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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Behind Birmingham Business School's Push For Responsible Business
Birmingham is a leader in preparing students to become responsible business leaders. Photo: Birmingham Caroline Chapain believes in the ability of a business school to create world changers. 'If you don't believe you can change the world, you're never going to change it,' she says. It's a lofty outlook. But it's also an ethos baked into the culture and curriculum at Birmingham Business School, where Chapain is an associate professor in the Department of Management. Over the past decade, the U.K.-based business school continually commits to training future business leaders with an emphasis on working towards a responsible future. The push towards training responsible business leaders ignited in 2017 when Birmingham Business School became signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Business Management (PRME). A year later, the school launched the Centre for Responsible Business, which is a collaboration between Lloyds Banking Group and Birmingham Business School. The purpose of the centre is to foster an environment for interdisciplinary research examining what it means to be a responsible business. 'Over the past ten years, we've really put our values to the heart of who we are and what we do as a business school,' Chapain says. 'And about four or five years ago, we redesigned our MBA program, putting responsible business at the heart of it.' A STRONG CURRICULAR FOUNDATION OF RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS The one-year MBA program starts with the core module, The Purposeful Leader. Of the nine core modules, it's the first students take, it's worth the most credits, and students dedicate the most time to it. Birmingham designed the course to explore students' leadership styles and career aspirations in relation to their core values. Students also take the core module Global Perspectives on Responsible Business that Chapain helps lead, which explores theories and practical ways to run a responsible business. While the other modules are more typical business topics, like Managerial Finance, Marketing, and People Management and Organisations, Chapain says they all have elements of social inclusivity and wider responsible business practices. 'We are trying to cover and bring every discipline into their education while having them reflect on what type of MBA student, professional, and future practitioner do you want to be,' Chapain explains. 'What are your values? Who are you? What does all that mean in terms of equity, diversity, and inclusion? What does it mean in terms of the environment?' GOING BEYOND DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION Besides a curricular focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion and environmental and social responsibility, Birmingham takes responsible business training to another level through research, centers, and activities. Chapain started at Birmingham Business School two decades ago and has been a part of the school's evolution in responsible business from the get-go. 'I shifted my career to education and understanding how we can create an environment in business school which is more inclusive to the student, but also empower them to become the change agent in the future of their organization.' A significant chunk of creating future responsible business leaders includes an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. In 2020, during the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, Chapain says Birmingham made an effort to take its inclusivity and diversity emphasis to another level. Part of that included the development and growth of the Work Inclusivity Research Centre. Like the Centre for Responsible Business, the Work Inclusivity Research Centre is an interdisciplinary entity. Chapain represents the Department of Management at the Business School, promoting the development of scholarship and implementation of inclusive management education. The research topics at the Work Inclusivity Research Centre and organized into five 'work streams.' Those are diversity and inclusivity within organizations; employment relations and regulating work; trust and workplace dialogue; work, well-being, and labour market inequalities; and teaching and learning, which Chapain leads. DECOLONIZING BUSINESS EDUCATION AND BUSINESS SCHOOLS A large part of Chapain's work includes what Birmingham calls decolonizing business education, as she is a co-lead of the BBS Decolonisation Project. The three-year project aims to identify how colonialism still exists in Birmingham Business School's academic structure and then dismantle it for a more inclusive, just, and equal business school. While the term colonization can mean many different things to many different people, Birmingham Business School takes a contextual approach. It recognizes how colonization and the values upheld by colonization continue to exist in many Western business schools. Besides dismantling and restructuring colonization in its curriculum and research, the BBS Decolonisation Project hosts activities looking at ways of decolonizing Western business schools. 'As we develop the project, I think it really fits with our business school culture,' Chapain explains. 'I'm not saying it's always easy, but I think it really resonates with a lot of people, especially in the business school, where half of our staff are not from the U.K.' BUSINESS EDUCATION WITH A SIDE OF NATURE Of course, a large part of becoming a responsible business includes environmental aspects. 'What has been interesting for me is that there is some overlap between de-colonization and responsible business linked back to this idea of how we relate to the planet and nature, as well,' Chapain says. 'So we've been trying to bring students into nature, doing some nature-based learning.' Chapain says the business school will take students to the Birmingham Botanical Garden so they can reflect on their relationships with nature. 'We ask them to do some meditation and contemplation,' Chapain explains. 'And it's really, really positive because it seems to resonate with them, and they're able to bring the experience back into the classroom.' It's just one of many aspects currently setting Birmingham Business School apart from others. 'We take equity, diversity, and inclusion very seriously,' Chapain says. 'There are very few schools like us where you have a Decolonization Project. And we're not just looking at the curriculum. We're looking at research and operations. We've been quite advanced in our thinking and practice. We are living through our values.' And, in turn, sticking to those values is creating responsibly- and globally-minded MBA graduates. 'We live in a global world and you have to interact with people from so many different places,' Chapain says. 'When you do business — even if you are a small business — being able to responsibly interact with others is a key skill that you actually need. And that's what we're training our students for.' The post Behind Birmingham Business School's Push For Responsible Business appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why A ‘Risk Position' Should Be The Next Big Thing In Business Leadership
Post by Dr Emma Soane, Associate Professor of Management at LSE's Department of Management and Fellow of the British Psychological Society. An organization's risk position should be considered as fundamental as its strategy, structure, ... More culture, leadership and high-performance work practices, such as policies and rewards. Netflix's success is not just the result of successful content; the subscription video service has shown a willingness to take bold risks. From backing unconventional shows like Stranger Things to challenging Hollywood's release models, Netflix has cultivated a 'risk position' that runs through its culture, structure, leadership, and decision-making. And this is exactly what many organizations lack. While we often talk about 'organizational culture', we hear far less about how a company frames and manages its relationship with risk - what I describe as its 'risk position'. I believe an organization's risk position should be considered as fundamental as its strategy, structure, culture, leadership and high-performance work practices, such as policies and rewards. In decades of working with leaders, I've seen how risk is often treated as a compliance issue. It's too commonly synonymous with threat or danger and, as a result, it's seen as a barrier to innovation. The opportunity side of risk - as something that drives an organization's growth and transformation - tends to get lost. Take, for example, a fast-growing cloud services firm I've worked with. While the board was confident that they knew the risk the company was taking, senior leaders weren't so sure. In private conversations, senior leaders admitted that they worried about how 'exposed to risk' the firm was. They didn't think anyone was 'going rogue', but they knew they didn't have a mechanism to understand their risks across the business. The risk function existed, of course, but the organization lacked a shared risk position. That distinction matters. A risk position isn't just about measuring exposure. It's about intentional choices: where are we taking risks and why? Where are we trying to avoid risks? What appetite for uncertainty do we have in pursuit of our goals and how are we managing that? Taking a risk position is about clarifying managers' stance on risk as part of how their decisions about how organizations perform and survive. In a new paper just published in the Journal of Risk Research, I argue that risk is not only an external factor, but also something shaped and managed internally. It's embedded in organizational structures and processes. My paper introduces the concept of unit-level risk position: a function of managerial choices combining risk appetite and risk management in pursuit of organizational goals. A clear risk position allows managers to align risk-taking with strategic intent. It also empowers teams across organizations to talk about risk constructively. Without that framework, risk becomes the domain of the compliance team, or the legal team, and everyone else stays quiet. In industries like film and TV, this silence can be dangerous. On platforms like freelancers anonymously share concerns about unsafe conditions on film sets. The tragic death of Sarah Jones over a decade ago still looms large in the industry. It's not that people don't care about risks; it's that they don't always have the language or permission to talk about it. Compare that with organizations that treat risk as everyone's business. The UK's oldest business, The Royal Mint, for instance, has evolved from a coin manufacturer into a player in precious metal recovery. This is a major shift requiring a very different risk position that demanded new thinking across strategy, leadership, culture, and operations. By talking about a risk position, instead of just risk, leaders make risk visible, strategic and a shared endeavor.
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How CSR Activities Reduce Turnover - And Why Men Stand To Benefit More Than Women
Post by Dr Florencio Portocarrero, Assistant Professor of Management in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science. A couple is taking a bag of food at the food and clothes bank. Volunteers are working together at ... More the humanitarian aid project. For decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have been a way for organisations to give back to society. Research I've led shows that these activities can also play a significant role when it comes to employee retention. My study, carried out with Professor Vanessa Burbano from Columbia Business School and published in Management Science, examined the effects of a day-long CSR activity among new employees at a large Latin American bank. Some 221 newly hired employees were randomly assigned to either participate in a social impact initiative or continue with a standard onboarding process. We found that employees who took part in the CSR activity were approximately 50% less likely to leave the firm than those who did not take part in it. New recruits, who are making sense of their positions and their employer, may interpret their participation in CSR initiatives as a sign that their company values them - something we call Organizational justice, and this increases their sense of belonging and loyalty. Men who participated in short CSR activities were 65% less likely to leave the bank nearly a year later, while the figure for women was 25%. Since women typically place higher value on communal activities, the study suggests that men undergo a process called "sensemaking", that is, reflecting on and interpreting their experiences. This deeper engagement may explain why CSR had a stronger impact on men's retention than women's. We found that participation in the CSR activity not only benefited the bank, but also its employee participants by improving their wellbeing. Again, this effect was stronger for male employees. Specifically, we uncovered that men who participated in the activity reported 30% lower levels of stress at work several weeks later, compared to men who continued with the standard onboarding process. One male financial planning associate manager said: 'This activity allows us to internalize the bank's purpose of transforming dreams into reality. Helping young students identify their dreams was a powerful experience.' While the study focused on the banking sector, its findings could be applicable across industries. Our study showed that to be meaningful to employees, CSR activities have to be executed thoughtfully. Authenticity is vital. Employees need to see CSR as a genuine company value, rather than part of a public relations strategy. The initiative must also align with employees' interests and values. In the bank's case, employees highly valued education, so mentoring students was particularly relevant to them. The most successful CSR activities tend to involve direct interaction with those who benefit from them. The employer must also provide proper training so that their employees feel prepared and confident in their roles before participating in the CSR activities. CSR initiatives can be more than philanthropy. When clearly thought through, they are a strategic tool to reduce turnover and build a committed workforce.
South China Morning Post
27-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Civil servant pay freeze should not majorly impact Hong Kong's private sector
Human resources researchers and industry insiders believe the planned salary freeze for Hong Kong's civil servants will not have a major impact on the private sector, with companies already setting this year's pay adjustment levels and facing staff shortages. Advertisement In his budget speech, Hong Kong's finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po announced a pay freeze for all public servants in the coming financial year and a cut of 10,000 positions by April 2027, in an attempt to alleviate a deficit of HK$87.2 billion. Speaking to the Post on Thursday, some industry observers agreed that the measures were necessary to tackle the city's deficit and would serve as a reference for the private sector, despite many companies not expected to follow suit, having already conducted the pay review in January. 'I would say that most companies have been doing this faster than the government,' said Anna Tsui Po-yung, a senior lecturer at the Department of Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 'The government is large and they look for stability. It is already the slowest to make such a decision.' Advertisement But Tsui said the freeze was a 'strong signal' from the government that they wanted to rein in the manpower.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Reynolds, Auditor Sand trade blows about ESA account financial details
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and State Auditor Rob Sand both took shots at each other Tuesday at the Iowa State Capitol building. Gov. Reynolds held a press conference to announce legislation that looks to add more residency spots to address shortages in rural healthcare. But before that, Auditor Sand held his own availability where he released a fiscal year 2024 Statements of Auditing Standards letter, something he is required to do on the internal controls of Iowa's finances and a review of the state's financial integrity. Some of the weaknesses outlined in the letter were about the state's educational savings account (ESA) program, giving families state dollars if they are a certain percentage above the federal poverty line and plan on attending a private school. Sand accused the Department of Education and Revenue of not providing the necessary information his office needed to properly audit the dollars going out, and that students who got the money met the income eligibility requirements. 'This is a big deal,' said Auditor Sand (D). 'We can't audit a program that the state spent $100 million on because the state won't give us the information needed to let Iowans know how their tax dollars are being spent.' Reynolds addressed the accusations by Sand after her press conference when taking questions off topic from members of the media. Iowa bill that makes bringing minors to drag shows a felony advances 'First of all, let me just say that Auditor Sand has been gunning for higher office since the day he was elected. The auditor should be nonpartisan, nonbiased, but he has publicly been against education freedom and ESA's since the day that we signed it into law,' said Reynolds (R). '…he has the opportunity to review it with simply signing an engagement letter. He doesn't really want the answer. He wants the political fodder back and forth to really boast his political career, because that's what he's there for.' Sand argued that the engagement letter, which would ask for the specifics on what he wanted to look at, is the opposite to the point of his office wanting to conduct a nonpartisan audit. Sand pointed at a state supreme court ruling in 2023 showing not in every instance are engagement letters necessary. The Department of Management released a letter sent to the auditor's office back in October, where Director Kraig Paulsen called the inquiry politically motivated. The full letter is provided below. 10-4-24-DOM-LetterDownload Governor Reynolds also took questions about potentially running for her third term as Iowa's Governor, saying she may have an announcement and to stay tuned. There is a growing assumption that Sand is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2026 gubernatorial race, which is why Gov. Reynolds pointed at him seeking some type of higher office in her remarks. Iowa News: Gov. Reynolds, Auditor Sand trade blows about ESA account financial details Drag shows and minors, Iowa House Republicans advance policy that charges parents with a felony Perry internet provider repaying firefighters who battled headquarters fire Near record-breaking cold hits Iowa Iowa State reveals latest CyTown plans Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
