Gordon,
Thanks for bringing this program to our attention. But, I am wondering
if it is just mere symbolism by AACSB.
Here is the most salient excerpt if they approve PRME.
"Be assured that we do not expect all schools that subscribe to the PRME
to implement all six principles. As business school leaders consider
their institutions' roles in implementing the PRME, they should seek
their areas of interest and expertise in accordance with their overall
mission and determine the principles they will emphasize. Additionally,
AACSB plans to feature innovative programs already in place by its
member schools at several upcoming conferences. As the implementation
process is developed, we will communicate other initiatives AACSB will
take to encourage adoption of the PRME."
It will not be accepted by Deans overall unless there is a specific
accreditation standard that says they need to adopt and practice these
principles.
But, at least they are talking about it.
-Joe
-----Original Message-----
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
[mailto:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Gordon P Rands
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 1:57 PM
To:
ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: AACSB & Principles for Responsible Mgt. Education - was The
Quest for Competitiveness
Melissa, Jim, George and others (with apologies for cross postings),
I don't know how many of you receive the AACSB newsletter, but it
arrived in my
e-mail yesterday and it has what appears to be some very good news for
those of
us teaching business ethics, CSR, sustainability, etc. If there has
been prior
discussion on this, I certainly have missed it.
In short, AACSB repoprts that it has joined with the Aspen Institute and
others
in responding to the UN Global Compacts call by co-convening the
Principles for
Responsible Management Education (PRIME).
The six Principles of Responsible Management Education are:
Principle 1
Purpose: We will develop the capabilities of students to be future
generators
of
sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an
inclusive and sustainable global economy.
Principle 2
Values: We will incorporate into our academic activities and curricula
the
values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international
initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.
Principle 3
Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and
environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible
leadership.
Principle 4
Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that
advances our
understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in
the
creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.
Principle 5
Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to
extend
our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental
responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting
these
challenges.
Principle 6
Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue and debate among
educators,
business, government, consumers, media, civil society organizations and
other
interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global
social
responsibility and sustainability.
It strikes me as being difficult to meet these principles without a
required
course dealing with these topics, AND without integration into other
courses.
The question of stand alone course vs. integration has always seemed to
me to
be one of "both-and" rather than "either-or". AACSB's endorsement of
these
principles would appear to me to give us leverage to go to our deans
that
we have been needing.
There are two articles about this in the recent e-newsletter. They can
be
found
at the following links
http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/enewsline/Vol-6/Issue-8/JFernandes.asp
?nav=n
http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/enewsline/Vol-6/Issue-8/dc-cabrera.asp
?nav=n
http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/enewsline/archive_print/Vol6-issue8.pd
f
In addition, at the first link there is a chance to vote on the question
"Should
business schools increase their emphasis on socially-responsible
business
leadership in curricula and research?" When I voted and looked at the
results,
it was running 72% yes, 28% no.
So having said all this, the skeptic in me asks: what does this really
mean, if
anything? What kind of impact will this really have?
Gordon
Quoting Melissa S Baucus <
m.baucus@LOUISVILLE.EDU>:
> Dear Jim, George and other interested IABS members,
>
> A number of years ago when I was at Utah State University, we moved
from a
> quarter to a semester system. This meant we had to consolidate, drop
or
> reformulate our undergraduate curriculum. I naively thought if I
showed my
> colleagues how we could drop the B&S course and recombine it in new
and
> different ways with other required courses, they would each look for
ways to
> reformulate their courses, resulting in a new innovative curriculum
that
> better served our students. Well, instead we simply dropped the B&S
course
> and another course and merged one or two other courses. However, when
we
> reviewed some of the objectives of the B&S course, we discovered that
some
> aspects weren't being covered at all. This led to a new course.
>
> The new course that I got to design was called Leadership, Ethics and
Change.
> I started by introducing ethics, then moved to coverage of what it
means to
> be an ethical leader and finally tackled how ethical leaders create
change.
> While I focused more on organizational change, it would be very
possible for
> someone to also address change in society, provide more coverage of
> stakeholder management, transparency and other B&S issues.
>
> I think one of the challenges we all need to address is the need for
us to
> use what we know to more effectively manage relationships with our
> stakeholders, including our b-school colleagues in other departments.
They
> may find it easier to see the value of teaching many of our B&S
concepts
> within a leadership framework or some other framework they see as
legitimate.
> There's pressure for all of us to be more efficient while maintaining
or
> increasing effectiveness. If we look for innovative approaches, we may
be
> able to combine the B&S knowledge we view as critical with some other
> knowledge and skills our students need.
>
> Melissa
>
> >>> James Weber <
weber719@COMCAST.NET> 8/16/2007 10:36 AM >>>
> Dear IABSers,
>
>
>
> As some of us who have been around too long know too well, this is
> unfortunately what poor decision-making can generate. Missing in the
> consideration of this type of decision is the realization that "what
George
> calls CSR/ethics" is a skill set that some faculty members have been
trained
> in, research in, and are able to educate students in. I believe that
any
> constructive responses to George might benefit us all, since I would
assume
> similar tragedies have or will occur at other universities.
>
>
>
> Maybe it is time for Diane Swanson and Bill Frederick to re-educate us
again
> on the importance of these courses so that we can share this knowledge
with
> our curriculum committees and Deans. I recall that their campaign was
quite
> solid in terms of information and argumentation.
>
>
>
> I also need to join others at universities that are fortunate enough
to have
> a stand-alone course in this field to better develop outcome
assessment
> measures, demanded by AACSB, so that we can "prove" that our courses
have
> value. I know - there is an argument that says: why do we need to
prove our
> worth when other disciplines, no need to name them here, do not have
the
> same requirement? While I agree with that argument, too many
colleagues and
> Deans do not, so we need to again make our case.
>
>
>
> But, to address George's request, I baffled as to how one might
present the
> diverse topics of CSR/ethics across the MBA curriculum without a
stand-alone
> course to prsent these topics in an integrated foundation.
>
>
>
> Jim Weber, Ph.D.
>
> Professor of Business Ethics
>
> Director, Beard Center for Leadership in Ethics
>
> Rockwell Hall 813, Duquesne University
>
> 600 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15282
>
> office: 412-396-5475
>
> fax: 412-396-4764
>
>
www.business.duq.edu/Beard
>
>
>
> From: Intl Assn for Business and Society
[mailto:
IABS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU]
> On Behalf Of George Watson
> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 9:59 AM
> To:
IABS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
> Subject: [IABS-L] The Quest for Competitiveness
>
>
>
>
>
> My school is cutting the CSR/Ethics course from its MBA requirements
in
> order to get the number of courses consistent with similar regional
> programs. The intention is to integrate ethics into the remaining
courses
> but I am hard pressed to imagine that will work. For example, I can't
> imagine political action, special interest groups, media relations,
ethical
> decision making, or philosophical foundations being covered in any of
the
> remaining traditional courses. Are there any opinions, advice,
experiences
> anyone can share that can assist me and the MBA program in making the
> adjustments to this change in such a way as maintain a adequate
coverage of
> business ethics and social responsibility? Your ideas or help will be
> appreciated. Thank you: George Watson
>
> _____
>