How modern executives are different from their forebears

is an odd mandate for business schools preparing graduates to make manna in a secular world. One such institution, Paris, has nevertheless decided to send students on a trek through the French countryside to a remote village, where a Benedictine monk (a former lawyer) guides them through ethical dilemmas. Whether or not the three-day seminar represents a shift away from the profit-driven logic of business and towards a kinder, gentler form of capitalism is up for debate. But it shows that expectations for what makes a great programme—and, by extension, a great executive—are in flux. courses (our ranking of which you can find at economist.com/whichmba) used to focus on number-crunching and business strategy. Executives must still master these skills. Yet the corporate world has changed since the first became a rite of passage for high-powered executives. Management teams answer to a growing number of “stakeholders”, from employees to social activists, and face public scrutiny on their companies’ environmental, social and governance () record. Simply creating shareholder value no longer cuts the mustard.