Jesuit Pedagogy for Business Schools

By Francis P. Xavier, SJ

Jesuit education extends beyond mere academic or professional knowledge; it seeks the holistic development of individuals, shaping them into socially responsible leaders who work towards social transformation. The education provided is not just for the individual but for society as a whole. This holistic formation includes fostering intellectual growth (head), instilling a commitment to ethical practices grounded in justice, fairness, and equity (heart), and cultivating the confidence to take action in society, particularly to empower the marginalized (hand).

Focus on the uniqueness of individuals: A fundamental tenet of a Jesuit business school is that every person is unique, with hidden talents. Recognizing and understanding one’s cultural, social, and economic background is vital, and a supportive environment should be established for learning, allowing individuals to shine and letting their light of excellence and leadership brighten the world. Faculty members and the institution must strive to understand each person’s story so that every individual, armed with business knowledge and wisdom, can make history in the world. 

Jesuits fundamentally focus on liberal arts, enhancing the effectiveness of the curriculum for social leadership formation. At the same time, Jesuits adhere to the principle of doing what is most needed, meaning that education must evolve according to the needs of the people and the times.

Three guiding principles: The focus of education and training is based on three guiding principles: caring for individual holistic formation (cura personalis), which prepares individuals for excellent and outstanding contributions in their professions (cura apostolica), enabling them to use their talents and capacities to make society a better place for all (cura communitatis). Therefore, it is not profit in business management that matters, but rather the welfare of people. If the business world draws one towards constant upskilling and competition, leading to monopolies through efficiency, Jesuit pedagogy inspires learners to effectiveness and efficacy based on compassion for the good of all. The tendency of the corporate world is towards human doing (achievement and success), but the goal of Jesuit business education is human being (bringing unity and harmony to society).

Five phases of IPP: The Jesuit pedagogy known as the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (alternatively labeled as the Integral Pedagogical Paradigm) consists of five phases: Context, Experience, Reflection, Action, and Evaluation. Once the context, where one is invited or engaged to work, is clear, Jesuit institutions focus on empowering the marginalized while upholding excellence and ethics. Faculty members contribute their accumulated experience in teaching and learning, which leads to collective reflection on how they can shape students entrusted to them so that they would play their expected roles in society.

A fundamental tenet of a Jesuit business school is that every person is unique, with hidden talents.

Their collective reflection leads to an action plan with a timeline. This is followed by periodic evaluations, whether semester-wise or annually, to assess the success of the imparted formation. This evaluation enriches the experience and invites further reflection, action, and evaluation. This cyclic process stands out as an excellent teaching and learning pedagogy. 

Creating a counterculture: The outcome of Jesuit business schools creates a counterculture: While the corporate world concentrates on profit-making, Jesuit-trained business people work for the common good. While elite professional schools cater to individual advancement in position and power, individuals trained by Jesuits strive for the common welfare. Although the general tendency in business schools may promote equality by treating everyone the same way, Jesuit formation advocates for equity, inspiring students to give more to those deserving. This effort aims to help people feel good, become great, and ultimately support them in achieving enduring greatness in life. Jesuit business schools never settle for the status quo but instead always strive for magis, to do ever more and ever better.

Ignatian triple vision: Furthermore, professional formation is based on the Ignatian triple vision: life vision, work vision, and love vision. Filled with love for all, one aims to do his/her best to make life purposeful for oneself and meaningful for others. As a cumulative product of society, one contributes out of gratitude to the community. This is depicted below as indicated in the Spiritual Exercises (SE) composed by St. Ignatius:

Life-vision is for doing something beautiful  for society. Principle and Foundation (SE 23), Work-vision ever to excel (magis). Two Standards (SE 91ff)

Four phases of love-vision include serving the needy.  ‘Love is to give’ (SE 231). This process occurs in four phases: Reviewing, Reimagining/Renewing, Revitalizing, and Restructuring. Within the given time and context, the administration and faculty members review their successes and failures. They assess the current scenario and reimagine adaptability in teaching and learning methods. This requires revitalizing oneself through ongoing training. The outcome is restructuring the curriculum and fostering collaboration with industries and corporate entities.

The entire process involves communal discernment in order to arrive at good decisions that can be effectively implemented. This approach is grounded in SE as a corrective, illuminative, transformative, and redemptive practice. What needs correction from the past is recognized in the illumination of the present. The transformative process begins with effective methodologies to create a better society. Holistic professional training and formation are further enhanced through an ongoing process of reading, reflecting, and responding. The candidate from a Jesuit business school continually engages with research materials, applying critical thinking and looking beyond the current scenario into the future. This encourages honest reflection on the impact of one’s life and work. The process ends when the leader dares to do what is necessary to emerge as a leader.

While the corporate world concentrates on profit-making, Jesuit-trained business people work for the common good.

With or without title: Leadership may come with a title aimed at achieving great things, but it can also manifest without a title. A leader without a title inspires others with credibility, serving as a beacon and role model. The ultimate realization is awakening in becoming men and women for/with others, transcending prejudice and bias, leading all to freedom with responsibility, and thereby building universal unity and harmony.

Ultimately, the student who graduates from a Jesuit business school is like an archer, as Paulo Coelho describes in The Archer, who possesses a bow and several arrows. As the archer discovers his/her life destiny, he/she takes responsibility for it. The bow represents life, which remains constant for the archer. The archer chooses the target – the goal to Achieve – and releases the arrows of intention and effort, aware that while many arrows may aim at the same target, each will follow a different trajectory. Once an arrow is released, the  archer simply observes, growing in patience and hope to fulfill life’s purpose. This realization is driven by the archer’s ingenuity, passion, and commitment.

Knowledge & Wisdom: While a business school imparts knowledge, students acquire wisdom through experience. Knowledge is about knowing the ‘what,’ while wisdom is about understanding the ‘why.’ Knowledge is utilized to make life meaningful for oneself and others through individual and collective efforts marked by creativity, competence, commitment, consciousness, and compassion.

In summary, excellence grounded in ethics for the good of all leads to the understanding that business is not just about making a profit, but also about serving the welfare of all (customers, stakeholders, partners, etc.). The needs of people guide one’s ingenuity and passion for excellence with ethics.

(Developed from his input session at St. Joseph’s Institute of Management (JIM) at St. Joseph’s College, Trichy.)

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