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typical of the speakers there。
The spirit of the teaching is around preparing a business plan to be presented
to a panel along the lines of Dragons’ Den； o。。en with similar outes
in that the business gets funding。 It would be incorrect to suggest that
droves of MBAs rush off to found ventures straight off； but perhaps three
or four in a hundred do。 Within a decade that will have risen to around
40 per cent according to research carried out for Top MBA （topmba。
）。
Aside from ge。。ing funding and marks towards their MBA grade； the
most successful business plans are usually entered into one of a number
of Business Plan petitions。 These offer prizes such as Nano Challenge
（nanochallenge） offering two prizes of �300；000； promoted by
Veneto Nanotech； the pany managing the Italian Cluster for Nanotechnologies
and PriceWaterhouse Coopers。 Usually more modest awards
of cash； consulting and investment are on offer。 Small Business Notes （
smallbusinessnotes/planning/petitions。html） has a business plan
directory with around 100 petitions around the world。
You don’t have to be in a business school to enter most of these petitions；
though you may find it hard to find out about them if you are not
and you will almost certainly be up against a business school team。 Oxford
Said Business School （sbs。ox。ac。uk/21challenge） will take entries from
individuals； teams； new panies； existing panies creating spin…offs；
students； scientists； academics and entrepreneurs。 Regional； national and
international participation is encouraged。
Ethics and social
responsibility
。 Owners vs directors
。 Stakeholder groupings
。 Ethical and responsible strategies
。 Whistle…blowing
。 Green pays off
Actions for which a person or group of people can be held accountable and
so mended or blamed； disciplined or rewarded； are said to lie within
their sphere of responsibility。 Anything that lies outside our control also
lies beyond the scope of our responsibilities。 Ethics； known in academic
circles as moral philosophy； is concerned with classifying； defending； and
proposing concepts of right and wrong behaviour in the way in which
we discharge our responsibilities。 While many responsibilities lie within
the scope of the law； shareholders’ protection； discrimination at work；
misleading advertising and so forth （see Chapter 6 for more on business
law）； both in those areas and in the grey area that surrounds them lies the
province of ethics and social responsibility。 Right and wrong in themselves
are o。。en not too difficult to separate out。 The problem usually stems from
peting ‘rights’ – giving shareholders a be。。er return vs saving the planet；
for example； and the inherent selfishness of humans。 Many； if not all； of our
actions are triggered by self…interest。 In fact； much of the justification for
capitalism’s a。。raction lies in the ‘invisible hand’ theory advanced by Adam
Smith in his defining book； The Wealth of Nations （1776）：
Every individual。 。 。 generally； indeed； neither intends to promote the public
interest； nor knows how much he is promoting it。 By preferring the support
9
222 The Thirty…Day MBA
of domestic to that of foreign industry he intends only his own security； and
by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the
greatest value； he intends only his own gain； and he is in this； as in many
other cases； led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of
his intention。
Unfortunately； the invisible hand suggests only that businesses and consumers；
in being selfish； may by accident do good； not that their actions are
made ethical in the process。 Many purely selfish actions； say by operating
a cartel to rip off consumers； or adopting a polluting production process
purely to boost the bo。。om line； fall firmly into the unethical bracket。 Even
overtly ethical actions； for example when a business gives to charity or
supports a ‘not for profit’ event； such as Coca…Cola’s sponsorship of the
Olympic Games over an 80…year period； can prove ethically questionable。
In the first place Coca…Cola； McDonald’s； Samsung and the other Olympics’
sponsors hope for a share of the huge marketing benefits that accrue from
such association。 Secondly； supporting the Games may be the ‘right’ thing
to do； but supporting the 2008 host country； China； a regime with a questionable
human rights track record； may well be ‘wrong’。
Business ethics defines the categories of duty for which we are morally
responsible。 Lists of moral duties and rights can be lengthy and overlapping。
The duty…based theory advanced by a British philosopher； W D Ross （1877–
1971）； provides a short list of duties that he believed reflects our actual
moral convictions：
。 Fidelity： the duty to keep promises。
。 Reparation： the duty to pensate others when we harm them。
。 Gratitude： the duty to thank those who help us。
。 Justice： the duty to recognize merit。
。 Beneficence： the duty to improve the conditions of others。
。 Self…improvement： the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence。
。 Non…maleficence： the duty to not injure others。
Ross recognized that there will be occasions when we must choose between
two conflicting duties。 For example； should your business be involved in
any way with products that facilitate abortions？ On one side of that moral
argument lies beneficence in improving the conditions of women and； on
the other； non…maleficence in not doing injury to the unborn child。 You
can find out more about the theoretical aspects of ethics on The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy （iep。utm。edu/e/ethics。htm） and on
related business issues on the Free Management Library website （
managementhelp/ethics/ethxgde。htm）。
Ethics and Social Responsibility 223
TEACHING ETHICS AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS
This subject is perhaps the most controversial and disputed in terms of the
teaching methodology and content used in business schools。 A recent survey
on Corporate Social Responsibility Education in Europe found that while
most business schools had some content in this area； only a quarter had
a specific topic； module or elective covering the ground。 In 2008； courses
in corporate social responsibility （CSR）； ethics； sustainability or business
and society are now a requirement for 58 per cent of MBAs； up from 45
per cent in 2003 and 34 per cent in 2001。 Most had the subject embedded in
various other subject areas； for example under titles such as a bination
of ‘Accounting； Corporate Governance； Law and Public Governance’ or
‘Stakeholder Management’。 Others had ethics and social responsibility
covered in the context of specific disciplines – ethical accounting systems
or marketing and ethics。 Georgia Tech College of Management’s MBA set
as a business ethics paper the task ‘Analyze Sarbannes–Oxley from both
conceptual and implementation perspectives’； which is a largely a single
issue of directors’ responsibilities to investors。
There is widespread use of practitioner speakers from business or nongovernmental
organizations （NGOs） as well as case studies from industry；
and these methods dwarf the more academic methods （lectures； tutorials）
used in other subject areas。 Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth； for
example； teaches a ‘brief mini…course’ based on discussions of ethical issues
encountered by its faculty in cases involving their experience ‘particularly
on the functional areas of business as exercised in both the US and the
global marketplace； where different local practices and cultural norms
seem to muddy the ethical water’。 The academics； however； are on the
march！ No。。ingham University Business School has an International Centre
for Corporate Social Responsibility and a Professor of CSR （Corporate
Social Responsibility）。 INSEAD has a chaired professor of Business Ethics
and Corporate Responsibility； though the focus there appears to be very
much around ethical consumerism； deception in marketing and marketing
ethics。 But the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business leads
the field in raising the bar on teaching in this field。 It’s the only business
school anywhere to have a Nobel laureate – Robert Fogel； winner of the
1993 Nobel Prize in economics – teaching ‘A Guide to Business Ethics’。
OWNERS VS DIRECTORS： THE START OF THE
ETHICAL TUG OF WAR
Directors are appointed by the owners of a business to control a business
and look a。。er their interests in their absence。 When enterprises were
224 The Thirty…Day MBA
small and local this was an expediency rarely invoked； as owners more
o。。en than not were the directors and where they were not it was usual to
ensure at least some family oversight。 Now； where nearly two…thirds of all
business activity is conducted by giant global enterprises； this separation
of ownership from control has bee both necessary and monplace。
Also； such businesses have replaced ‘owners’ with ‘shareholders’。 The
difference is subtle but it is the key to understanding the requirement for
including business ethics and social responsibility on the business school
curriculum。
Shareholders only rarely own more than a small fraction of any one
business； they have no special reason to identify with the founders’ vision
or code of behaviour and they are preoccupied with relatively simple
outes such as growth in earnings per share。 If they bee unhappy in
that respect they just swap their holding in that business for a similar stake
in another。 In fact； even if such shareholders are satisfied with financial
performance when a sector is out of ‘favour’； say； as retailers may be during
a recession； they may well sell their holding in any event。 The main holders
of large shareholdings in businesses now are fund managers and pension
funds and arguably these have an even greater imperative to focus their
a。。ention on earnings。 True； they exert pressure from time to time but that
is usually when they see too much control moving into the hands of one
director； say when there is an a。。empt to bine the roles of chairman
and chief executive。 Also； when directors are trying to pay themselves
more than they may be worth or are trying to improve their lot in some
other way at the expense of shareholders； a fund manager may step in。
Fund managers are not always honest brokers with regard to looking a。。er
shareholder interest。 For example； during a takeover there is a good chance
that a fund manager will find themselves with holdings in both buyer and
seller。
The board of directors has in effect replaced the ‘owner’ as the custodian
of the moral tone and in se。。ing standards of behaviour towards everyone
the business has dealings with。 They are in some ways encouraged by legal
constraints placed on them to take a narrow view of those responsibilities。
They are required ‘to act in good faith in the interests of the pany’； ‘not
to deceive shareholders and to appoint auditors to oversee the accounting
records’； ‘not to carry on the business of the pany with intent to defraud
creditors or for any fraudulent purpose’； and ‘to have regard for the interests
of employees in general’。 （See Chapter 4 for more on the responsibilities of
directors。）
Directors and managers also have responsibilities to protect their customers
when using their products or services or when visiting pany
premises and to follow rules inhibiting pollution in the operating processes。
But it is only relatively recently that panies have been required
to take a wider view of their responsibilities to other ‘stakeholder’ groups。
Ethics and Social Responsibility 225
Enlightened managers； or those that are particularly astute； depending on
your level of cynicism； have o。。en taken on broader responsibilities； sponsoring
charities； funding social amenities such as play areas or providing
low…cost housing。 These initiatives are o。。en spurred on by enlightened selfinterest；
say to help with recruiting and retaining employees； with ge。。ing
favourable PR； or in the case of low…cost housing； providing amenities is a
usual