Presentation given at the HEA Social Sciences learning and teaching summit 'Teaching ethics: The ethics of teaching' A blog post outlining the issues discussed at the summit is available via http://bit.ly/1lndTnX

1. Leeds University Business School
Teaching Ethics, the Social
Responsibility of Business Schools?
Julia Clarke
HEA Social Sciences learning and teaching summit:
Teaching Ethics: The Ethics of Teaching
June 2014

2. Leeds University Business School
Overview
• What are the responsibilities of Business Schools?
• How do we meet these responsibilities?
• A case study from the University of Leeds

3. Leeds University Business School
20th Century Leaders
“Whoever has the most when he dies, WINS.”
(Larry the Liquidator, Other People’s Money)

4. Leeds University Business School
21st Century Leaders
ETHICAL MINDSET
• Honest and ethical was the second most sought-after
characteristic that employers seek in a new manager,
cited by 55%.
• Employers want business schools to emphasise the
importance of ethics and prioritise sustainability in their
teaching.
• Professional bodies have a role to play in embedding
standards of ethics and practice in the curricula of
business schools
(ABS, CMI, QAA, 2014, p.9)

5. Leeds University Business School
Principles for Responsible
Management Education
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.

6. Leeds University Business School
Principles for Responsible
Management Education
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 dialog
and debate among educators, students, business,
government, consumers, media, civil society organisations
and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues
related to global social responsibility and sustainability.

7. Leeds University Business School
Integrating Ethics into Business
(Teaching)
“The natural tendency in our society of professionals
is to call in the experts …. When the problem is how
to relate ethics to business decision-making, that
tendency leads us to call in ethics specialists much
as we would call in specialists in international
relations when faced with a question about the US
balance of trade.”
Goodpaster, Conscience and Corporate Culture

8. Leeds University Business School
The Inter-Disciplinary Ethics
Applied CETL
 Established in 2005 following successful bid for
HEFCE funding
 Integrating ethics into the curriculum
 Founding members included School of Philosophy,
Business School and Faculty of Earth and
Environment
 Close links from start with HEA as remit to spread
good practice beyond Leeds

9. Leeds University Business School
Achievements
 Developed a series of case studies that are delivered within
personal and professional development modules in year 1 and
year 2.
 Developed final year, taught postgraduate and MBA optional
modules on Business Ethics and CSR.
 Developed an online MA in Professional Ethics
 Undertaken a range of consultancy work
 All of the teaching is genuinely inter-disciplinary

10. Leeds University Business School
Use of Case Studies in Corporate
Ir(responsibility)
 Integration
 Grounded in practice
 Content Outcomes
 Facts
 Ethical concepts
 Process Outcomes
 Critical scrutiny of beliefs
 Analysis of arguments
 Novel solutions

11. Leeds University Business School
The Story so Far –
The Positives
 Bringing students into contact with
corporate responsibility
professionals
 Student projects applying ethical
theory to real life business
scenarios
 Extension of inter-disciplinarity into
pedagogical research and
knowledge transfer
 Students taking ethics beyond the
curriculum

12. Leeds University Business School
The LUBS CSR Interns
• of

13. Leeds University Business School
Successful Facebook Page
• 141+ followers
• UPDATE
• INVOLVE
• AWARENESS

14. Leeds University Business School
CSR Industry Insight Evening
• Guest speakers
• Strong attendance
• Engaged students
• Networking opportunity

15. Leeds University Business School
Wordpress Blog
• Clear, concise articles
• Engaging students &
faculty
• Providing case
studies & examples

16. Leeds University Business School
CSR in Action Day
• Strong student involvement
• Building links with the community
• Projects completed in collaboration with recognized
organizations
• Local benefits

17. Leeds University Business School
Other Activities
• Green Impact
• Links with other interest groups
• Professional development
• Earth Hour Big Switch Off

18. Leeds University Business School
Benefits to Other Students
• Opportunities to get involved with CSR
• Raised awareness of CSR in LUBS & industry
• Opportunities to develop C.V
• Greater communication of
other LUBS opportunities

19. Leeds University Business School
The Story so Far –
The Less Positives
 “The Social Responsibility of
Business Schools is to teach
students how to make a profit”
 “Too much in my module
already”
 Disincentives created by the
University’s financial model

20. Leeds University Business School
Business schools being ethical
• CSR internships can have an impact
• But should only be one part of a School’s CSR strategy
• => Business Schools should have a CSR strategy and
leadership from the top
• Those academics who teach and research CSR have a
particular responsibility

21. Leeds University Business School
Business schools teaching ethics
• A “no escape” model integrating CSR into the core
curriculum
• Setting and enacting a clear corporate mission that
normalises ethics within the curriculum
• Helping students appreciate the constructed nature of
knowledge across the Business School curriculum