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Ethics & Employees
* * * American Business Professor Claims U.S. MBA Programs OutdatedEthics and CSR courses still not given serious attentionAn article in BusinessWeek highlighted a new survey conducted by Peter Navarro, a business professor at the University of California at Irvine. Based on five criteria, which he says are the generally accepted key components of a competitive business program, U.S. business curriculums are not matching up. The five components he mentions are:
A table from the survey highlights the main findings:
Overall, Navarro said based on his own research...
Some barriers to reform Navarro mentions are that multidisciplinary teaching is difficult when professors themselves are overly specialized and that high institutional barriers encourage research rather than attention on classroom pedagogy. Some of his recommendations include bringing more technology into the classroom, adopting a strong dean model that would encourage curriculum reform and creating incentives for business schools to focus more on the classroom. The full report was originally published in the journal for the Academy of Management Learning and Education and is available to members only. Posted 4/28/08
* * * US Ethics Institute Recommends Best Practices for Implementing an Ethical MBA ProgramThe Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, a US organization founded in part by an association of large multinational companies and other US academic institutions, has developed a report based on the collective input from business leaders and academics on how to develop a model business ethics program. The report, “Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders: Principles and Practices for a Model Business Ethics Program,” accepts the idea that ethics are integral to MBA programs and focuses on how these programs can keep pace with the growing importance of ethical business leadership in the corporate arena.The report is divided into three major sections – Course, Curriculum and Community – all areas where ethics should be prominent, the authors emphasize. In developing an effective ethical course, students should have concrete knowledge of ethical issues in business; develop concrete skills, such as learning when to speak up; and be engaged in a process where they can develop greater understanding of their own ethical views and the views of others. There are also principles the authors argue should be implemented in the curriculum, or across a group of courses that are taught. Primarily, the authors believe the conversation about ethics should begin early. This is when future learning opportunities are recognized. In addition, rather than faculty members seeing themselves as individuals responsible for teaching particular courses, each member should take a broader view of himself or herself as a part of a larger group of faculty as a way of gaining a better perspective of the different ethical dimensions. Within the larger community, which includes the entirety of the student experience with the educational institution, the report offers some signs of a “healthy” environment:
As far as areas of improvement, the authors encourage business ethics faculty to work more fully and ardently with some of their major stakeholders, faculty evaluation committees to accept work in business ethics as comparable to work in other main functional areas, and corporate recruiters to incorporate questions regarding ethics into their interview protocols. Visit the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics website. Posted 10/11/07
* * * Tuck International Forum: Confronting Corruption in Global Business
In the early 1990s I was privileged to be asked to join a remarkable American entrepreneur, James Sinclair, in a mining venture in Tanzania. This was a country that for over 20 years had evolved a strong suspicion of foreign corporations and had therefore been reluctant to permit them to develop the nation’s gold, diamond, nickel, copper and other mineral resources. Mr. Sinclair, the Chairman of Sutton Resources of Canada, understood that if his company was to succeed in Tanzania, then he had to earn the trust of the authorities. There were those in Tanzania’s Government, no doubt including the then youthful Minister of Energy and Mining, Jakaya Kikwete, who were suspicious of foreign companies, who had experienced their arrogance and who had seen how some had come to grab assets, maximize short-term profits and move elsewhere. Mr. Sinclair took up residence in the country. For months he dedicated himself to understanding the local culture, the people and the ways in which one earned respect. He believed that success would result from transparency, honesty, good deeds and a long-term investment commitment. I was an advisor to the Chairman and a member of Sutton’s Board of Directors. We never paid bribes. We demonstrated that we were good corporate citizens. Our company went to substantial lengths to underscore our long-term commitment as solid corporate citizens to Tanzania. Mr. Sinclair’s daughter, Marlene, settled in Tanzania and has played and continues to play important roles in philanthropy in the social services area there. Our commitment was the basis for establishing trust and in response we were treated fairly by the Government. We engaged in long-term philanthropy. We assisted the government to build a global strategy to attract more top quality foreign investment into the mineral sector. We set clauses in our mining contracts to fund training for Tanzanian geologists. We took the lead in assisting with healthcare for miners and we raised the bar in mining contracts in Tanzania when it came to environmental protection. Sutton Resources was acquired by one of the world’s largest mining companies, Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada. In recent years Barrick has invested major sums in mining in Tanzania and the success of our company, followed by Barrick’s success, has brought hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign direct investment into that country. And, Mr. Sinclair, who today heads TanRange of Canada, has continued to invest in Tanzania and build a host of high value mineral assets with great potential. He has never paid bribes. Nobody asks him for bribes. He has succeeded in building trust and being seen as a partner to a nation striving to develop. His approach and his company are examples of what I believe must be the corporate anti-corruption compact of the future. Moreover, Mr. Kikwete is now the President of Tanzania with formidable experience, influenced in part by James Sinclair’s example, in understanding how good foreign corporate investors can contribute to his country’s development. In conclusion, let me emphasize that the James Sinclair approach is the route that must be encouraged. It is about not paying bribes. Importantly, it is also about making meaningful corporate contributions to the communities and the countries in which one operates as a business. Corporations have opportunities for huge rewards that can and will be all the greater and more sustained if their actions are driven by uncompromising integrity cultures. The business leaders of tomorrow who will enjoy the most respect and the most success will be those who know that doing the right thing is always preferable to doing what may yield the maximum short-term profit. To download the full lecture. Posted 4/18/07 * * *Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability Education in the Financial Times Top 50 Global Business Schools A new study in the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) investigates how leading business schools (based on the 2006 listing of The Financial Times top 50 Global MBA programs) are now addressing the topics of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ethics, and sustainability. Major changes have been taking place in recent years, according to the authors of the study, Lisa Jones Christensen, Ellen Pierce, Laura P. Hartman, W. Michael Hoffman and Jamie Carrier (see below for bios). Interviews with leaders at the schools and surveys found that nearly one-third of the responding schools require coverage of all three topics in the MBA curriculum. An in-depth analysis found, overall that at leading schools there is a mounting interest in these related topics with potential, in particular, for a heavier focus on sustainability (see some of the key conclusions below). The authors state at the end of their study that, “Overall, we believe this work should be a basis for further investigations into the strategic positioning of each topic as well as into the value and practice of teaching each topic. This work is valuable to researchers interested in changes in the teaching of ethics, to researchers interested in the rise of CSR and sustainability in MBA curricula, as well as to administrators and practitioners who continue to make strategic decisions about their own management programs.” The authors continue, “While it may be early to state that MBA education (as evidenced by trends from these top 50 programs) is making any kind of unilateral move in any topical direction, it does not seem presumptuous to state that MBA education is increasingly embracing CSR and sustainability along with ethics. As researchers differentially involved in advancing the study of ethics and/or CSR and/or sustainability, we note that the trend towards integration of all three topics may serve the most stakeholders in the most efficient manner; yet we remain aware that ‘‘integration’’ still requires bringing together centers of excellence in each respective discipline. Our hope is that this work encourages the continued pursuit of quality research and teaching in each individual subject area, while concomitantly encouraging faculty and administrators to be aware of (and willing to integrate and embrace) advances in closely related fields.”
Among the report's findings: Ethics, CSR, Sustainability in Courses
Centers and Institutional Support
Integration of Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability into Traditional Curricula
Student Interest
For the full paper visit JBE’s website. Lisa Jones Christensen is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Enterprise and Enterpreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Ellen Peirce is a professor of legal studies and ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Laura Hartman is a Professor of Business Ethics and Legal Studies in the Management Department in the College of Commerce at DePaul University and also serves as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and as Research Director of DePaul’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics | W. Micheal Hodffman is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Business Ethics and the Hieken Professor of Business and Professional Ethics at Bently College in Waltham, Massachusetts | Jamie Carrier was a Graduate Assitant for the Center of Business Ethics at Bentley College while she completed her MBA with a concentration in Business Ethics and is now an Ethics Officer at Verizon Business Posted 2/7/07 * * * Yale Launches Corporate Governance Center On June 12, 2006 Yale University announced the establishment of the Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance (YCCGP) to be directed by Ira M. Millstein, a senior partner at the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges and senior associate dean for corporate governance at Yale School of Management. The center is being funded by $20 million in gifts and commitments from individual and corporate donors, including a $10 million gift from David Nierenberg, a 1975 graduate of Yale College and a 1978 graduate of Yale Law School, and his wife Patricia, which represents the single largest gift in the history of the Yale School of Management. The mission of the YCCGP is to explore the role of corporate governance to better enable corporations both to be competitive in their markets and to contribute to society. While based at Yale’s business school, the YCCGP also draws together scholars from Yale Law School and a variety of disciplines at Yale and other universities to explore enhanced corporate governance and the roles of the corporation in society; to facilitate the interaction of these scholars with policymakers and business leaders; to promote the dissemination of ideas and research that are relevant to improving the ability of the corporation to serve society; and to look globally for models of governance that combine return to shareholders and social benefit. According to the school, The Nierenberg gift will support two governance initiatives at the Yale School of Management: the David Nierenberg Fund for Corporate Governance and Performance, and the Theodore Nierenberg Professorship in Corporate Governance. The Nierenberg Fund will support a broad range of YCCGP activities, including faculty research, graduate fellowships, and conference and symposium development. Its programs will emphasize the importance of American companies being more accountable to their stakeholders and responsive to their shareholders. For more information see Yale School of Management. * * * On March 6, 2006 Stanford Law School announced the launch of the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University (the “Rock Center”), funded by a $10 million dollar donation from venture capitalist Arthur Rock and his wife, a director of AT&T and AEGON N.V. The donation is believed to be the largest gift for the study of corporate governance in academic history. "Innovation and new ventures fuel the global economy but the spark comes from investment," Arthur Rock said. "Investment is about trust. It's about knowing that the people investors entrust with their money are running ethical, transparent and effective businesses. Stanford Law School has a demonstrated track record of leadership in the field of corporate governance. We are pleased to support their efforts.” The Rock Center will sponsor a series of programs designed to deepen the understanding of the governance process, enhance the quality of governance-related education, and improve the practice of governance around the world. The Center's will begin a conference series designed to narrow the gap between state-of-the-art scholarship and the regulatory process while promoting more cost effective, socially beneficial regulation (the first of these, a conference on the SEC's proposed executive compensation disclosure rules will be held on April 3rd in Washington DC) According to Stanford Law School, among the Rock Center's other early initiatives are: * * * Darden Pioneering Work in Ethics and Governance The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia is pursuing pioneering work in the area of ethics and governance at its “Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.” This is an independent entity established in partnership with Business Roundtable—an association of 160 CEOs from leading companies.
The Mapping the Terrain study surveyed Business Roundtable CEOs to understand the most important ethics issues facing corporate leaders.
* * * Business Schools : Only a C+ In Ethics Professor Jeffrey E. Garten, Yale University Business Week September 5, 2005
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