Introduction: Deepening Our Social Engagement--Management Educators as Social Entrepreneurs.

Echoing views shared in previous issues of AMLE (e.g., Härtel, 2010; Jacobs, 2009; Parnell & Dent, 2009; Starkey & Tempest, 2009; Zhu, 2009), the books reviewed in this issue concern themselves with the ideal of business schools pursuing the combined goals of economic, cultural and societal well-being. In the first review, Peter Heslin considers what constitutes the person and practices of the social entrepreneur in London and Morfopoulos’ book Social Entrepreneurship: How to Start Successful Corporate Social Responsibility and CommunityBased Initiatives for Advocacy and Change. According to the authors, social entrepreneurs are those who “resolve injustices, feed the hungry, educate the illiterate, raise money for research to cure disease, and protect our environment.” Successful social entrepreneurs “balance business and social imperatives” and avoid the trap of their altruism becoming overcome by drives toward selfaggrandizement. According to Heslin, the book offers a “practical guide to making a positive difference in the world through corporate social responsibility or community-based action.” He highlights “rich examples of social entrepreneurs in action,” “a series of exercises that progressively lead readers through the process of developing, executing, and evaluating a social venture,” and useful advice “for developing a local center of service learning within a community, corporation, or university; conducting a workshop on social entrepreneurship; and developing social entrepreneurship curricula.” Heslin enthusiastically recommends the book “as an engaging, action-oriented text for high school, community college, undergraduate, or graduate courses on applied social entrepreneurship, service learning, or corporate social responsibility.” The second book reviewed in this issue takes on the topic of social engagement at the level of the MBA curriculum, and, as reviewer Nkomo says, “should be of keen interest to those charged with the task of redesigning MBA education as well as to those of us who teach MBAs.” A Social Contract with Business as the Basis for a Postmodern MBA in a World of Inclusive Globalisation, authored by Jopie Coetzee, offers a pleasant surprise for Nkomo, who describes it as a fresh move beyond the condemnation discourse of MBA education “to propose a transformative MBA degree underpinned by a new social contract between society and business.” Based upon the author’s dissertation, the book takes a critical metasynthesis approach to examine “the discourse of 88 global icons from G3 and BRIC countries.” Nkomo is taken with Coetzee’s creative use of “a stylized dialogue between a global leader and a Nobel laureate, drawing from the themes found in the discourse of the 88 icons.” While the economic-focused perspectives provided are not surprizing, the commentary around social engagement is provocative. For example, the idea that a “business that can translate visions of social upliftment into sustained actions is a prerequisite for a humane society,” or the need for business leaders (and thus MBA graduates) “who respect knowledge, can reason critically and philosophically, and are committed to the world’s need for peace, democracy, and social and economic justice.” To enact this “new social contract, business leaders have a global responsibility toward society, politics, and the planet.” The author accordingly proposes “a new archaeology for a postmodern MBA.” Although much of the content is expected, Nkomo identifies elements “that are very different from the norm,” such as the inclusion of “sociology, developmental economics, and economic history . . . [in] the global mind-set cluster and the inclusion of “Western, Eastern and Southern philosophies . . . [in the] “critical reasoning cluster.” Another surprize Nkomo notes is the emphasis on literature as an important teaching tool in MBA education. We support this assertion and encourage readers to consider how they can implement or augment their use of this tool. Revisiting Taylor and Ladkin’s AMLE (2009) article “Understanding Arts-Based Methods in Managerial Development” would be of great help here. In the final review in this issue, Thomas Hawk concludes that Merriam, Caffarella and Baumgartner’s book, Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide,” should be required reading for every faculty member and administrator in the higher education arena as well as for those crafting policy and accreditation for higher education.” Hawk appreciates the coverage of traditional perspectives of adult learning and is particularly pleased to see the authors’ rich discussion of nontraditional views. These include “learning, spirituality, and story telling,” “non-Western approaches to learning such as Confucian, Hindu, Maori, Islamic, and Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2011, Vol. 10, No. 1, 162–163.