AACSB, others unveils Principles for Responsible Management Education

The Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), and Net Impact, have announced the Principles for Responsible Management Education.

AACSB says the Principles are first global guiding framework for academic institutions to advance the broader cause of corporate social responsibility. The Principles were first presented to the United Nations Secretary, General Ban Ki-moonon Thursday, July 5, 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The presentation was attended by hundreds of leaders representing business, civil society, government, and academia from around the world, including John Fernandes, President and CEO, AACSB International; Angel Cabrera, Chairman PRME task force and President, Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA; Carolyn Woo, Dean, Mendoza College of Business, Notre Dame University; and David Saunders, Dean, Queens School of Business, Canada.

The principles serve as a call for business schools and academic associations to step up and do their part to advance corporate social responsibility worldwide. Business students and educators care deeply about social responsibility as noted in AACSB Internationals Peace through Commerce report. The principles will advance the impact of business schools and graduates on future corporate social responsibility, said John Fernandes of AACSB.

Six Principles of Responsible Management Education are:

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.

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.

Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.

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.
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.

Dialog: We will facilitate and support dialog 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.

In recent past, after the debacle of Worldcom and Enron, questions were being raised about the ethics of management graduates who work in leading corporates. These Principles are perhaps in response to such criticism. Many B-schools have voluntarily adopted ethics study as a part of their core curriculum.

AACSB says that this initiative was developed by an international task force of sixty deans, university presidents, and official representatives of leading business schools. It was co-convened by the United Nations Global Compact, AACSB International, the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Aspen Institutes Business and Society Program, the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), and Net Impact.
AACSB is a not-for-profit corporation of educational institutions, corporations and other organizations devoted to the promotion and improvement of higher education in business administration and management. Organized in 1916, AACSB International is the premier accrediting agency for bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. Its founding members include Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, New York University, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Tulane University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, The University of Texas, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Yale University.

In addition to its accreditation function, AACSB International conducts an extensive array of development programs for faculty and administrators; engages in research and survey projects on topics specific to the field of management education; maintains relationships with disciplinary associations and other groups; interacts with the corporate community on a variety of projects and initiatives; and produces a wide variety of publications and special reports on trends and issues within management education.