Management makes the world go round. This is a strong belief of the authors of this volume. The current tumultuous economic and financial crisis and the intensifying threats caused by climate change are symptoms of a global system that is out of balance. It is increasingly assumed that managers share the responsibility for these developments. After all, management as a major force in the shaping of global economic conditions and social relations make the world go round. At present an alliance of business schools, publishers and certification agencies is rapidly organising the learning of executives and leaders into a global industry developed by professional managers.

But under these circumstances do MBA courses and executive education programs in business schools offer the appropriate learning for current challenges? And can managers learn the lessons of the crisis in these learning environments? Or does the transformation of learning into a global business rather tend to discourage critical thinking and reflective patterns of learning?

“Management makes the world go round”. This was also the title of an international conference on management learning, where the authors of this volume presented their ideas, shared their experiences, increased their knowledge and contributed to a fascinating debate in a context with a great professional and cultural diversity. This inspired the group to hold on to this debate and develop the ideas further on. So this book was created and brought into the IAP division of Management Education.