08832323.2011.648969
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability
Jennifer Palthe
To cite this article: Jennifer Palthe (2013) Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability, Journal of Education for Business, 88:2,
117-124, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2011.648969
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:58
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 88: 117–124, 2013
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Copyright
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2011.648969
Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability
Jennifer Palthe
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Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
In today’s complex global environment, business educators need to play a more strategic role
in moving the business sector from a compliance orientation to one in which future business
leaders are equipped to serve as strong advocates for human rights and every dimension of
sustainability (environmental, economic, and social). While much innovative work is underway to embed human rights in business, the author aims to provide business educators with
resources to do likewise so that the emergence of a new generation of business leaders may
be fostered—leaders who incorporate human rights into their decision making and serve as
powerful influencers in establishing an inclusive and sustainable world.
Keywords: business education, human rights, social sustainability, sustainability
I think responsible leadership will shape business and society in a very constructive way if there is a recognition that
respect for human rights is part of that responsible leadership and indeed part of business sustainability. . . . In a world
so deeply divided between rich and poor, North and South,
religious and secular, us and them, we need more than ever
common values—a “common standard of achievement” as
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it.
—Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights: The
Ethical Global Initiative, Former UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights and Former President of Ireland (2009)
Progressing through the second decade of a new century,
there is a growing belief that organizations should engage
in more deliberate strategies to achieve sustainable solutions
to social and environmental challenges (Haugh & Talwar,
2010). The global economic recession and virtual collapse
of the worldwide financial services industry has not only exposed the shortcomings in corporate financial risk management but has stimulated a greater awareness of the dependency of business success on generating sustainable worth
(Audebrand, 2010). While there have been significant efforts
to integrate sustainability in management education (Benn
& Dunphy, 2009; Rusinko, 2010; Starik, Rands, Marcus, &
Clark, 2010), the emphasis has been more on environmental
Correspondence should be sent to Jennifer Palthe, Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business, Department of Management, 3220 Schneider Hall, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA. E-mail: jennifer.
palthe@wmich.edu
and economic sustainability (Bansal & Roth, 2000; Christmann, 2004; Porter & Cordoba, 2009), and business schools
have been somewhat remiss in emphasizing the human issues
associated with managing an organization than the economic
issues (Giacalone & Thompson, 2006). Moreover, the full
scope of sustainability has not yet become embedded in mainstream business education (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010) and
human rights and the social dimension of sustainability has
been given less attention than economic and environmental
issues (Pfeffer, 2010).
At a United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) U.S. network meeting in 2008, Mike Toffel, Harvard Business School
professor, argued: “The topic of human rights is new to business scholarship. Although there are peripheral mentions of
human rights, there is still plenty of room for management
knowledge and practice to work on the implementation of human rights” (UNGC, 2008c, p. 1). In 2008, the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
provided a reminder that protecting human rights is a shared
responsibility for governments and their citizens, and organizations and their employees around the world. Human rights
are defined as the basic standards aimed at securing dignity
and equality for all (UNGC, 2008a). The UDHR called on
every organ of society to play its role in promoting human
rights. When Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the UN General
Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, she called on all
to play their part:
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small
places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot
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J. PALTHE
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be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school
or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he
works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and
child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity
without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning
there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted
citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world.
Humans and not just effective business are pivotal to both
the long-term survival of corporations and the wealth of nations. Whether it is human rights to fair treatment, adequate
health care, safety, equity, advancement, education, or equal
representation, nothing can be mobilized and no sustainable
progress can be achieved in the absence of genuine respect
for this vital resource (Palthe, 2008). This is a monumental time in history where the world is at a critical juncture
(United Nations Development Program, 2010). With the human population increasing more than 200,000 net each day,
and the numbers of chronically hungry people in the world
going up, not down, there are unprecedented global calamities to face (UNDP, 2010). Overcoming the global food crisis
and energy crisis, reducing poverty, protecting the planet, and
promoting peace critically depend on the ability to act collectively. The U.S. Gulf oil spill and disasters stemming from the
earthquakes in Japan, Haiti, and Chile have given renewed
impetus to the work of relief agencies, nongovernmental organizaitons, and businesses engaged in helping to solve societal and environmental crises worldwide. More businesses
are forming alliances with nonprofit organizations (Murray,
2008) and there is clearly mounting pressure on businesses to
be more actively involved in solving societal problems and to
practice green management (Marcus & Fremeth, 2009). As
the guest editors of the Academy of Management Learning
and Education argued in the recent special issue “In Search
of Sustainability in Management Education,”
Neither the “business-as-usual” nor the incrementalist reform approaches that most individuals, organizations, and
societies have employed to address critical global sustainability issues is apparently enough to move us far enough
fast enough to prevent near-term crises. (Starik et al., 2010,
p. 377)
In light of this, business educators have a responsibility
to equip business students with the knowledge and tools to
manage in a increasingly complex world, and to explore the
multifaceted (not simply economic) repercussions of their
decisions (Pfeffer, 2010). Future business leaders need to
understand the implications of these unprecedented global
crises (UNDP, 2010) and to appreciate that promoting human
rights is the responsibility of every organ of society (UNGC,
2008a). In this article I seek to draw attention to the importance of integrating human rights in business education,
to embrace the often underrepresented social dimension of
sustainability. I review the present literature on sustainability
and highlights some of the key global initiatives that integrate
human rights and business. Recommendations and resources
for reshaping business education through the incorporation
of human rights are offered.
DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is a broad and evolving social construct
(Collins & Kearins, 2010) and most definitions draw on the
principles of the Brundtland Commission that defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987, p. 8). Others have defined sustainability as an effort to preserve resources and avoid waste in
operations (Pfeffer, 2010). Sustainability is a systems-level
concept that transcends national boundaries and embraces
notions of equality, equity, and futurity (Collins & Kearins).
There is a growing consensus that sustainability has three
distinct yet interrelated dimensions: economic, environmental, and social (Enkington, 1998; Haugh & Talwar, 2010).
This three-part conceptualization provides a heuristic that
business educators and students can use to understand the
elements of sustainability more effectively. The environmental dimension includes things such as waste management,
preservation of animal and plant species, alternative energy
production, improved emissions management, and efforts to
recycle, reuse, and conserve (Rusinko, 2010). Economic sustainability considers things such as efforts to maintain organizational effectiveness, revenue generation, promotion of fair
trade, and long-term survival and financial success of organizations. Examples of the social dimension include initiatives
to promote diversity, protect human rights, reduce poverty,
enhance workplace equity, and social justice (Rusinko). Social sustainability exemplifies the humanitarian context of
business and also relates to human rights issues, income inequality; disease, especially HIV/AIDS and malaria; access
to clean water, sanitation, and health care; and education,
especially for women (Haugh & Talwar).
The multidimensional conceptualization of sustainability
not only provides a helpful framework for understanding
sustainability but the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO; 2004) insisted that
sustainability education must address all three dimensions
(economic, environmental, and social) so that students develop the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to
foster improvements in all three areas. The UN Millennium
Development Goals, also stipulated the need to address
all three pillars of sustainability (United Nations, 2006).
With these three dimensions in mind and the clear underrepresentation of social sustainability, some of the key global
initiatives that serve to integrate human rights in business
education are highlighted next.
INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
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INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS
EDUCATION
A growing appreciation for the role of business taking on
greater human rights responsibilities is occurring worldwide
(United Nations, 2006). There are increasing numbers of
nonprofit organizations, associations, and learning networks
focused on sustainability and human rights. Some of these
include the Association of Sustainability in Higher Education; the UNGC; UNESCO; the Principles for Responsible
Management Education (PRME); the World Resources Institute; the Aspen Institute (AI) Initiative for Social Innovation through Business; the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Ethics/Sustainability
Resource Center; and the Academy of Management. The
sheer expansiveness and growth of these organizations is reflective of the increasing recognition of the importance of
integrating sustainability in business education.
One of the most notable initiatives that seeks to champion the integration of sustainability in business education
and that explicitly emphasizes human rights is the UNGC.
The UNGC, a voluntary, CEO-led corporate sustainability
initiative has over 5,000 participants in more than 130 countries (Principles for Responsible Management, 2008). The
UNGC offers a strategic policy framework and set of values for business that promote human rights; protection of
labour and elimination of all forms of discrimination; the environment, and anti-corruption (United Nations, 2006). The
UNGC requests that businesses embrace, support, and enact
this set of core values. The 10 specific principles they outline
include the following (UNGC, 2008b):
• Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
• Ensure business is not complicit in human rights abuses
• Uphold the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• Eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labor
• Effectively abolish child labor
• Eliminate discrimination with respect to employment and
occupation
• Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
• Promote greater environmental responsibility
• Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
• Work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery
The 10 values form the foundation of the six principles
espoused by PRME, another notable initiative that explicitly seeks to integrate sustainability in business education.
PRME was established in 2008 as a learning network that
offers a framework for the improvement and adaptation of
the curriculum, research and teaching methods in business
119
schools. It is supported by numerous organizations including the AACSB, AI’s Business and Society Program, and
Net Impact that aims to facilitate the adaptation of business
education to the new after-crises realities.
The key principles PRME (2008) espouses are listed subsequently and aim to alter the educational methods, practices,
and learning experiences that occur in business schools:
• 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
• Incorporate into academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the UNGC
• Create educational frameworks, materials, processes, and
environments that enable effective learning experiences
for responsible leadership
• Engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances
understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of
corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental, and economic value
• Partner with managers of business corporations to extend
knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective
approaches to meeting these challenges
• 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
Another major global initiative that fosters the integration of sustainability issues in business education is the AI’s
Center for Business Education that seeks to inspire future
business leaders to innovate at the intersection of corporate
profits and social impacts. Their objective is to radically reorient business education to embrace the principles of corporate citizenship and sustainability, and promote values-based
leadership. Their key exploration areas include poverty reduction and global relations that closely relate to global human rights challenges (Aspen Institute, 2010). AI, similar to
UNGC and PRME, strongly emphasizes social sustainability
issues, and human rights in particular. Similarly, Realizing
Rights: the Ethical Global Initiative (EGI), a partnership of
AI, Columbia University, and the Council of International
Human Rights Policy, also serves to facilitate the integration
of human rights and the social components of sustainability within business education. Realizing Rights: EGI has
programs in the areas of global health, trade and development, migration, and women’s leadership. The primary aim
of Realizing Rights: EGI is to put human rights values and
principles, such as equity and participation, at the heart of
global governance and policymaking to ensure that the needs
of the poorest and most vulnerable in the world are addressed
120
J. PALTHE
TABLE 1
Resources for Integrating Human Rights in Business Education
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Sample of organizations
integrating business and human rights
Associated websites for
integrating human rights
Educational tools for
integrating human rights
Aspen Institute Business & Society Program
www.aspeninstitute.org
Business and Human Rights Center of the United
Nations
Human Rights Watch
www.business-humanrights.org
Net Impact
Principles for Responsible Management Education
www.netimpact.org
www.unprme.org
Realizing Rights: The Global Ethical Initiative
United Nations Global Compact
www.realizingrights.org
www.unglobalcompact.org
United for Human Rights
www.humanrights.com
www.hrw.org
on the global stage. Some of their human rights values and
principles include the following (Robinson, 2009):
• Acknowledge shared responsibilities for addressing
global challenges and affirm that everyone’s common humanity doesn’t stop at national borders
• Recognize that all individuals are equal in dignity, rather
than view them as objects of benevolence or charity
• Embrace the importance of gender and the need for attention to the diverse impacts of economic and social policies
on women and men
• Affirm that a world connected by technology and trade
must also be connected by shared values, norms of behavior, and systems of accountability
Faculty seminars & case studies on human rights in
business
Tools for getting started from the UN special
representative for business & human rights
Annual World Report covering human rights conditions
in over 90 nations
Social Impact Career Handbook & Program Guide
Curriculum Change & Guidance for Integrating
Principles for Responsible Management Education
Human Rights Instruments & Networks
Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide.
Tools & Guidance Materials on Human Rights
Human Rights Curriculum & Education Tools. Bringing
Human Rights to Life Education Package
that integrate business and human rights. The third column
exemplifies some educational tools to assist business educators with getting started, curriculum design, relevant case
studies, social impact career handbooks for student advising,
and specialized reference guides. The primary aim of the
table is to assist business educators in accessing tools and
resources to facilitate the integration of human rights in their
curriculum, pedagogy, and academic activities. The sample
of organizations, websites, and educational tools is not intended to be exhaustive but rather should serve as a helpful
starting point to facilitate the generation of ideas on how to
integrate human rights in business education.
RESHAPING BUSINESS EDUCATION
In examination of the values and principles espoused by
the UNGC, PRME, AI, and Realizing Rights: EGI, noteworthy is the extensive evidence and detailed emphasis on
the need to integrate human rights in business education.
The prescriptions offered aim to significantly transform current educational methods, practices, and learning experiences
that occur in business schools around the world. They also
serve as benchmarks for business educators to ensure they
are incorporating the values portrayed in initiatives similar to
the UNGC into academic activities and curricula. Moreover,
these detailed principles serve as helpful standards against
which educators can assess the extent to which they are
enabling their students to have effective learning experiences
that help them become more responsible leaders of the future.
While some of the main global initiaves that are relevant
to human rights and business have been discussed previously,
these and others, together with their associated websites and
educational resources, are highlighted in Table 1.
The first column of Table 1 highlights some of the major
organizations that link human rights and business education.
The second column displays examples of associated websites
Business students need to understand the importance of assessing organizational success from an economic, environmental and social standpoint, as well as appreciate the value
of human-centered outcomes not just organization-centered
outcomes of their actions (Giacalone & Thompson, 2006).
Some have argued that the organization-centered worldview
taught in business colleges is flawed in that it teaches students that virtually every facet of what they do is economic (Ghoshal, 2005; Pfeffer, 2005). However, despite arguments that economic theories also include human elements
(Hambrick, 2005), the overarching trend, in response to a
growing awareness of social crises around the world, is that
a global shift in worldview from organization-centered to
more human-centered is occurring (Giacalone & Thompson).
The human-centered worldview emphasizes that business’
role in society is fundamental to the proper functioning of
the world, but this role should not be earned simply as a
function of financials but as a function of how well it advances
the interests of humanity. Embracing a more human-centered
worldview implies that when students are educated on sus-
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INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
tainability, they are offered a more balanced perspective of
the topic that explains all three dimensions, without neglecting the human-related aspects of business and human rights.
Consequently, business educators have a moral responsibility
to educate future leaders in methods that generate sustainable value for business and society, and students need to be
taught how to work toward the establishment of an inclusive
and sustainable world (Adler, 2006). Moreover, they need
to be taught to recognize that the leading companies of the
future will place sustainability on their strategic agendas. As
the previous head of PRME explained in a recent Academy
of Management Learning and Education publication entitled
“An Interview with Manuel Escudero The United Nations’
Principles for Responsible Management Education: A Global
Call for Sustainability,”
I’m registering a very clear preoccupation around the
world . . . talking to 100–150 business schools. . . . The buzz
is very clear: We need to redefine the future of business education . . . at this moment there is no global company in the
world that doesn’t consider sustainability as a point on its
agenda. (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010, p. 545)
Students need to be taught and inspired to think beyond
merely protecting the environment to creating innovative
methods, processes and systems that seek to promote community development and enhance the social components of
sustainability (Brower, 2011). These may include but are not
limited to things such as promoting humanitarian issues in international conflict zones, reducing world poverty, protecting
children’s rights, empowering local communities, and partnering with human rights organizations. Also, business students should be taught about the social sustainability issues
that emphasize the rights of minority populations, reduction
of gender discrimination, protection of religious freedom,
and seniority rights. They need to appreciate that it is not
enough for organizations to merely seek to reduce unethical
behavior and human rights abuses worldwide or to simply
comply with human rights standards. Moreover, they need to
understand human rights concerns that go well beyond the
Sarbanes-Oxley model of unethical financial behavior, and
refocus moral acceptability at a fundamental, human level
apart from financial implications (Giacolone & Thompson,
2006).
In addition to drawing lessons from the various global
initiatives that seek to integrate human rights and business,
business educators should utilize more sound case studies of organizations embracing each dimension of sustainability. Case studies give students an opportunity to develop their moral imagination and potentially teach them
some of the warning signs associated with unsustainability (Shrivastava, 2010). Students need to be made aware of
leading organization that focus on sustainability and human rights. For example, Capgemini in the Netherlands,
implemented a market research instrument to survey man-
121
agement and IT consultants on recruitment and retention
issues. In exchange for participating in the survey, Capgemini would fund housing and schooling for underprivileged
children in India. The effort resulted in the Company raising 10,400 weeks of housing and education, and over 2,000
respondents submitted resumes that were consistent with
the profile needed. So, in addition to Capgemini receiving media attention and enhanced brand awareness as a
socially responsible company, the social needs of children
in India as well as the recruitment needs of the company
were met.
Business educators should help students make the connection between the theoretical and practical relationships
between human rights and business. Using case studies of
organizations that specifically link these constructs in practice is therefore important. Students typically want the theories they learn to be complemented with real-life examples
and experiences that help them appreciate the links between
sustainability and the business world (Stead & Stead, 2010).
Therefore providing students with the opportunity to examine a case such as Lego, one of the largest toy manufacturers
in the world, would facilitate this conceptual connection.
Lego explicitly incorporates human rights in their business
practices, and demonstrates their commitment to sustainability through their Lego Group Code of Conduct introduced in
1997, which requires that their suppliers observe at a minimum, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United
Nations, 2005). Similarly, it would be helpful for students to
analyze a case such as Eskom, the South African electricity corporation that has strategically integrated human rights
issues in its business policies and practices. Eskom has employment equity policies, performance management indicators, and reward systems to protect human rights. Affirmative
action, gender equity, Black economic empowerment, and
Black women-owned business, and rights of people with disabilities are integrated in Eskom’s performance management
system to ensure these human rights are respected and protected (United Nations, 2007). By analyzing business cases
such as these, students can more fully appreciate that a human rights initiative does not have to be a huge billion-dollar
project for private enterprises to make a positive difference in
solving societal problems. Students need to understand that
promoting human rights and thereby embracing the social
dimension of sustainability could also involve something as
simple as retraining workers that would otherwise be laid
off, integrating human rights values in a performance management system, and rewarding employees that demonstrate
respect for human rights.
CORE COMPETENCIES FOR FUTURE
BUSINESS LEADERS
At the 2010 UNGC Leaders Summit, where global business
leaders convened to collaborate and commit to a new era of
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sustainability, central priority areas were identified as key
to effective sustainability leadership. Some of the core competencies that were identified at the Summit that educators
should be helping their students develop include the following (UNGC, 2010):
• An understanding of how to integrate sustainability and
human rights principles into business strategy, operations,
and governance
• The ability to make connections between sustainability
issues and actions
• An understanding of the importance of public-private partnerships
• Knowledge and skills associated with how to be environmental, social, and governance change agents
Reflecting on each of these core leadership competencies, it is important to recognize the emphasis placed on
students understanding how to integrate sustainability and
human rights principles into business strategy, governance
and operations. Of all the core competencies that were identified at this UNGC Leaders Summit, it is noteworthy that
an understanding of sustainability, and human rights specifically, emerged as essential leadership competencies. This
is also consistent with the findings of a recent 2010 UNGC
study by Accenture that found that 93% of global CEOs think
sustainability issues will be critical to the future success of
their business and 96% believe sustainability issues should be
fully integrated into the strategy and operations of a company
(Grayson, 2010). Business students need to recognize that
they are the future leaders who will be helping to facilitate this
integration. Similarly, business educators need to respond by
comprehensively integrating sustainability and the human
rights elements associated with it into every area of the field
including strategic management (see Audebrand, 2010), human resource management (see Palthe, 2008), international
management (see Collins & Kearin, 2010), and change management (see Cameron, 2006), to list a few. While many
schools may already have existing separate ethics courses,
the magnitude of the sustainability debate and its implications for every discipline demands more than another single
course on the topic. As experts in this area assert:
Many . . . have a core business ethics course. But that is not
enough to change the business school students that are going
to be leaders in the future. We need a much more integrated
approach . . . in all disciplines. (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010,
p. 549)
As the Dean of Harvard Business School, Nittan Noria
recently argued, “We have students who literally go out and
help society in all walks of life, and I think that’s what business schools must be known for” (AACSB, 2010). Similarly,
business educators need to do likewise by displaying an appreciation for and understanding of social sustainability is-
sues. Moreover, because teaching is one of the main responsibilities of academics, being personally passionate about
the topic being taught is essential if educators are to infuse
excitement into courses and students (Shrivastava, 2010). Essentially, colleges of business are suppliers of corporations
and business educators serve as influential actors who must
ensure they are preparing students to meet the expectations
of the organizations in which they will be employed (Bell,
Connerley, & Cocchiara, 2009).
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Students of the 21st century from all fields of study yearn
for leadership based on innovation and inspiration (Boyatzis,
Smith, & Blaize, 2006; Pomeroy, 2004). As Adler (2006)
asserts: “Whereas money motivates some people, meaning
is what inspires most people” and “the leadership challenge
today is to inspire people, not simply to motivate them” (p.
296) In this light, business educators need to move beyond
just teaching traditional management methods and decisionmaking processes relevant to past problems, unethical behavior, and corporate crises. Rather, it is necessary to respond
by educators challenging themselves individually and as a
field to more proactively imagine a world in which students
and future business leaders intentionally seek to enhance
the human condition and quality of human life in the workplace and the communities they serve. This requires educators to consider indices of success in addition to financial
ones (Parker & Chusmir, 1991), a curriculum that is oriented
toward broader community good (Brower, 2011; Giacolone
& Thompson, 2006), and the advancement of humankind
rather than simply the accumulation of wealth (Pfeffer, 2010).
These aspirations in turn will become the drivers of change
that spur creative energy and innovative ideas in the field
(Adler, 2006).
Some have insisted that “Any meaningful and lasting
change in the conduct of corporations toward societal responsibility and sustainability must involve the institutions
that most directly act as drivers of business behavior, especially academia” (PRME, 2008, p. 3). In essence, business educators need to play a more strategic role in moving
the business sector from a risk management and compliance orientation to one in which students and future business
leaders serve as strong advocates for human rights and every dimension of sustainability. The responsibility therefore
should not and cannot just be left to governments or those
in the social sciences, law or public health disciplines. As
Manual Escaudero, past president of PRME contended, “We
need to redefine the future of business education” (Alcaraz &
Thiruvattal, 2010, p. 545).
Furthermore, as public demands on companies and individual business leaders to demonstrate responsible behavior
continue to grow in coming years, the focus of these demands
will increasingly be centered on human rights principles and
INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
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standards (Realizing Rights: The Ethical Global Initiative,
2010). To respond to this, business educators need to take
collective action and build human rights awareness, and the
values of human respect, dignity, and freedom, into curricula, pedagogy, and research. Moreover, as Mary Robinson,
President of Realizing Rights and Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, contended (Realizing Rights:
The Ethical Global Initiative, 2010):
Business managers who view human rights and other social
issues as just philanthropy, or as an afterthought, will face a
growing number of risks. I am hopeful that we will increasingly see the emergence of another kind of leader—one who
is able to incorporate human rights and other ethical issues
into her or his decision-making. That will not only be good
for business, but it will also be a powerful force in realizing
human rights for all.
Business leaders of the future need to be taught how to
integrate human rights into business decision making and
recognize that prudent strategic decision making incorporates
economic, environmental, and social sustainability elements.
As Adler (2006) asserts, “Now that we can do anything,
what will we do?” (p. 486). To echo and extend Eleanor
Roosevelt’s 1948 UN address and sentiments, where, after
all should human rights initiatives begin? Unless they have
meaning in our organizations, and unless future generations
of business practitioners and educators appreciate their value,
they will have little meaning in the services or products our
organizations offer, and we will inevitably look in vain for
significant human rights progress in the larger world.
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what will we do? Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5,
486–499.
Alcaraz, J. M., & Thiruvattal, E. (2010). An interview with Maula Escudero
the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Management: A global
call for sustainability. Academy of Management Learning and Education,
9, 542–550.
Aspen Institute. (2010). Mission statement. Retrieved from http://www.
aspeninstitute.org/about/mission
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. (2010). HBS
dean: Business plays “meaningful” role in society. Retrieved from
http://www.aacsb.edu/resource centers/ ethics%2Dsustainability
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ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability
Jennifer Palthe
To cite this article: Jennifer Palthe (2013) Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability, Journal of Education for Business, 88:2,
117-124, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2011.648969
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ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2011.648969
Integrating Human Rights in Business Education:
Embracing the Social Dimension of Sustainability
Jennifer Palthe
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Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
In today’s complex global environment, business educators need to play a more strategic role
in moving the business sector from a compliance orientation to one in which future business
leaders are equipped to serve as strong advocates for human rights and every dimension of
sustainability (environmental, economic, and social). While much innovative work is underway to embed human rights in business, the author aims to provide business educators with
resources to do likewise so that the emergence of a new generation of business leaders may
be fostered—leaders who incorporate human rights into their decision making and serve as
powerful influencers in establishing an inclusive and sustainable world.
Keywords: business education, human rights, social sustainability, sustainability
I think responsible leadership will shape business and society in a very constructive way if there is a recognition that
respect for human rights is part of that responsible leadership and indeed part of business sustainability. . . . In a world
so deeply divided between rich and poor, North and South,
religious and secular, us and them, we need more than ever
common values—a “common standard of achievement” as
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it.
—Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights: The
Ethical Global Initiative, Former UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights and Former President of Ireland (2009)
Progressing through the second decade of a new century,
there is a growing belief that organizations should engage
in more deliberate strategies to achieve sustainable solutions
to social and environmental challenges (Haugh & Talwar,
2010). The global economic recession and virtual collapse
of the worldwide financial services industry has not only exposed the shortcomings in corporate financial risk management but has stimulated a greater awareness of the dependency of business success on generating sustainable worth
(Audebrand, 2010). While there have been significant efforts
to integrate sustainability in management education (Benn
& Dunphy, 2009; Rusinko, 2010; Starik, Rands, Marcus, &
Clark, 2010), the emphasis has been more on environmental
Correspondence should be sent to Jennifer Palthe, Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business, Department of Management, 3220 Schneider Hall, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA. E-mail: jennifer.
palthe@wmich.edu
and economic sustainability (Bansal & Roth, 2000; Christmann, 2004; Porter & Cordoba, 2009), and business schools
have been somewhat remiss in emphasizing the human issues
associated with managing an organization than the economic
issues (Giacalone & Thompson, 2006). Moreover, the full
scope of sustainability has not yet become embedded in mainstream business education (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010) and
human rights and the social dimension of sustainability has
been given less attention than economic and environmental
issues (Pfeffer, 2010).
At a United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) U.S. network meeting in 2008, Mike Toffel, Harvard Business School
professor, argued: “The topic of human rights is new to business scholarship. Although there are peripheral mentions of
human rights, there is still plenty of room for management
knowledge and practice to work on the implementation of human rights” (UNGC, 2008c, p. 1). In 2008, the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
provided a reminder that protecting human rights is a shared
responsibility for governments and their citizens, and organizations and their employees around the world. Human rights
are defined as the basic standards aimed at securing dignity
and equality for all (UNGC, 2008a). The UDHR called on
every organ of society to play its role in promoting human
rights. When Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the UN General
Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, she called on all
to play their part:
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small
places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot
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J. PALTHE
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be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the
individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school
or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he
works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and
child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity
without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning
there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted
citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world.
Humans and not just effective business are pivotal to both
the long-term survival of corporations and the wealth of nations. Whether it is human rights to fair treatment, adequate
health care, safety, equity, advancement, education, or equal
representation, nothing can be mobilized and no sustainable
progress can be achieved in the absence of genuine respect
for this vital resource (Palthe, 2008). This is a monumental time in history where the world is at a critical juncture
(United Nations Development Program, 2010). With the human population increasing more than 200,000 net each day,
and the numbers of chronically hungry people in the world
going up, not down, there are unprecedented global calamities to face (UNDP, 2010). Overcoming the global food crisis
and energy crisis, reducing poverty, protecting the planet, and
promoting peace critically depend on the ability to act collectively. The U.S. Gulf oil spill and disasters stemming from the
earthquakes in Japan, Haiti, and Chile have given renewed
impetus to the work of relief agencies, nongovernmental organizaitons, and businesses engaged in helping to solve societal and environmental crises worldwide. More businesses
are forming alliances with nonprofit organizations (Murray,
2008) and there is clearly mounting pressure on businesses to
be more actively involved in solving societal problems and to
practice green management (Marcus & Fremeth, 2009). As
the guest editors of the Academy of Management Learning
and Education argued in the recent special issue “In Search
of Sustainability in Management Education,”
Neither the “business-as-usual” nor the incrementalist reform approaches that most individuals, organizations, and
societies have employed to address critical global sustainability issues is apparently enough to move us far enough
fast enough to prevent near-term crises. (Starik et al., 2010,
p. 377)
In light of this, business educators have a responsibility
to equip business students with the knowledge and tools to
manage in a increasingly complex world, and to explore the
multifaceted (not simply economic) repercussions of their
decisions (Pfeffer, 2010). Future business leaders need to
understand the implications of these unprecedented global
crises (UNDP, 2010) and to appreciate that promoting human
rights is the responsibility of every organ of society (UNGC,
2008a). In this article I seek to draw attention to the importance of integrating human rights in business education,
to embrace the often underrepresented social dimension of
sustainability. I review the present literature on sustainability
and highlights some of the key global initiatives that integrate
human rights and business. Recommendations and resources
for reshaping business education through the incorporation
of human rights are offered.
DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is a broad and evolving social construct
(Collins & Kearins, 2010) and most definitions draw on the
principles of the Brundtland Commission that defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987, p. 8). Others have defined sustainability as an effort to preserve resources and avoid waste in
operations (Pfeffer, 2010). Sustainability is a systems-level
concept that transcends national boundaries and embraces
notions of equality, equity, and futurity (Collins & Kearins).
There is a growing consensus that sustainability has three
distinct yet interrelated dimensions: economic, environmental, and social (Enkington, 1998; Haugh & Talwar, 2010).
This three-part conceptualization provides a heuristic that
business educators and students can use to understand the
elements of sustainability more effectively. The environmental dimension includes things such as waste management,
preservation of animal and plant species, alternative energy
production, improved emissions management, and efforts to
recycle, reuse, and conserve (Rusinko, 2010). Economic sustainability considers things such as efforts to maintain organizational effectiveness, revenue generation, promotion of fair
trade, and long-term survival and financial success of organizations. Examples of the social dimension include initiatives
to promote diversity, protect human rights, reduce poverty,
enhance workplace equity, and social justice (Rusinko). Social sustainability exemplifies the humanitarian context of
business and also relates to human rights issues, income inequality; disease, especially HIV/AIDS and malaria; access
to clean water, sanitation, and health care; and education,
especially for women (Haugh & Talwar).
The multidimensional conceptualization of sustainability
not only provides a helpful framework for understanding
sustainability but the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO; 2004) insisted that
sustainability education must address all three dimensions
(economic, environmental, and social) so that students develop the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to
foster improvements in all three areas. The UN Millennium
Development Goals, also stipulated the need to address
all three pillars of sustainability (United Nations, 2006).
With these three dimensions in mind and the clear underrepresentation of social sustainability, some of the key global
initiatives that serve to integrate human rights in business
education are highlighted next.
INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
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INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS
EDUCATION
A growing appreciation for the role of business taking on
greater human rights responsibilities is occurring worldwide
(United Nations, 2006). There are increasing numbers of
nonprofit organizations, associations, and learning networks
focused on sustainability and human rights. Some of these
include the Association of Sustainability in Higher Education; the UNGC; UNESCO; the Principles for Responsible
Management Education (PRME); the World Resources Institute; the Aspen Institute (AI) Initiative for Social Innovation through Business; the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Ethics/Sustainability
Resource Center; and the Academy of Management. The
sheer expansiveness and growth of these organizations is reflective of the increasing recognition of the importance of
integrating sustainability in business education.
One of the most notable initiatives that seeks to champion the integration of sustainability in business education
and that explicitly emphasizes human rights is the UNGC.
The UNGC, a voluntary, CEO-led corporate sustainability
initiative has over 5,000 participants in more than 130 countries (Principles for Responsible Management, 2008). The
UNGC offers a strategic policy framework and set of values for business that promote human rights; protection of
labour and elimination of all forms of discrimination; the environment, and anti-corruption (United Nations, 2006). The
UNGC requests that businesses embrace, support, and enact
this set of core values. The 10 specific principles they outline
include the following (UNGC, 2008b):
• Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
• Ensure business is not complicit in human rights abuses
• Uphold the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• Eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labor
• Effectively abolish child labor
• Eliminate discrimination with respect to employment and
occupation
• Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
• Promote greater environmental responsibility
• Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
• Work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery
The 10 values form the foundation of the six principles
espoused by PRME, another notable initiative that explicitly seeks to integrate sustainability in business education.
PRME was established in 2008 as a learning network that
offers a framework for the improvement and adaptation of
the curriculum, research and teaching methods in business
119
schools. It is supported by numerous organizations including the AACSB, AI’s Business and Society Program, and
Net Impact that aims to facilitate the adaptation of business
education to the new after-crises realities.
The key principles PRME (2008) espouses are listed subsequently and aim to alter the educational methods, practices,
and learning experiences that occur in business schools:
• 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
• Incorporate into academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the UNGC
• Create educational frameworks, materials, processes, and
environments that enable effective learning experiences
for responsible leadership
• Engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances
understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of
corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental, and economic value
• Partner with managers of business corporations to extend
knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective
approaches to meeting these challenges
• 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
Another major global initiative that fosters the integration of sustainability issues in business education is the AI’s
Center for Business Education that seeks to inspire future
business leaders to innovate at the intersection of corporate
profits and social impacts. Their objective is to radically reorient business education to embrace the principles of corporate citizenship and sustainability, and promote values-based
leadership. Their key exploration areas include poverty reduction and global relations that closely relate to global human rights challenges (Aspen Institute, 2010). AI, similar to
UNGC and PRME, strongly emphasizes social sustainability
issues, and human rights in particular. Similarly, Realizing
Rights: the Ethical Global Initiative (EGI), a partnership of
AI, Columbia University, and the Council of International
Human Rights Policy, also serves to facilitate the integration
of human rights and the social components of sustainability within business education. Realizing Rights: EGI has
programs in the areas of global health, trade and development, migration, and women’s leadership. The primary aim
of Realizing Rights: EGI is to put human rights values and
principles, such as equity and participation, at the heart of
global governance and policymaking to ensure that the needs
of the poorest and most vulnerable in the world are addressed
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J. PALTHE
TABLE 1
Resources for Integrating Human Rights in Business Education
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Sample of organizations
integrating business and human rights
Associated websites for
integrating human rights
Educational tools for
integrating human rights
Aspen Institute Business & Society Program
www.aspeninstitute.org
Business and Human Rights Center of the United
Nations
Human Rights Watch
www.business-humanrights.org
Net Impact
Principles for Responsible Management Education
www.netimpact.org
www.unprme.org
Realizing Rights: The Global Ethical Initiative
United Nations Global Compact
www.realizingrights.org
www.unglobalcompact.org
United for Human Rights
www.humanrights.com
www.hrw.org
on the global stage. Some of their human rights values and
principles include the following (Robinson, 2009):
• Acknowledge shared responsibilities for addressing
global challenges and affirm that everyone’s common humanity doesn’t stop at national borders
• Recognize that all individuals are equal in dignity, rather
than view them as objects of benevolence or charity
• Embrace the importance of gender and the need for attention to the diverse impacts of economic and social policies
on women and men
• Affirm that a world connected by technology and trade
must also be connected by shared values, norms of behavior, and systems of accountability
Faculty seminars & case studies on human rights in
business
Tools for getting started from the UN special
representative for business & human rights
Annual World Report covering human rights conditions
in over 90 nations
Social Impact Career Handbook & Program Guide
Curriculum Change & Guidance for Integrating
Principles for Responsible Management Education
Human Rights Instruments & Networks
Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide.
Tools & Guidance Materials on Human Rights
Human Rights Curriculum & Education Tools. Bringing
Human Rights to Life Education Package
that integrate business and human rights. The third column
exemplifies some educational tools to assist business educators with getting started, curriculum design, relevant case
studies, social impact career handbooks for student advising,
and specialized reference guides. The primary aim of the
table is to assist business educators in accessing tools and
resources to facilitate the integration of human rights in their
curriculum, pedagogy, and academic activities. The sample
of organizations, websites, and educational tools is not intended to be exhaustive but rather should serve as a helpful
starting point to facilitate the generation of ideas on how to
integrate human rights in business education.
RESHAPING BUSINESS EDUCATION
In examination of the values and principles espoused by
the UNGC, PRME, AI, and Realizing Rights: EGI, noteworthy is the extensive evidence and detailed emphasis on
the need to integrate human rights in business education.
The prescriptions offered aim to significantly transform current educational methods, practices, and learning experiences
that occur in business schools around the world. They also
serve as benchmarks for business educators to ensure they
are incorporating the values portrayed in initiatives similar to
the UNGC into academic activities and curricula. Moreover,
these detailed principles serve as helpful standards against
which educators can assess the extent to which they are
enabling their students to have effective learning experiences
that help them become more responsible leaders of the future.
While some of the main global initiaves that are relevant
to human rights and business have been discussed previously,
these and others, together with their associated websites and
educational resources, are highlighted in Table 1.
The first column of Table 1 highlights some of the major
organizations that link human rights and business education.
The second column displays examples of associated websites
Business students need to understand the importance of assessing organizational success from an economic, environmental and social standpoint, as well as appreciate the value
of human-centered outcomes not just organization-centered
outcomes of their actions (Giacalone & Thompson, 2006).
Some have argued that the organization-centered worldview
taught in business colleges is flawed in that it teaches students that virtually every facet of what they do is economic (Ghoshal, 2005; Pfeffer, 2005). However, despite arguments that economic theories also include human elements
(Hambrick, 2005), the overarching trend, in response to a
growing awareness of social crises around the world, is that
a global shift in worldview from organization-centered to
more human-centered is occurring (Giacalone & Thompson).
The human-centered worldview emphasizes that business’
role in society is fundamental to the proper functioning of
the world, but this role should not be earned simply as a
function of financials but as a function of how well it advances
the interests of humanity. Embracing a more human-centered
worldview implies that when students are educated on sus-
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INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
tainability, they are offered a more balanced perspective of
the topic that explains all three dimensions, without neglecting the human-related aspects of business and human rights.
Consequently, business educators have a moral responsibility
to educate future leaders in methods that generate sustainable value for business and society, and students need to be
taught how to work toward the establishment of an inclusive
and sustainable world (Adler, 2006). Moreover, they need
to be taught to recognize that the leading companies of the
future will place sustainability on their strategic agendas. As
the previous head of PRME explained in a recent Academy
of Management Learning and Education publication entitled
“An Interview with Manuel Escudero The United Nations’
Principles for Responsible Management Education: A Global
Call for Sustainability,”
I’m registering a very clear preoccupation around the
world . . . talking to 100–150 business schools. . . . The buzz
is very clear: We need to redefine the future of business education . . . at this moment there is no global company in the
world that doesn’t consider sustainability as a point on its
agenda. (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010, p. 545)
Students need to be taught and inspired to think beyond
merely protecting the environment to creating innovative
methods, processes and systems that seek to promote community development and enhance the social components of
sustainability (Brower, 2011). These may include but are not
limited to things such as promoting humanitarian issues in international conflict zones, reducing world poverty, protecting
children’s rights, empowering local communities, and partnering with human rights organizations. Also, business students should be taught about the social sustainability issues
that emphasize the rights of minority populations, reduction
of gender discrimination, protection of religious freedom,
and seniority rights. They need to appreciate that it is not
enough for organizations to merely seek to reduce unethical
behavior and human rights abuses worldwide or to simply
comply with human rights standards. Moreover, they need to
understand human rights concerns that go well beyond the
Sarbanes-Oxley model of unethical financial behavior, and
refocus moral acceptability at a fundamental, human level
apart from financial implications (Giacolone & Thompson,
2006).
In addition to drawing lessons from the various global
initiatives that seek to integrate human rights and business,
business educators should utilize more sound case studies of organizations embracing each dimension of sustainability. Case studies give students an opportunity to develop their moral imagination and potentially teach them
some of the warning signs associated with unsustainability (Shrivastava, 2010). Students need to be made aware of
leading organization that focus on sustainability and human rights. For example, Capgemini in the Netherlands,
implemented a market research instrument to survey man-
121
agement and IT consultants on recruitment and retention
issues. In exchange for participating in the survey, Capgemini would fund housing and schooling for underprivileged
children in India. The effort resulted in the Company raising 10,400 weeks of housing and education, and over 2,000
respondents submitted resumes that were consistent with
the profile needed. So, in addition to Capgemini receiving media attention and enhanced brand awareness as a
socially responsible company, the social needs of children
in India as well as the recruitment needs of the company
were met.
Business educators should help students make the connection between the theoretical and practical relationships
between human rights and business. Using case studies of
organizations that specifically link these constructs in practice is therefore important. Students typically want the theories they learn to be complemented with real-life examples
and experiences that help them appreciate the links between
sustainability and the business world (Stead & Stead, 2010).
Therefore providing students with the opportunity to examine a case such as Lego, one of the largest toy manufacturers
in the world, would facilitate this conceptual connection.
Lego explicitly incorporates human rights in their business
practices, and demonstrates their commitment to sustainability through their Lego Group Code of Conduct introduced in
1997, which requires that their suppliers observe at a minimum, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United
Nations, 2005). Similarly, it would be helpful for students to
analyze a case such as Eskom, the South African electricity corporation that has strategically integrated human rights
issues in its business policies and practices. Eskom has employment equity policies, performance management indicators, and reward systems to protect human rights. Affirmative
action, gender equity, Black economic empowerment, and
Black women-owned business, and rights of people with disabilities are integrated in Eskom’s performance management
system to ensure these human rights are respected and protected (United Nations, 2007). By analyzing business cases
such as these, students can more fully appreciate that a human rights initiative does not have to be a huge billion-dollar
project for private enterprises to make a positive difference in
solving societal problems. Students need to understand that
promoting human rights and thereby embracing the social
dimension of sustainability could also involve something as
simple as retraining workers that would otherwise be laid
off, integrating human rights values in a performance management system, and rewarding employees that demonstrate
respect for human rights.
CORE COMPETENCIES FOR FUTURE
BUSINESS LEADERS
At the 2010 UNGC Leaders Summit, where global business
leaders convened to collaborate and commit to a new era of
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sustainability, central priority areas were identified as key
to effective sustainability leadership. Some of the core competencies that were identified at the Summit that educators
should be helping their students develop include the following (UNGC, 2010):
• An understanding of how to integrate sustainability and
human rights principles into business strategy, operations,
and governance
• The ability to make connections between sustainability
issues and actions
• An understanding of the importance of public-private partnerships
• Knowledge and skills associated with how to be environmental, social, and governance change agents
Reflecting on each of these core leadership competencies, it is important to recognize the emphasis placed on
students understanding how to integrate sustainability and
human rights principles into business strategy, governance
and operations. Of all the core competencies that were identified at this UNGC Leaders Summit, it is noteworthy that
an understanding of sustainability, and human rights specifically, emerged as essential leadership competencies. This
is also consistent with the findings of a recent 2010 UNGC
study by Accenture that found that 93% of global CEOs think
sustainability issues will be critical to the future success of
their business and 96% believe sustainability issues should be
fully integrated into the strategy and operations of a company
(Grayson, 2010). Business students need to recognize that
they are the future leaders who will be helping to facilitate this
integration. Similarly, business educators need to respond by
comprehensively integrating sustainability and the human
rights elements associated with it into every area of the field
including strategic management (see Audebrand, 2010), human resource management (see Palthe, 2008), international
management (see Collins & Kearin, 2010), and change management (see Cameron, 2006), to list a few. While many
schools may already have existing separate ethics courses,
the magnitude of the sustainability debate and its implications for every discipline demands more than another single
course on the topic. As experts in this area assert:
Many . . . have a core business ethics course. But that is not
enough to change the business school students that are going
to be leaders in the future. We need a much more integrated
approach . . . in all disciplines. (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010,
p. 549)
As the Dean of Harvard Business School, Nittan Noria
recently argued, “We have students who literally go out and
help society in all walks of life, and I think that’s what business schools must be known for” (AACSB, 2010). Similarly,
business educators need to do likewise by displaying an appreciation for and understanding of social sustainability is-
sues. Moreover, because teaching is one of the main responsibilities of academics, being personally passionate about
the topic being taught is essential if educators are to infuse
excitement into courses and students (Shrivastava, 2010). Essentially, colleges of business are suppliers of corporations
and business educators serve as influential actors who must
ensure they are preparing students to meet the expectations
of the organizations in which they will be employed (Bell,
Connerley, & Cocchiara, 2009).
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Students of the 21st century from all fields of study yearn
for leadership based on innovation and inspiration (Boyatzis,
Smith, & Blaize, 2006; Pomeroy, 2004). As Adler (2006)
asserts: “Whereas money motivates some people, meaning
is what inspires most people” and “the leadership challenge
today is to inspire people, not simply to motivate them” (p.
296) In this light, business educators need to move beyond
just teaching traditional management methods and decisionmaking processes relevant to past problems, unethical behavior, and corporate crises. Rather, it is necessary to respond
by educators challenging themselves individually and as a
field to more proactively imagine a world in which students
and future business leaders intentionally seek to enhance
the human condition and quality of human life in the workplace and the communities they serve. This requires educators to consider indices of success in addition to financial
ones (Parker & Chusmir, 1991), a curriculum that is oriented
toward broader community good (Brower, 2011; Giacolone
& Thompson, 2006), and the advancement of humankind
rather than simply the accumulation of wealth (Pfeffer, 2010).
These aspirations in turn will become the drivers of change
that spur creative energy and innovative ideas in the field
(Adler, 2006).
Some have insisted that “Any meaningful and lasting
change in the conduct of corporations toward societal responsibility and sustainability must involve the institutions
that most directly act as drivers of business behavior, especially academia” (PRME, 2008, p. 3). In essence, business educators need to play a more strategic role in moving
the business sector from a risk management and compliance orientation to one in which students and future business
leaders serve as strong advocates for human rights and every dimension of sustainability. The responsibility therefore
should not and cannot just be left to governments or those
in the social sciences, law or public health disciplines. As
Manual Escaudero, past president of PRME contended, “We
need to redefine the future of business education” (Alcaraz &
Thiruvattal, 2010, p. 545).
Furthermore, as public demands on companies and individual business leaders to demonstrate responsible behavior
continue to grow in coming years, the focus of these demands
will increasingly be centered on human rights principles and
INTEGRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
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standards (Realizing Rights: The Ethical Global Initiative,
2010). To respond to this, business educators need to take
collective action and build human rights awareness, and the
values of human respect, dignity, and freedom, into curricula, pedagogy, and research. Moreover, as Mary Robinson,
President of Realizing Rights and Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, contended (Realizing Rights:
The Ethical Global Initiative, 2010):
Business managers who view human rights and other social
issues as just philanthropy, or as an afterthought, will face a
growing number of risks. I am hopeful that we will increasingly see the emergence of another kind of leader—one who
is able to incorporate human rights and other ethical issues
into her or his decision-making. That will not only be good
for business, but it will also be a powerful force in realizing
human rights for all.
Business leaders of the future need to be taught how to
integrate human rights into business decision making and
recognize that prudent strategic decision making incorporates
economic, environmental, and social sustainability elements.
As Adler (2006) asserts, “Now that we can do anything,
what will we do?” (p. 486). To echo and extend Eleanor
Roosevelt’s 1948 UN address and sentiments, where, after
all should human rights initiatives begin? Unless they have
meaning in our organizations, and unless future generations
of business practitioners and educators appreciate their value,
they will have little meaning in the services or products our
organizations offer, and we will inevitably look in vain for
significant human rights progress in the larger world.
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