Transforming Learners: A Programmatic Approach to Helping Students Find “The Right Work”

Abstract

Research suggests the current generation of learners (called Zoomers or Gen-Z) takes a values-driven approach to their careers. Increasingly, this generation seeks out workplaces that center issues of sustainability, social responsibility, diversity, equity and inclusion. The preferences of Gen-Z suggest that building business programs that focus on “the right work” are both relevant and necessary to meet the expectations of this generation. It is unsurprising, then, that leading business education associations like AACSB have placed emphasis on building education programs that have a positive societal impact. In this article, we outline our programmatic approach to help learners engage in the “right work” and to address calls for building business programs that engage in more responsible, ethical, and sustainable models of management education. In sharing our approach, we 1) emphasize the value of using a programmatic design to facilitate curricular change, and 2) demonstrate how transformative learning theory can provide a practical way of reenvisioning business programs that address the concerns of Zoomers.