that our graduates engage competently in an AI-driven world. At a practical level, we begin with strategies and policies for acceptable use of AI and large language models and we are continuing to incorporate AI applications into our core MBA courses.
“Over the past two years, we have introduced a digital track in our MBA programme and having the latest technology alongside sustainability is increasingly driving our international partnership ambitions.”
The topic of sustainability has been embedded into MBA programmes around the world – how integral do you think it is to the concept of leadership?
“GIBS has long been committed to sustainability, something that is evidenced via its membership through the Global Business School Network, PRME and RRBM, among others. Working with these and similar like-minded communities, GIBS has been able to embed sustainability into its MBA programme. Given that climate leadership is another of GIBS’ three strategic imperatives, it’s clear that we believe sustainability to be core to the concept of responsible leadership. However, the idea of responsible leadership is going through a period of stasis due to current geopolitical shifts. For this reason, GIBS is elevating its commitment to responsible leadership in its MBA programme.”
With all the economic and geopolitical upheaval the world is facing, do you believe there is still room for optimism when it comes to the future of the business school sector?
“Prevailing economic and geopolitical tensions are upending the rules of the game by which many institutions have been operating. In the short term, the business school sector will not be spared. Inspired by scientists like Johan Rockström, who introduced concepts such as planetary boundaries to non-scientists in sectors including management education, many schools have been shifting towards embracing regenerative business concepts.
“However, the growing prominence of climate denialists is fast undoing all the progressive work towards a more inclusive society. In this context, the kind of responsible management education being offered by business schools ought not to rely on optimism, but on relentless action aimed at a more sustainable world because, in the long run, science will prevail.”
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