The United Nations global compact – a voluntary initiative to promote corporate citizenship – will work with leaders of academic institutions round the world to develop principles for responsible business education.
A framework for action for the academic world will be based on the global compact’s 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.
These principles for responsible business education are intended to help academic institutions act as strategic partners in advancing corporate citizenship across the globe.
The agreement was reached at a recent forum – titled “Business as an agent for world benefit” – in Ohio.
Institutions that are going to help draft the principles include the Academy of Management, the British Academy of Management, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the European Foundation for Management Development, the European Academy of Business in Society, Harvard University’s Social Enterprise Knowledge Network and Net Impact, the global student association.
Academics, key stakeholders and business school deans from the developed and developing worlds will now outline the framework, to be presented at the global compact leaders’ summit in Geneva next summer. www.unglobalcompact.org
New course to analyse leadership
Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley is introducing a new leadership course on its MBA core curriculum.
Every MBA participant will undergo a 360-degree assessment of his or her leadership skills, based on nine evaluations from former bosses, co-workers, peers and clients before the programme begins.
The school hopes students will develop understanding of their strengths and use that to advance their leadership potential. At the end of the course students must develop a leadership self-analysis plan, as well as completing peer reviews.
“One of the biggest lessons here comes from the discrepancy between what students intend and what actually comes across,” says Jennifer Chatman, professor of management at Haas. “What a student thinks he or she is doing in an organisation is perceived differently by the people around them.”
Another aspect of the course is experiential exercises in which students role-play as leaders and receive feed-back about their performance and leadership style. www.haas.berkeley.edu
Holloway revives MBA at a distance
The School of Management at Royal Holloway, University of London, has relaunched its distance learning MBA following its accreditation by the UK-based Association of MBAs.
The programme currently has more than 800 students in 80 countries.
www.londonexternal.
ac.uk/mba
LBS develops technology institute
London Business School has established an Institute of Technology.
Based at the school, the IoT will conduct research into the management of new technologies. It will be led by Gerry George, associate professor of entrepreneurship.
The first research piece is due in January on stem cell research efforts. www.london.edu
