In his new book, , Professor (right) clarifies the fundamentals and importance of CSR and details how a conscientious way of doing business is possible in today’s profit-driven world.

As a teacher of business ethics and corporate social responsibility at the School of Administrative Studies in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Schwartz felt that students needed a book that examined the ethical obligations of a business and which approach is the most appropriate for a company.

“Business students – when they end up becoming managers, executives and CEOs of their company – are going to be making important decisions,” explains Schwartz. “It’s critical for them to have a theoretical position on this debate, which will help guide them to more ethical and socially responsible decisions.”

In his book, Schwartz focuses on several aspects to clarify CSR: the key moral standards that need to be applied in a business decision; the debate between narrow (or profit-based) CSR and broader (or ethics-based) CSR; an examination of the separate and intertwined economic, legal and ethical obligations of a company; and the belief that companies need to engage in providing goods and services that generate value to society in a balanced manner, while remaining accountable to stakeholders.

Looking at four classic, high-profile case studies – the , , and – students can apply their own ethical beliefs to decide on the best outcome. “Many students may discover their theoretical position doesn’t match what they would do when faced with a real business case,” says Schwartz. “That’s the main goal of the book: to force students or managers to realize there are implications with their position on social responsibility.”

Movie villain Gordon Gekko’s “greed is good” credo and the rise of Wall Street showed us the conflict between making money and being ethical; it’s a constant struggle in business. With MBA graduates entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, how can we expect business people to choose? In his book, Schwartz proves they don’t have to.

“Business students should make money – it’s OK to make money. I think the real question is prioritization,” says Schwartz. “Are you maximizing profit at the expense of harming others? Students need to recognize that they have ethical obligations when they go out into the workplace.”

Although Schwartz recognizes that “good CSR does not always maximize the bottom line,” it’s the long-term effects on the business, its employees, customers and the environment that should be taken into consideration. “Ethics should still take priority to the bottom line when there is a conflict,” he says.

Listen to Schwartz speak about his book:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJMpw1ebVos

CSR can be complex, with room for potential misinterpretation. By demystifying the topic, Schwartz has provided students with information they need to grasp the concepts and understand how to implement them successfully. Armed with this knowledge, students choose their own way of achieving ethics in business.

“There is a need for a greater awareness in terms of what the ethical obligations are. It’s not simply maximizing the bottom line and abiding by the law. Ethics goes beyond the law.”

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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At the Oil: Slick Suits and Sinister Scenarios symposium tomorrow, leading researchers in risk, disaster management, ethics and the environment will provide insights into the murky world of oil and the need to prepare for a potential disaster.

The symposium will take place, from noon to 2pm, in the Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson Building, Keele campus. Everyone is welcome.

91��ɫ law, governance and ethics Professor Mark Schwartz (right) will discuss the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused the largest off shore spill in the history of the United States. Schwartz will present an ethical critique of BP and speak about the importance of ethical crisis management and the lessons for Canadian oil producers.

Environmental studies Professor Gail Fraser (left) will compare the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its estimated impacts on marine birds to that of a much smaller spill in offshore Newfoundland. She will argue that cumulatively smaller, more frequent oil spills off the coast of Newfoundland have likely resulted in higher seabird mortalities compared to the very large single spill in the Gulf of Mexico, because oil breaks down more slowly in cold water and the species composition is different.

Fraser underscores the importance of having baseline data to estimate the impact of oil spills and discusses current challenges in NL regarding access to information relevant to oil spills.

Emergency management Professor Ali Asgary will examine the Canadian emergency preparedness and response capacities and gaps in dealing with large-scale oil spills. He is co-investigator of a recently completed project, “Real-time Detection of Oil Spills”, funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, which developed an expert system for rapid risk assessment of pipeline based oil and gas spills to be used by emergency response teams.

Right: Ali Asgary

Asgary's areas of research include disaster and emergency response, business continuity, development and applications of geographic information systems and agent-based modelling in disaster and emergency management.

Fraser’s research focuses on issues around the ecology and management of avian wildlife, and the environmental management of the extractive industries of oil and gas.

Schwartz is co-author of the textbook Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (McGraw Hill, 2000) and the author of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach (Broadview Press, 2011).

Joanne Jones, a professor of audit and management information systems in 91��ɫ’s School of Administrative Studies, will moderate the discussion.

The event is presented by the School of Administrative Studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

For more information, call ext. 20091 or e-mail tarawlo@yorku.ca. To register online, visit 91��ɫ’s School of Administrative Studies website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Ushering the way for 91��ɫ was Professor Mark Schwartz (right) of the School of Administrative Studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), who was listed as the number one leading business ethics research scholar in Canada and 14th in the world.

The rankings identified the leading academic institutions and individual researchers from around the world based on the number of articles published in leading business ethics journals from 1999 to 2008. The rankings were based on a study titled "" published in the August 2010 issue of the Journal of Business Ethics.

The study found that over the past decade, 1,451 institutions from 67 different countries generated 4,200 leading business ethics journal articles written by 4,435 authors.

A number of other 91��ɫ professors were identified in the study, including (ranked second in Canada, tied for 20th in the world) and (ranked third in Canada, 43rd in the world), both from the . Professor Darryl Reed of the Business & Society Program in LA&PS was also identified as being the second leading business ethics researcher at 91��ɫ.

In the interview below, Schwartz talks about business ethics.

Schwartz (BA ’87, MBA ’91, LLB ’91, PhD ’99) was the first person in Canada to graduate with a PhD specializing in the field of business ethics – under the supervision of Professor Emeritus who was the first appointed Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics at the Schulich School of Business. Cragg is currently the project director of the Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (), funded by the .

“I’m proud of my individual research achievement, but I'm even more proud to be part of the 91��ɫ research community, which clearly has a number of outstanding active researchers in the business ethics field,” says Schwartz.

The other Canadian academic institutions that made it to the top-100 list include the University of Calgary (23rd), the University of Toronto (57th) and the University of Western Ontario (76th).

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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