Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
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What's Important to Us
Mannheim Business School embodies diversity in ways that few organizations can match. At the same time, we are united by a common mission, vision, objectives and values. They form the basis of our daily work and our dedication to fulfilling the highest standards in all areas.
Our mission statement acts as a guide. Together, the employees of Mannheim Business School have also defined five central corporate values that play a major role in how we select, evaluate and foster the development of staff members. We place particular importance on the value of responsibility. It is a central theme throughout our organization and informs our actions, research and teaching as well as the actions of our participants.
In the following, you will learn more about everything that drives us and is important to us.
Mission Statement
The Mission Statement serves the Business School of the University of Mannheim and therefore also Mannheim Business School as a guiding principle for our work.
Research
As a research-focused institution, we conduct innovative and internationally recognized research with the highest possible impact on scholarship, education, and society.
We continue to leverage research through:
- Attracting high-profile scholars to our faculty who offer first-class research and teaching
- Collaborating closely with Economics, Social Sciences and Business Informatics
- Our research activities focus on the main areas of business research
Programs
As a full-spectrum provider of business programs (bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, MBA, EMBA, and Executive Education), we prepare our participants for remarkable careers.
We achieve this by:
- Maintaining and expanding an international network of leading academic and exchange partners to provide a worldwide research and teaching environment
- Collaborating closely with corporations and public institutions in order to add relevance and professional experience
- Keeping our challenging admission standards to select the best participants
Learning Environment
We support the development of mature and self-reliant personalities who can contribute to business and society.
We achieve this by providing excellent learning environments for:
- Developing subject-specific knowledge and methodological skills
- Acquiring the ability to solve novel problems
- Fostering intercultural competence and critical thinking
- Practicing social responsibility and encountering unique intellectual and personal challenges
In all fields above, we strive for the highest possible standards and are committed to ambition, mutual respect, and fairness.
Vision
Holding a top position in Germany is an honor and an obligation at the same time. For the future, our vision is to be among the top business schools in Europe and to hold a respective position internationally. Our research shall have a growing impact on practice and on academic literature. We will bring forth leaders with a global outreach, who will use their potential to engage with businesses and society to make a valuable difference.
Value
The following values guide us in achieving our mission and our vision:
- Academic excellence as well as rigor and relevance in research
- Thought leadership and innovation
- Critical thinking, diversity, and integrity
- Accountability, responsibility, and transparency
Values
Together, the staff of Mannheim Business School has defined five central corporate values which, for instance, determine our actions and form the basis for personnel appraisal and development.
Responsibility
- We pursue our mission of educating executives with a great sense of responsibility
- Our approach is based on openness, fairness and mutual respect
Innovation
- We foster creative and constructive thinking to achieve innovative solutions
- Entrepreneurial thinking and action on the part of our staff ensures continuous growth and a strong market position
Excellence
- We provide excellent education of the highest international standard
- We strengthen the international reputation of the University of Mannheim
Knowledge transfer
- We enable an open exchange and development of knowledge
- We engage actively within our networks
Market orientation
- We develop and adapt our programs in line with market requirements
- We create added value for our customers
Social Responsibility
We traditionally assign particular importance to responsibility as a value. Responsibility is the leitmotif that runs through our organization. It defines our actions, teaching and research as well as the work of our participants. We are proud that our achievements in this field have already won numerous accolades.
Organization
- Firmly anchored in our strategy and Mission Statement
- One of the five core values of the organization developed by our staff
- Student selection based on personal interviews; responsibility a key factor in the admissions process
- “Honor Code” and “Code of Conduct” form the foundation of the program; violations can lead to expulsion
- “Green MBS”: Initiative conducted by staff to enhance the sustainability of processes in the workplace (e.g. significant reduction in the use of paper/scope of printed materials)
Research and Instruction
- Professorships/Chairs in the Business School and the School of Humanities of the University of Mannheim
- Integration of the topics of ethics and CSR in many research programs
- Courses in business ethics and CSR are mandatory in all MBA programs
- Integration of issues from these areas in nearly all teaching areas (e.g. marketing, logistics, economics)
- Service learning integrated into the curriculum as a learning method
Student involvement
- In MBA programs, a social project is a core element of the curriculum
- Every year, roughly 15 social projects are implemented by groups of participants from Mannheim Business School – generally in collaboration with organizations in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region
- Projects focused primarily on collecting donations have raised over €100,000 for charitable purposes in individual cases
- The aim of social projects is to encourage participants to become involved, take responsibility and increase their awareness of societal and environmental issues
- For international participants, social projects give them the opportunity to gain further insights into the culture and society of Germany
Awards
- #24 globally, #9 in Europe and #1 in Germany in the Better World MBA Ranking 2017 of the Canadian sustainability magazine Corporate Knights
- One of five companies nominated for the social responsibility prize for medium-sized companies of the State of Baden-Württemberg in 2015 (LEA; sponsored by the Ministry of Finance and Economics and social welfare organization of Baden-Württemberg's churches)
Learning Goals
We know exactly what our leaning goals for each program look like and how we aim to achieve them.
In order to make these transparent for our stakeholders – from participants to corporate partners – we have listed the learning goals of our study programs below.
Executive MBA Programs
- The participant has general management knowledge.
- The participant is a smart decision maker. He/she solves complex business problems using his/her cross-functional business knowledge, strategic view and innovative spirit.
- The participant has cross-cultural competencies and acts confidently in international business settings.
- The participant has effective leadership skills and works successfully in a team.
Mannheim MBA
- Core management knowledge and global understanding
Students are able to demonstrate and apply discipline-specific knowledge to identify and solve practical problems in the respective areas. Students have a global understanding of general management and business.
- Application of knowledge and concepts
Students are able to apply and adapt knowledge to solve an unfamiliar problem in a specialized field in business. They are able to apply concepts, theories and methods as well as their own practical experiences.
- Cross-cultural and international competence
Students are aware of cultural differences and diversity and understand the implications for corporate reality.
- Ethical, social and sustainable behavior
Students understand the role of ethical and social implications and follow them when making sustainable business decisions.
- Teamwork and leadership
Students act up to the importance of teamwork and leadership in order to develop promising solutions to a complex problem.
Mannheim Master of Accounting and Taxation
- Application of interdisciplinary in-depth knowledge in the fields of business and economics
Students are able to demonstrate and apply basic and specific knowledge within concepts and principles of particular fields of business and economics.
- Teamwork and leadership
Students act up to the importance of teamwork and leadership in order to develop promising solutions to a complex problem.
- Application of knowledge and concepts
Students are able to apply and adapt knowledge to solve an unfamiliar problem in a specialized field in business. They are able to apply concepts, theories and methods as well as their own practical experiences to write a scientific group report over a period of one year.
- Specific knowledge in German law
Students are able to demonstrate and apply basic and in-depth knowledge within concepts and principles of particular fields in German law.
- Specific knowledge in accounting & taxation
Students are able to demonstrate and apply discipline-specific knowledge to identify and solve practical problems in the respective areas.
MANNHEIM BUSINESS SCHOOL (MBS)
Located in the heart of the German and European economy, Mannheim Business School (MBS), the umbrella organization for management education at the University of Mannheim, is considered to be one of the leading institutions of its kind in Germany and is continuously ranked as Germany’s #1.
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