At the peak of the global financial crisis a year ago, commentators were quick to note that many of the individuals at the centre of it were MBA graduates from leading business schools.

Fingers were pointed at the business school curricula and, in particular, areas such as finance, risk management and the focus on delivering shareholder value. These legitimate questions about the MBA curricula and the long-term future of the degree have been at the centre of intense debate among academics and business schools over the past year.

So did some business schools fail to challenge an ethos that, in retrospect, played a significant role in the crash? Undoubtedly, there can be an inherent tension between reflection and action in business schools. On the one hand our role is to study business as an academic discipline. On the other we need to equip students with the leadership skills and knowledge necessary to succeed.

A key question to ask is whether there are business schools that have become too attentive to what organisations say they need and fail to sufficiently probe whether this is what they really need. Have schools been resolute in questioning practice and have MBA graduates been equipped to make change happen?

The MBA should be an inoculation against superficial thinking. Perhaps this is where some MBAs failed. If the MBA is perceived to be nothing more than a cheerleader for modern management, then the criticism that the consensus is not being challenged sufficiently will remain a valid one. And if challenging makes the relationship a business school has with business uncomfortable, then so be it. An appropriate historical context — both business and economic — is often lacking in MBA programmes and it is imperative that both business and business schools learn the lessons of the financial crisis. Appropriate and timely challenges were absent when they were most needed, especially in the financial sector.

It would be simplistic to assume that many of the changes we see emerging in the curriculum are a direct response to the severe economic downturn, as the life cycle of a curriculum change can take up to two years. At Nottingham last January, for example, we launched an ethical finance module but it had been in the pipeline for at least 18 months. This provides the time necessary to undertake a process of dialogue with all the key stakeholders.

It is also important to avoid a knee-jerk response to events. As such, the curriculum should evolve in a way that anticipates developments in the wider world and has solid intellectual foundations, not as a superficial and hurried response to crises.

The lessons of the past year have emphasised the importance of schools continuing to learn too. There are some things we do need to reflect on and respond to, but there are encouraging signs that more business schools are embracing the need for a broader ethical and societal perspective in business rather than a narrow focus on shareholder value.

Nottingham University Business School was proud to be one of the first 100 signatories to the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and many business schools were represented at the PRME conference at the United Nations in New York last December. Equally, MBA students should not rest on their laurels after graduating. They have a responsibility to update their skills and knowledge to remain effective leaders in an increasingly challenging business environment.

As they return to the marketplace the latest cohort of MBA graduates has a key role to play in helping the economy stay on track and grow.

Yesterday’s practices left much to be desired but not everything should be thrown away. New products, new processes and new business models will emerge, often because of the entrepreneurial flair that the best MBAs encourage. Schools can also teach that it is often worth thinking a bit more before taking action and, sometimes, not doing anything is the best course of action.

As the economy recovers, business schools can and should ask whether the substance of the problems behind the crisis has been tackled adequately. This is the spirit that ought to infuse the MBA of the future.