Communication of Progress on Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) at Newcastle University Business School

The world is changing, continuing to demand new generations of leaders prepared to address the increasingly complex challenges that we face as a society. As international business schools compete for the best and brightest faculty and students, it has become increasingly clear that conventional approaches to business education can no longer meet the needs of the marketplace. Organisations today operate in environments that are very different from what we have seen historically – to meet the demands of the changing world, the challenge faced by business schools today calls for nothing short of a reinvention of management education. Newcastle University Business School is committed to PRME and delivering on the promise to educate responsible business leaders and outstanding global citizens. This is achieved not only through teaching and research but also by setting an example as a business school that includes solid sustainable and ethical practice.

In today’s business world, good management education is a critical resource. In order to deliver our vision, we are pursuing a strategy to involve a new, broader base of stakeholders, which includes our students, the companies that hire them and the organisations that use our research. The Business School enjoys tremendous advantages as a part of Newcastle University but it also has important responsibilities. The University’s efforts to seek solutions to major problems confronting society and educate leaders require multidisciplinary, cross-school programmes – the Business School plays a vital role. We collaborate with other academic disciplines within the University as well as our international

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academic partners to create innovative, integrated programmes that build on the strengths of each discipline and provide students with a well-rounded education that will prepare them for lifelong careers. At the same time we rely heavily on input from our International Advisory Board and corporate partners to help us identify the skill-sets our graduates need to succeed in the job market. As we prepare our students to work in a global economy, it is also imperative that we remain entrepreneurial as we create a portfolio of niche programmes that differentiates us as a Business School in designing a curriculum that meets the demands of the 21st century business environment.

Just as the most competitive market driven companies invest in research, the Business School and the University are equally diligent in our commitment to supporting faculty. While we innovate with new research we must also sustain and improve our core disciplines. We recognise that the key to establishing a business school of national repute and international prominence is to attract, retain and support a world class faculty who are renowned for their research as well as their ability to develop both the analytical and professional skills of their students. Together with faculty and our alumni, the Business School students form a close-knit community bound by intellectual rigour and a commitment to the quest for personal excellence. To be able to continue to serve as a source of leadership, today, and for generations to come, it is therefore vital that we continue to attract the best of best, both academics and students.

Allow me to highlight some of our activities that demonstrate our commitment to PRME: the School has contributed to the University's societal theme of Sustainability; the support we have received from Santander Universities; the AGES research group; and the Ethics Forum which is a regional network of individuals interested in business ethics and sustainability. There is the planned development of the Newcastle oikos for early 2012 where our students will set up their chapter of the international student organisation that drives sustainability at universities and Business Schools worldwide (oikos-international.org). Other plans include the development of the Masters in Governance, Ethics and Sustainability and the development of a curriculum group to focus and further develop our efforts towards the principles of PRME.

Our vision is ambitious but I sincerely believe that our future is also rich with opportunities. As we take on the challenges of preparing new generations of leaders and bringing our expertise to provide solutions to problems facing the global business environment, we are shaping a world class business school in many different ways and our new building will be a fitting and facilitating venue for everything that we do.

Professor Ian Clarke

Director of the Business School

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Principle 1

Purpose: We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.

Principle 2

Values: We will incorporate into our academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.

Principle 3

Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.

Principle 4

Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.

Principle 5

Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.

Principle 6

Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialog and debate among educators, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organizations and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.

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Principle 1

Purpose: We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.

Newcastle University Business School has committed to the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and is actively implementing the six principles. Sustainability is central to the School strategy and embodied in our mission statement:

‘The purpose of the School is to undertake research, promote learning and work with organisations to encourage ethical leadership, a global perspective and the responsible shaping of society.’

At the centre of our activities, and at the heart of PRME principles outlined, is a commitment to educate current and future leaders and managers to lead and manage in a responsible (including environmentally responsible) manner. A new Masters in Governance, Ethics and Sustainability is currently going through the early stages of the approval process aimed at corporate CSR professionals, with a view to it being delivered on a CPD basis. In addition, staff contribute to the MSc Renewable Energy & Enterprise Management.

The University recognises that our activities have a significant impact on the environment and that, as an educational institution, we have a pivotal role to play in encouraging sustainable development in the wider community. To help reduce environmental impact, we are in the process of implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) called EcoCampus. Newcastle University campus passed a recent audit and was awarded Gold in August 2011. Many of the elements of the EMS required for the Platinum award including monitoring and measuring of significant aspects, evaluation of compliance with legislation and carrying out an internal EMS audit are currently underway. The School is part of this process and has recently moved into a new building that provides a high level of environmental performance.

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Principle 2

Values: We will incorporate into our academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.

Principle 3

Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.

Professor Kathryn Haynes teaches case studies in Accounting and Business (ACC3000) where undergraduate students work on real-world case studies on Accounting, Sustainability and Strategy on this module. Firstly they look at the United Nations Millennium eco-system assessment and its broad context of relevance to business. Secondly they consider new models of business where companies have integrated differential levels of sustainability into their business strategy. Thirdly, students evaluate the need for new models of accounting practice to measure the contribution to, or effects, on sustainability issues.

Professor Kathryn Haynes leads two seminars on core readings in management for PhD students. The first considers corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues, and the second considers gender and diversity literature. The purpose is to expose PhD students to new concepts, practice and theories in these key areas of responsible management.

Dr Jane Gibbon is module tutor for ACC3002 management accounting, where the students engage with material developed from within social enterprise, third sector and public sector settings. They critically evaluate different performance and control metrics using social and financial criteria. She is also module tutor for NNBS4051 Contemporary issues in accounting, the dissertation module for Business Accounting and Finance students. All students develop understanding and awareness of the ethical implications of their research within organisations. Current topics chosen by the students for their individual study carried out during their 4th year are: fair trade, social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, carbon trading, gender and diversity issues within the accounting profession and responses to climate change by business.

Professor David Campbell teaches on the Executive MBA, an elective on ‘Corporate social responsibility and business ethics’ (NBS8103) that has run since 2008. This contains 24 hours of classroom delivery in the form of lectures, seminars, guided reading, student presentations and case studies. It is assessed by a 100% assignment in which students are encouraged to reflect and evaluate on one of a choice of six possible assignment titles, covering some of the key learning outcomes of the module content. The module content includes the essentials of moral philosophy, theory as it applies to CSR, business cases on ethics, ‘CSR strategy’, professional and business ethics, and content on how corporate governance is underpinned by ethical principles.

Professor Campbell and Andy Holden teach ACC4056, ‘Corporate governance and ethics’ began in academic year 2010-11 and is a compulsory module in the final year of the BA Business Accounting and Finance (BAF) degree (in association with PwC and ICAEW). This module was introduced to maintain the relevance of the degree content to practicing

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accountants. The module comprised 24 hours of class contact time and covers all of the essential elements of the general principles of governance, corporate governance issues in the UK, regulation, internal control, risk and ethics. The ethical content underpins the module and specific ethics content includes professional and business ethical behaviour, prominent ethical theories and a number of relevant cases which are studied in class and also as guided reading.

Professor Chris Carter’s work is about turning strategy into a critical social science, exploring the interstices of strategy and accounting, and making social theory interventions in strategy and accounting. He is currently working a on a book 'Strategy in the Age of Crisis'. He teaches a strategy module on the MBA / Exec MBA that involves consideration of the financial crisis and power. Dr Janine Swail teaches on the EMBA module NBS8104 where students have developed ideas for social enterprises. In 2011 the full time MBAs undertook their management consultancy reports with a range of third sector organisations (NBS8130). These projects consider a wide range of issues and organisations. One project looked at the stakeholder consultation strategy of a local Citizen Advice Bureau. Another considered the business plan for a Drug rehabilitation centre. While other projects looked at the social accounting aspects of a car club, business plans for community organisations which provide education for the social disadvantaged or for people with learning disabilities. During 2012 there will be further third sector project work undertaken by both FT MBAs with the EMBA being in Monash, Australia.

Dr Peter Edward and Professor Steve Hughes lecture on globalisation and the causes of recurrent global crises within the module International Business Environment (NBS8045). By exploring the dependence of the global economy, in particular systems of trade and finance, on changes in society and politics they develop in students an understanding of business and the economy today as both a historically contingent product of processes of wider social change and as a key actor in those ongoing processes of change. The module examines the macro-economic and political forces that influence the development and functioning of the global business environment. Of particular interest is the formation and development of international regimes such as those governing multilateral trade and global economic governance; the development international organisations and their role in regulating the global environment; trade and international labour standards; alternatives to intergovernmental regulation such as voluntary Codes of Conduct, Corporate Social Responsibility and their efficacy. This module offers an in-depth under4standing of the complex international environment in which organisations operate.

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The module NBS8133 (Personal and Professional Development) is delivered on two programmes - the full-time MBA by David Levinson and the part-time MSc in Health Care Management by Juli Campey. The lead tutors of the module both have strong ethical awareness.  David is a Careers Adviser and qualified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) trainer and Juli is an experienced Personal Coach and a Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner. Our training encompasses an ethical dimension which we impart in our work with students. In covering topics such as Career and Life Planning, we include an emphasis on personal responsibility and ethics as a predictor of happiness and success rather than focusing on material rewards. We provide examples such as quotes from positive role models. The module focuses on self awareness and uses techniques such MBTI, Belbin Team Roles and NLP which emphasise respecting and valuing differences in others. There is an emphasis on team work right from induction where we include a session on working cooperatively in cross-cultural teams. Introducing these tools aims to make the students responsible and ethical leaders in their future careers.

Dr Stefanie Reissner teaches (BUS1005) Personal, professional and key skills development a level 1 undergraduate module on skills, that covers the skills of academic writing, critical thinking, note-taking, exam preparation and presentation. She also teaches NBS8272 Developing skills for business leadership a postgraduate module for the CIPD-certified HRM programmes (MA HRM / MA IHRM) covering key transferable skills like self management, the management of interpersonal relationships, leadership, finance, decision-making and problem-solving. Dr Reissner also teaches NBS8273 – Investigating a business issue, a postgraduate module for the CIPD-certified HRM programmes (MA HRM / MA IHRM) covering research methods. Lectures focus on selecting a suitable dissertation topic, literature review and research methodology.

Dr Peter Edward leads the module Role of Business in Society (NBS8513) with a highly interactive series of groupwork sessions in which students explore and compare the various ways that businesses, academics and social movements think and talk about key issues in business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Through this comparative method, students learn to recognise how the differing ways that organisations and individuals talk and write about social issues rely on certain perspectives which typically gain credibility through marginalisation or silencing of alternatives. The aim of the course is to develop a more sophisticated and critical appreciation in students of their own future roles in business and management and to help them recognise that aspirations to make business practices more ethical cannot be understood in isolation from processes of wider social change. At the end of the course students apply these insights in a mini-conference at which they present on issues of business ethics and sustainability which they have researched.

Dr Jenny K Rodriguez and Dr Xinming He address ethical challenges of organizations and individuals in contemporary business environments (BUS3035). Topics covered include corruption in international business, ethicality in contemporary international organisations, and “managing” ethical behaviour. As part of the course, students familiarize themselves with ethics theories, and debates about ethical responsibility of organisations. In addition, an assignment for the course is to write a reaction paper win relation to ethical issues in a specific organization. For example, this academic year, students have been asked to write a reaction paper under the following heading “Ethics and Corruption at News International”.

Dr Martyna Śliwa, teaches cross-cultural management to our postgraduate students (NBS8061) and second year undergraduate students (BUS2026). Dr Sliwa adopts the www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

stakeholder perspective on issues related to managing across diverse cultural, economic and socio-political contexts. The content of the modules considers the impact of organisations operating cross-culturally on a variety of internal and external organisational stakeholders, without privileging the role of one particular stakeholder group. Topics covered include: the ethical underpinnings and implications of the shareholder and stakeholder view of organisations for managing businesses in the global environment; ethical dilemmas and responsibilities of managers in a cross-cultural context; power relations between businesses and other actors in the global environment; and approaches to managing the differences between ethical values orientations of organisational members coming from diverse cultural backgrounds. Dr Śliwa has also co-authored scholarly publications on the importance of ethics in the pedagogy of international business and cross-cultural management. Dr Śliwa integrates ethics into all aspects of management education, rather than addressing it in a separate module has been reflected in the way she designed the curriculum of the new BA (Hons) International Business Management programme she developed in 2008. Now in its third year, the programme enjoys a high level of popularity amongst the students.

Dr Ron Kerr lectures on organisations and society and on international management, including issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility. (BUS1002/3 and NBS8280). His research focuses on the uses and abuses of power in organisations, with recent papers on the contribution of banking and financial elites to the ongoing economic crisis and on the ‘dark side’ of corporate leadership.

Dr Ed Barratt teaches BUS3024, lecture material and seminar discussion invites students to consider the UK labour market in relation to structure of international labour markets, offshoring and implications and introduces alternative company governance arrangements to shareholder based models. The assignment questions also invite students to explore these themes. He also teaches BUS3021, lecture material and seminar discussion invites students to consider structure of labour markets in various nation states and their interconnections, patterns of inequality on a global scale and causes. The assignment topic encourages students to explore these themes. On NBS8069 the lecture material and seminar discussion encourages students to consider UK labour market in relation to structure of international labour market, offshoring and implications and the implications of firm governance arrangments. The assignment and exam topics explore these themes.

Within NBS8236 the data mining and statistical thinking approach in NBS8236 encourage students to adopt an honest and inquisitive attitude to understanding customers through good data collection, analysis and presentation. This is exemplified by studying case study data from: manufacturing sales; insurance web self-service enquiries; mail order sales and product trials. Data are analysed using pivot tables, slicing and dicing with features such as location and age, and measures such as churn rate and sales. Responsible leadership requires an openness to full and detailed information, a commitment to thorough investigation and a desire for a balanced analysis and these characteristics are encouraged in the module. The data focussed approach of NBS8236 emphasises the importance of knock-on effects when interventions are planned, so that a holistic awareness is encouraged. This is exemplified by: Kano analysis in which features of a product or service are analysed to see whether they are vital, expected or attractors with an example of attendance at a GP clinic; Kansei engineering in which the emotional response of customers is explored as a complementary consideration to functional attributes of a product or service with an example of the design of orthopaedic shoes; and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in which a broad range of issues are combined in a house of quality. One case study

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in NBS8236 looked at the use of qualitative data analysis to collect information about alcohol abuse. The work allows for the many differences amongst different types of customer and notes that all customers are important and that research and surveys by companies have to be inclusive.

The NBS8059 module on Managing Innovation in the Risk Society introduces students to multi-stakeholder approaches to managing risks to society connected with the need for greater environmental sustainability. The frameworks introduced include the multi-level perspective of technological transitions in society, based on research lead case studies regarding the social control of technology and governance of sustainability (e.g. the Dutch process of 'creative incrementalism' which brings industry and citizens, policy-makers, academics together, and the Beacon project work on innovative engagement networks for sustainability in the North East), and reading and lecture material such as the work of Ulrich Beck on the risk society.

Dr Rob Wilson teaches on both the UG Research Skills for Business and Consultancy (BUS2018) and the PG Research Modules (NBS 8062) that include lectures on the ethical aspects of carrying out Business and Management research. The lectures contain material about the philosophical and moral aspects of ethics in the conduct of research (including maintaining the integrity of the research and the professionalism of the researcher or consultant). Both modules also focus on the practical challenges of being an ethical researcher such as building and maintaining relationships with respondents for example explaining and ensuring confidentiality of respondents. Assessments in both modules require students to reflect on this in the context of their own projects in line with Newcastle University Research Ethics policy (based on the ESRC guidance) and other relevant ethical guidelines e.g. the British Sociological Society. Students can only proceed to dissertation by completing the Newcastle University Research Ethics form which is signed off by the allocated Dissertation Supervisor.

Stuart Challinor teaches MKT3097, this involves providing marketing consultancy for real clients. Since 2006 students have undertaken social audits on anti-social behaviour on behalf of Northumbria Police in neighbourhoods to the west of Newcastle city: Benwell, Arthurs Hill, Elswick, High Cross and South Benwell. The students are involved in secondary research and primary research in these communities all of which have high levels of unemployment, deprivation and new immigrant communities. Following the research the students make recommendations to improve communication with Northumbria Police and Newcastle City Council. The information is used by the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police in his Annual Report and their work has been singled out by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary as an example of national excellence. In the coming year Northumbria Police have requested that we extend the work to the new Single Confidence Measure in the Police and Council in Newcastle City Centre and Rural Northumberland (Hexham). MKT3097 is team-based: in 2009/10 16 teams of 6/7 were allocated to 6 clients and 9 projects. New knowledge includes lectures on Effective Team-working, the Belbin model of team-working style and the Merrill-Reid personality model (used to coach students on inter-personal relationships. The module is designed to promote the Graduate Skills framework and involves team working, oral presentation (both formative and summative), project management, problem-solving, time management, writing in business report format (assessed) and a personal report 'Reflection on Effective Team-working' (assessed). Teams are briefed on Kolb's experiential learning and Tuckman's Team Development models. As part of MKT3097 the students work with and support SME's in the local economy: in 2009/10 www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

these included Natural Empathy - ethical cosmetics, Hardy & Greys - heritage angling equipment (rods and reels), Culcheuch Castle Hotel - marketing plans for hotel, weddings and conferences, iSuki - online dating and social networking and Flexible Text - health-related training programmes for event organisers (fun runs and swims).

Stuart Challinor also teaches MKT1028 where the lecture material covers topics such as social marketing, international marketing, relationship marketing and marketing ethics. Lecture on marketing ethics details the ethics charter of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Mini case studies (presented in lectures) of major firms highlight the marketing implications and challenges of meeting social and environmental obligations. Within MKT3011 group work integrates home students with international students (20 different nationalities in the class) and mixes students from the 10 different degree programmes represented in the module. This educates students about the need for developing and maintaining sustainable, inclusive working relationships. Corporate Social Responsibility and supply chain ethics discussed in detail during lectures 5 and 6. With guest lectures from leading UK supply chain management firms (IGD, The Kerfoot Group) and academic institutions (NewRail). All lectures are supported by references to international research on supply chain management and lecturers provide results from their current and past supply chain management research work.

Dr Anders Wappling is module leader for NBS8137 (Research methods for the IBM MA programme) and two Marketing Communications modules (NBS8510 and MKT3003). The ethics focus on the MKT3096 module consisted of two lectures that discuss marketing ethics, the ethical consumer, CSR and sustainability in marketing.

Dr Simon Down leads BUS2022 where ethics is embodied in the overall approach throughout the content of the lectures, the textbook and in the questions/assessment. The course addresses morality and entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship looking at Enron. A typical example of an exam question is ‘Discuss the fall of Enron within the theoretical context of Corporate Entrepreneurship and evaluate the extent to which too much entrepreneurship is a bad thing?’

Alumni experience

Brenda Bond, MBA 1998

What are you doing now?

I have been Chief Executive of Age Concern Southwark for five years, and of Age ConcernLewisham and Southwark (ACLS) for the last 18 months of that time following a successful merger.

What do you feel are the challenges facing charitable sector organisations involved in contract service delivery?

There are so many challenges it is difficult to know where to begin. We face challenges from our own sector about whether we should provide services under contract at all; from the private commercial sector about whether we get unfair tax breaks (we don’t); from older people about why we cannot provide more services under any form of funding; from trust funders about why we need their money when we have contract funds; from the

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requirements of legislation, regulation, contract monitoring, procurement and tendering processes; employment law; company law, charity law and the Charity Commission;

How has the MBA helped with the challenges facing you in your role as Chief Exec? Do you think that management training has a transformative role to play in the charity sector?

The MBA has helped with personal and organisational credibility, and of course in my personal ability to respond to all of the challenges above, and more. I am better equipped to plan strategically, to budget and to trouble shoot.

Sverre Huse-Fagerlie BA (Hons) Business Management 1999

What are you doing now?

For the last two years I have worked for a company called Green Dot Norway, and have the national responsibility for the collection and recycling of plastic waste both from households and from businesses and industry.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Today I am responsible for a national waste management system, and in the next 10 years itseems natural to make the transition to a European level. I can see some great opportunities for me in the future in the EU or as part of a broader environmental organisation based in the EU.

Tell us something interesting about you which other Alumni may be interested to hear about?

The line of work I am now in and the industry of which it is a part of has taken me by complete surprise as I had never previously thought of waste management as an interesting field of business, but it is! Every day I tell my little daughter that I’m out all day saving the planet.

Jill Almvang BA Economic Studies, 1970

What are you doing now?

Responsible for the J/P Haiti Relief Organization (HRO) finance team in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We are a support function to the programme departments connected to the activities in Haiti – mainly running an Internally Displaced Person(s) (IDP) camp which started with over 50.000 inhabitants, and including a field hospital, medical clinics and a primary school and rubble clearance and rebuilding of homes in the area from which most camp residents came after the earthquake, and relocation for those who were also homeless pre-quake.

Tell us something that other alumni may be interested to hear about you

The privilege of using my professional skills (qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Norway in 1977) in the service of others.

Working to achieve a responsible business world with a global perspective

Tim Purcell, BA (Hons) Economics, 1983, set up a company called CO3 to advise multinationals on corporate social responsibility. The aims and objectives of CO3 closely

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match the Business School’s mission, which aims to encourage a global perspective and the responsible and ethical shaping of society. The organisation from the outset aimed to support businesses in conducting their activities in a responsible manner. Its original focus, on CSR reporting, has widened considerably over time. In 2011 the company’s services include CSR strategy and policy development and a wide range of stakeholder communications services (including related investor relations activities). When the company was founded it gave a lot of consideration to the way the business was going to be organised and its own principles. “We thought hard about the best way to set up CO3. We wanted to constitute it in a manner which reflected what we thought we should be about and what we were trying to achieve”, observes Tim. “For instance, I had spent a lot of time working in a professional services environment. One aspect I found quite frustrating was the difficulty in decision making and being able to support clients on a personal level. A lot of internal red tape, hierarchy and politics always seemed to get in the way with the result that the client didn’t necessarily receive an optimal service.” This led to CO3 being formed as a co-operative and for it to strive hard to conduct its own activities as responsibly as possible. This approach wasn’t always understood by potential clients and their other advisers in the early days of the business and, in rare instances, can still cause the company issues today. “Looking back on it now some of the situations we found ourselves in a few years ago were quite amusing. It wasn’t that unusual for people to assume that we were actually a bunch of noisy political ‘lefties’ with some sort of axe to grind against big business. Or they thought we were there so that we could advise on where the next charitable donation should be directed. They often got a big surprise when we got into a room with them and they discovered that we were actually a management consultancy that was trying to help them be more successful in achieving their business aims.”

As well as our more strategic advisory services that are aimed at helping clients enhance what they do, we can and do get involved in sudden situations where things go wrong,” says Tim. “For instance, sometimes we end up advising our clients at very short notice on how to communicate with organisations that are campaigning about certain aspects of their activities. We have on a number of occasions represented them in meetings with NGOs and found that the experience varies widely according to the people we’re dealing with. Often the people we meet are receptive and appreciate that we are trying to improve dialogue and understanding. We have, however, encountered outright hostility on at least one occasion where unfortunately the campaigning group was much more interested in creating headlines and fuss. Consequently an attempt to improve communication and discussion was most unwelcome and they turned on us as well as our client.”

The near future holds some interesting prospective developments for the company including the possibility of more overseas travel. “We have been affected by the number of mining and natural resources companies that have been seeking a listing in London recently,” explains Tim. “The investment community has realised that an important element of assessing the future growth and risk attached to these businesses is their approach to CSR and whether they are managing the related risks and opportunities in an effective way. Consequently many of these companies are being advised that they should be clear and coherent about this aspect of their activities in their policies, reporting and communications.”

Other Student Lead Initiatives

Climbing Kilimanjaro Heights

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Will Cowling is a final year BA Accounting and Finance student. Speaking on why he decided to take on the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro, Will says: ‘Being at University, so many once in a lifetime opportunities are readily available which give students the chance to build on their skills making themselves more employable whilst experiencing something remarkable at the same time. I went along to a presentation at the University about climbing Kilimanjaro for a children’s charity called Child Reach, curious to know more about what it entailed. Once there, I knew straight away that this was something I just had to do!’

‘The climb itself was absolutely remarkable and something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was very difficult at times but with the help of bonding with others on the trek and the fantastic support from the porters, guides, and chefs, we managed to reach the top. While there, we also had the chance to visit one of the schools that our money was supporting and see the difference that we were making to their community. We took part in activities such as teaching the children, planting fruit trees and serving dinner which gave me the opportunity to experience the real difference I had made to people’s lives’, he said. Will definitely recommends students to get involved in challenges like this. ‘It is an experience which you may never have the chance to do again for the rest of your life and by taking part in it, you build on your current skills whilst serving a great cause.

Economics and business management student Anna Willasey has recently been selected to take part in ‘Top Brazil 2011’ – a fantastic programme offered to Business School students by Santander. Anna will undertake a two-week, all-expenses-paid study and cultural experience to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in October 2011. During her stay, she will be visiting top universities in Brazil, will learn more about the culture and social aspects of Brazilian life, and be given the opportunity to get involved in social projects within the country’s poor communities.

oikosA group of postgraduate and undergraduate students are moving towards setting up in early 2012 Newcastle oikos. A chapter of the international oikos is the international student organisation for sustainable economics and management and a leading reference point for the promotion of sustainability change agents.

Rio+20 mirror eventsAs part of the launch year of the University's societal challenge theme on sustainability, a series of events to mirror the process of the Rio+20 Earth Summit were held. Using the themes of the roundtable events being held in the run-up to the Earth Summit, three preparatory events were held in late autumn 2011, culminating in a large, two-day event on 15 and 16 December 2011. The themes of the roundtable events were the development of a green economy, the contribution of the private sector to sustainable development and the potential benefits of cooperation between developing countries. The events were open to all staff and students across campus and, running in parallel to the events, we will also be undertaking a programme of outreach activity with schools across the region which will culminate in these schools attending the events and presenting the results of their work. The Planet Earth Institute have endorsed this programme of events, and are taking forward the outcomes arising from the events into the planning process for the Earth Summit itself. One outcome from the events is the sponsorship of one or more Newcastle University students to attend Rio+20, under the guidance of the Planet Earth Institute, and to report back from Rio on developments at the summit. The Business School has been integral to the events with Dr Jane Gibbon being on the steering group.

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Principle 4

Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.

Accountability, Governance, Ethics and Sustainability Research Group (AGES)

At a time of significant and increasingly complex societal challenges, there is a pressing need for business schools to support the transformation of public services; play a role in enhancing the capacity of the third sector and challenge and support private sector businesses to deliver societal and environmental value as well as shareholder return. Addressing the growing challenges of business and the expected role that future business leaders will be called upon to fulfil is thus part of the academic imperative confronting business educators. The research group brings together a community of researchers that are engaged in a range of interests clustered around these four important and highly interconnected themes. An interdisciplinary group, AGES was formed to act as a focus for these strategically important areas and to respond to the challenges that face, and will continue to face, businesses in coming years.

Recent events in the worlds of business and finance have underlined the relevance and importance of projects in these areas and this is reflected in the external funding that has been obtained to support AGES projects. It is important for us, as a leading business school, to have a strong presence in these crucial areas of academic research. The growth and recent successes of AGES endorses the School’s commitment to relevant and topical research and teaching. Led by Professor David Campbell, the group comprises academics from the Business School and Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, as well as a number of doctoral students pursuing PhDs and DBAs. The group is highly international with doctoral students from Malaysia, Thailand, Iran and a number of European countries as well as a number of international collaborative projects including one with colleagues at the University of Sydney. It also contains a number of ‘friends’ external to the University with whom group members are collaborating on research projects such as Fair Trade Finance and Accountability.

The range of research projects currently underway includes ongoing research in the voluntary reporting of environmental risk and intellectual capital disclosure. Within the accounting research tradition, disclosure projects have been important in placing articles into highly-ranked international journals and this stream of work is expected to continue to achieve these outputs. Environmental policy research is being carried out by several colleagues, including PhD students, involving projects on corporate environmental strategies and environmental policy implementation.

AGES is very pleased to report the appointment of Professor Jan Bebbington as its first Visiting Professor. Jan, the originator of the SAM model developed with BP at Aberdeen, is Professor of Accounting and Sustainable Development at the University of St Andrews. She has been heavily involved in sustainability initiatives in Scotland including serving as Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission of the Scottish government. As one of the world’s most influential and illustrious scholars in business sustainability, it is exciting to have Jan on board as a part of the AGES research group.

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Dr Jane Gibbon is a key member of the AGES research group and an accounting lecturer in the Business School. Jane is a qualified management accountant with a first degree in Geology and the Environment. She gained her MA from Lancaster University in Environmental Philosophy in 2001 and her award winning PhD from St Andrews University in 2009. Jane is widely published in accounting, public policy and business ethics journals and is on journal editorial boards. Jane’s research interests are primarily focussed around the social and environmental issues of accountability, sustainability and economics. She has a particular interest in the third sector due to her practical involvement with social accounting for charitable organisations on the measurement of social outcomes with local charity Norcare Limited, a project that runs until 2013. Many such similar projects are running with other charities and NGOs through a number of national third sector network bodies. Jane has developed an impact measurement toolkit for third sector Leisure Services organisations as part of her Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Third Sector Research Fellowship. Jane is also the lead academic on a joint PhD, funded by ESRC.

Some past projects that AGES has been involved in have been funded by the accounting body, ACCA (on narrative disclosure materiality), the ESRC (third sector impact measurement) and the Nuffield Foundation (on Corporate Social Responsibility strategies in building societies). Sustainability is also important for the Business School, we value making the world a more sustainable and equitable place. Sustainability research is thus a strong emerging theme for AGES, who have prominent involvement in a number of exciting projects in this area. Professor Campbell is working with Executive MBA alumna and naval architect Melanie Landamore, on an EPRSC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) funded collaborative project on low carbon shipping using a sustainability assessment model (SAM) within a ‘full cost accounting’ framework. The project is also supported by a number of prominent companies including Rolls Royce, Shell, Maersk and Lloyds Register. The University’s contribution to this £1.7 million project covers shipping economics, logistics, hydrodynamics and marine engineering, but the important work on environmental and full-cost accounting in the AGES research group is key to developing Melanie’s work. The SAM produces a sustainability ‘signature’ that accounts for all of the social and environmental impacts of a project – both positive and negative.

Economics, of Safety, Health, Environment and Risk (ESHER)

How much should society spend on health improvements?

This is just one important question that ESHER helps answer by bringing together world-leading research in health economics and economics of safety and environment. Spanning Newcastle University Business School and the Institute of Health and Society (IHS), ESHER was formed in 2002 after the University attracted £3 million from the Health Foundation for a Health Economics Chair (Professor Cam Donaldson). Cam brought with him expertise in economics as applied to the domains of Health Services and Public Health Research. The cross-appointment of the Health Foundation Chair to the Business School enabled the University to capitalise on the world leading expertise in Environment and Risk provided by Professors Michael Jones-Lee and Sue Chilton and led directly to ESHER’s existence. ESHER aims to develop and apply economics-based methods of policy-relevance to decision making about resource allocation in the public sector, focusing on:

• The development and application of economic evaluation

• Priority setting in health care

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• Valuing benefits/quantifying preferences in health, safety and environment

• Econometric applications in studies of health,safety and the environment

While significant challenges still remain with respect to the question of how much society should spend on health improvements, ESHER has led research which has made significant advances in the valuation of health in recent years, winning over £1.5m in research funds from the Department of Health and European Commission in the last five years alone. The research group within the Business School continues to build on the pioneering theoretical work of Professor Jones-Lee in the area of safety economics and valuation of risk reductions through further empirical studies using a mix of survey, qualitative and experimental based studies. The group has also established new links with younger, international researchers from Poland, Denmark, Germany and China through recent British Academy grants and Business School Visiting Fellowships.

Fair Trade

A Business School legal expert has been sharing her expertise with North Africa’s financial sector. The University continues to improve its status internationally as a fair-trade institution by encouraging volunteer activity from staff that draws on their academic research. Joanna Gray, Professor of Financial Regulation undertook an overseas assignment in a five-day volunteer placement with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps in Rabat, where she offered advice and guidance to the Moroccan capital markets regulator. Being invited to contribute to one of these projects is an honour usually reserved for US academics. Joanna’s fellow volunteers were a Harvard MBA and current Director of AIG Savings Bank and a former Head of Risk Management for a major global banking group with many years in Wall Street and the international financial sector. Professor Gray said, “It’s particularly rewarding to do something like this when most people think your field of research doesn’t have a huge influence on the developing world. In fact, a resilient and trustworthy financial system is crucial for a country’s economic development. Banking on sound financial advice “The UK and the US both have a lot of experience of dealing with problems in the banking industry and it was interesting to be able to show them where we went wrong and how to learn from our mistakes. “I enjoyed putting a practical application to the area of law I work in. I think it’s important for academics to keep in touch with current issues in their field as things move so quickly that it’s all too easy to get out of touch with what’s happening on the ground.” Although it was an intensive 12 hour work day during her time in Morocco with the FSVC’s core work concentrating on strengthening commercial banking systems, developing central bank capabilities, and building capital market, Professor Gray did manage to raise the international profile of the Business School.

Re-Mixing the Economy of Welfare: What is Emerging Beyond the Market and the State?

This project was a two year ESRC-funded seminar series co-ordinated by Dr Rob Wilson from the Business School with Sue Baines from Manchester Metropolitan University and Irene Hardill from Nottingham Trent University. Social and caring services in welfare states depend upon the public sector, the market, the household, and the ‘Voluntary and Community Sector’ (VCS). The contribution of different sectors of the economy varies across time and place. Within the UK – in England and the devolved administrations – expectations of the VCS have risen. Government driven initiatives are in place to ensure that this sector (broadly defined as formal organisations that are not part of the public or private sectors)

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increasingly shares responsibility with state agencies for delivering services to those in need. Six linked seminars provided a forum to explore rationales for this change, to assess its implications, and to think about visions for the future.

The research at Newcastle University Business School enhances the educational experience of our students providing research informed teaching. Listed below are journal articles, books and other research publications by Newcastle University Business School staff in areas related to ethics, sustainability, social justice and gender.

Alataway AA, Ness MR, Gowing JW. Public attitude towards wastewater reuse for irrigated agriculture in Saudi Arabia. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 2011, 145, 9pp.

Baines S, Wilson R, Walsh S. Seeing the full picture? Technologically enabled multi-agency working in health and social care. New Technology, Work & Employment 2010, 25(1), 19-33.

Banerjee B, Carter C, Clegg S. Managing Globalization. In: Alvesson M; Bridgeman T; Willmott H, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp.186-212.

Barrett R, Wynarczyk P. Building the Science and Innovation Base: Work, Skills and Employment Issues. New Technology, Work and Employment 2009. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 24(3), 210-214.

Beck AC, Campbell D, Shrives P. Content analysis in environmental reporting research: enrichment and rehearsal of the method in a British-German context. British Accounting Review 2010,42 3 207-222.

Brown A, Kornberger M, Clegg S, Carter C. "Invisible walls" and "silent hierarchies": A case study of power relations in an architecture firm. Human Relations 2010, 63(4), 525-549.

Campbell D, Slack R. Environmental disclosure and environmental risk: sceptical attitudes of UK sell-side bank analysts. British Accounting Review 2011, 43(1), 54-64.

Campbell DJ, Slack RE. Philanthropy strategy and strategic philanthropy – some insights from voluntary disclosures in annual reports. Business and Society 2008, 47(2), 187-212.

Campbell DJ, Slack R. The strategic use of corporate philanthropy: building societies and demutualisation defences. Business Ethics: a European Review 2007, 16(4), 326-342.

Campbell D, Slack R. The influence of mutual status on rates of corporate charitable contributions. Journal of Business Ethics 2007, 74(2), 191-200.

Cairns G, Sliwa M. International business and critical ethics. In: Boje, DM, ed. Critical Theory Ethics for Business and Public Administration. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2008, pp. 229-258.

Cairns, G. and Śliwa, M. (2008) The implications of Aristotle’s phronēsis for organizational inquiry, in: Barry, D. and Hansen, H. (eds.) Sage Handbook of New Approaches to Organization, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 318-331.

Carter C, Mckernan J. Global Flows: Labour, Politics and Ethics. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2011, 22(7), 629-631.

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Carter C, Clegg S, Wahlin N. When Science meets Strategic Realpolitik: The Case of The Copenhagen UN Climate Change Summit. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2011, 22(7), 682-697.

Davie SSK. An autoethnography of accounting knowledge production: Serendipitous and fortuitous choices for understanding our social world. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2008, 19(7), 1054-1079.

Donaldson C, Baker R, Mason H, Jones-Lee M, Lancsar E, Wildman J, Bateman I, Loomes G, Robinson A, Sugden R, Prades JLP, Ryan M, Shackley P, Smith R. The social value of a QALY: raising the bar or barring the raise?. BMC Health Services Research 2011, 11(1), 8.

Edward P, Willmott H. Discourse and Normative Business Ethics. Luetge, C, ed. In: Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics. Dordrecht, Springer, 2012.

Edward P, Willmott H. Structures, Identities and Politics: Bringing Corporate Citizenship into the Corporation. In: Scherer, A.G., Palazzo, G, ed. Handbook of Research on Global Corporate Citizenship. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishers, 2008, pp.405-429.

Edward P, Willmott H. Dialogue: Corporate Citizenship: Rise or Demise of a Myth?. Academy of Management Review 2008,33 3 771-773.

Edward P, Tallontire A. Business and Development – towards re-politicisation.Journal of International Development 2009,21 819-833.

Fenwick J, Gibbon J, Sidhu AM. Towards the sustainable school: social accounts and local solutions. In: Bohm, S; Dabhi, S, ed. Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets. London: Mayfly Books, 2010, pp. 334-344.

Gibbon J, Affleck A. Social enterprise resisting social accounting: reflecting on lived experiences. Social Enterprise Journal 2008, 4(1), 353-161.

Gibbon J, Angier P. Towards a better understanding of relationships in fair trade finance: Shared Interest Society and social accounting. In: Hull, R., Gibbon, J., Branzei, O., Haugh, H, ed. Critical Perspectives on the Third Sector. London, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, 2011.

Gibbon J, Dey C. Developments in social impact measurement in the third sector: Scaling up or dumbing down?. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal 2011, 31(1), 65-74.

Gibbon J, Fenwick J, McMillan J. Governance and Accountability: a role for social accounts in the sustainable school. Public Money and Management 2008, 28(6), 353-361.

Gorton M, Zaric V, Lowe P, Quarrie S. Public and private agri-environmental regulation in post-socialist economies: evidence from the Serbian Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Sector. Journal of Rural Studies 2011, 27(2), 144-152.

Gorton M, Lowe P, Quarrie S, Zaric V. European rule adoption in Central and Eastern Europe: a comparative analysis of agricultural water management in Serbia.Environmental Politics 2010, 19(4), 578-598

Gorton M, Sauer J, Peshevski M, Bosev D, Shekerinov D, Quarrie S. Water Communities in the Republic of Macedonia: An Empirical Analysis of Membership Satisfaction and Payment Behavior .World Development 2009,37 12 1951-1963 .

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Grandy G, Gibbon J. Experiences of Living and Doing Critical Management Education in Canadian Business Schools. In: Wolfram-Cox, J; Le Trent-Jones, T; Weir, D; Voronov, M, ed. Critical Management Studies at Work: Negotiating Tensions Between Theory and Practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2009, pp. 195-210.

Haynes K, Grugulis I, ed. Services Management: Challenges and Innovations. Oxford University Press, 2012. In Preparation.

Haynes K. Body Beautiful?: Gender, Identify and the Body in Professional Services Firms. Gender, Work and Organization 2011. In Press.

Haynes K. Other Lives in Accounting: Critical Reflections on Oral History Methodology in Action. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2010, 21(3), 221-231.

Haynes K, Fearfull A. Exploring OurSelves: Exploiting and Resisting Gendered Identities of Women Academics in Accounting and Management. Pacific Accounting Review 2008, 20(2), 185-204.

Haynes K. Moving the Gender Agenda or Stirring Chicken's Entrails: Where Next for Feminist Methodologies in Accounting?. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 2008, 21(4), 539-555.

Haynes K. Power and politics in gender research: a research note from the discipline of accounting. Gender in Management: An International Journal 2008, 23(7), 528-532.

Haynes K. (Re)figuring Accounting and Maternal Bodies: The Gendered Embodiment of Accounting Professionals. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2008, 33(4-5), 328-348.

Haynes K. Transforming Identities: Accounting Professionals and the Transition to Motherhood. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2008, 19(5), 620-642.

Harvey C, Maclean M, Gordon J, Shaw E. Andrew Carnegie and the foundations of contemporary entrepreneurial philanthropy. Business History 2011, 53(3), 425-450.

Harvey C, Press J, Maclean M. William Morris, Cultural Leadership, and the Dynamics of Taste. Business History Review 2011. In Press.

Hubbard MC, Gorton M. Placing Agriculture within Rural Development: Evidence from EU Case Studies. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 2011,29 1 80-95.

Holden A, Funnell W, Oldroyd D. Accounting and the moral economy of illness in Victorian England: the Newcastle Infirmary. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 2009, 22(4), 525-552.

Hull R, Gibbon J, Branzei O, Haugh H, ed. Volume 1: Critical Perspectives on the Third Sector. London, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, 2011.

Kerr R, Robinson S. From symbolic violence to economic violence: the globalizing of the Scottish banking elite. Organization Studies 2011. In Press.

Kerr R, Robinson S. Leadership as an elite field: Scottish banking leaders and the crisis of 2007-2009. Leadership 2011, 7(2), 153-175.

Kerr R, Robinson S. The hysteresis effect as creative adaptation of the habitus: dissent and transition to the 'corporate' in post-Soviet Ukraine. Organization 2009, 16(6), 800-829.

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Kornberger M, Carter C, Ross-Smith A. Changing Gender Domination in a Big Four Accounting Firm: Flexibility, Performance and Client Service in Practice. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2010, 35(8), 775-791.

Maclean M, Harvey C, Chia R. Dominant Corporate Agents and the Power Elite in France and Britain. Organization Studies 2010,31 3 327-348.

Maclean M, Harvey C, Chia R. Sensemaking, Storytelling and the Legitimization of Elite Business Careers. Human Relations 2012. In Press.

May CR, Finch TL, Cornford J, Exley C, Gately C, Kirk S, Jenkings KN, Osbourne J, Robinson AL, Rogers A, Wilson R, Mair FS. Integrating telecare for chronic disease management in the community: What needs to be done?. BMC Health Services Research 2011, 11(1), 131.

McKinlay A, Carter C, Pezet E. Governmentality, Power and Organization. Management and Organizational History 2012, 7. In Press.

McLoughlin I, Maniatopoulos G, Wilson R, Martin M. HOPE TO DIE BEFORE YOU GET OLD? Techno-centric versus user-centred approaches in developing virtual services for older people. Public Management Review 2009, 11(6), 857-880.

Moore G, Slack R, Gibbon J. Criteria for responsible business practice in SMEs: an exploratory case of U.K. Fair Trade organisations. Journal of Business Ethics 2009, 89(2), 173-188.

Murray A, Haynes K, Hudson LJ. Collaborating to Achieve Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability? Possibilities and problems. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal 2010, 1(1), 221-231.

Scarlata MR, Alemany L. Deal Structuring in Philanthropic Venture Capital Investments: Financing Instrument, Valuation, and Covenants.Journal of Business Ethics 2010, 95(s2), 121-145.

Alemany L, Scarlata MR. Philanthropic Venture Capital: A New Model of Financing for Social Entrepreneurs.In: Cumming, D.J, ed. Venture Capital: Investment Strategies, Structures, and Policies. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2010, pp.131-150.

Sliwa M, Cairns G. Developing a new ethics of international business: possibilities and role of educators. In: Muhr, SL; Sorensen, BM; Valentin, S, ed. Ethics and Organizational Practice: Questioning the Moral Foundations of Management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2010, pp. 17-35.

Walsh S, Wilson R, Baines S, Martin M. "You're just treating us as informants!" Roles, responsibilities and relationships in the production of Children's Services Directories. Local Government Studies 2012. In Press.

Wilson R, Martin M, Walsh S, Richter P. Re-mixing the digital economies of care in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS): Governing identity and information sharing in the mixed economy of care for children and young people. Social Policy and Society 2011, 10(3), 379-391.

Wilson R, Cornford J, Baines S, Mawson J. New Development: Information for Localism? Policy Sensemaking for Local Governance. Public Money & Management 2011, 31(4), 295-300.

Wilson RG, Baines S. Are there limits to the integration of care for older people?. In: Loader BD; Hardey M; Keeble L, ed. Third Age Welfare: Health and Social Care Informatics for Older People. London: Routledge, 2009, pp. 17-27.

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Wynarczyk P. Providing the science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills of tomorrow. New Technology, Work & Employment 2009,24 3 243-259.

Wynarczyk P. Encouraging Women in Innovation: The Importance of Role Models. In: DIANA International Research Symposium. 2008, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Wynarczyk P. Addressing the Gender Gap in the Managerial Labour Market: The Case of Scientific Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the North East of England. Management Research News 2007, 30(12), 942-954.

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Principle 5

Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.

‘Business of Sustainability’ Week

As part of our commitment to the Sustainability Societal Challenge theme Newcastle University Business School is working with Santander Universities and Procter & Gamble on the creation of an ongoing, annual programme of events for a range of audiences, including students, faculty staff, and the wider business community. This initiative is designed to generate interest in the role of all businesses in sustainability. The Business of Sustainability week will also seek to raise awareness of the role for policy makers in supporting the business community to behave in a sustainable manner. Professor Ian Clarke, Director of the Business School said, “The need to promote responsible business practices is central to the Business School’s strategy. At a time of significant and increasingly complex societal challenges, there is a pressing need for business schools to support the transformation of public services; play a role in enhancing the capacity of the third sector and challenge and support private sector businesses to deliver societal and environmental value as well as shareholder return. Addressing the growing challenges of business and the expected role that future business leaders will be called upon to fulfil is thus part of the academic imperative confronting business educators. Sustainability is also important for the Business School, we value making the world a more sustainable and equitable place. Sustainability research is thus a strong emerging theme for AGES, who have prominent involvement in a number of exciting projects in this area.

The week commenced with an event on sustainable design and included a book launch, a breakfast seminar looking at business opportunities from a low carbon economy, an MBA challenge competition, and the Procter & Gamble ‘Business of Sustainability’ lecture. The week was supported by a three-year £90,000 investment from Santander, which will also be used to promote research on responsible and sustainable enterprise by bringing together expertise from different research groups at the Business School. Luis Juste, director of Santander Universities UK, said, ‘This initiative highlights the importance of a key issue in today’s business world: how to combine progress and economic growth with an intelligent use of our resources. ‘Newcastle University has always been an example to other UK institutions setting the standards in education and research and this Business of Sustainability Week is a clear example of that spirit. We are proud to have the University as a member of the Santander Universities network.’

A highlight of the week featured two of the region’s best known businessmen, Port of Tyne chairman Sir Ian Wrigglesworth and former Sage chief executive Paul Walker. The event was aimed at getting businesses to be more sustainable in every sense: from the use of finite resources through to being prepared to respond to a changing regulatory environment. Delegates heard Sir Ian Wrigglesworth call for more leadership from businesses during an unsettled period, reminding the audience that during the past decade Newcastle has remained one of the top ten cities in the UK for growing private sector jobs. He placed a strong emphasis on the North East’s higher education industry as a catalyst for the growth and development of talented people in the region. Sir Ian went on to comment that, in the wake of public sector cuts, many local government services would be outsourced to the www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

private sector to reduce pressure on public sector budgets. He argued that the opportunities presented by the £1.5bn regional growth fund, affords a major opportunity for regional businesses.

During June, the Business School brought together a high-profile panel to discuss the prospects for private sector growth across the region. The ‘Going for Growth’ event provided a fitting conclusion to the ‘Business of Sustainability Week’ and opened an exciting series of events for Newcastle University’s convocation weekend. An upbeat Paul Walker, the new chairman of the North East’s Local Enterprise Partnership, agreed that, in many ways, the region has an unmissable opportunity to regenerate its economic circumstances and create longer-term, sustainable jobs in the private sector. He iterated the LEP’s offer to business people to get directly involved in driving and dictating policy, as well as attracting and retaining talented students. Maintaining a positive outlook on growth prospects, Andrew Hebden, the Journal’s business editor, said that the region was demonstrating good progress, judging by recent announcements from the likes of Nissan and Siemens. All three panellists agreed that, like many regions of the UK at present, there is some way to go to help small businesses grow into bigger, more sustainable businesses, as well as help them navigate sustainability issues such as green tax regulation set out by government. Judging by the feedback following the event, from delegates and via various blogs and news sites, the debate was a highly constructive and engaging experience for the business community.

The sustainability challenge

Newcastle University’s vision is to be a civic university with a global reputation for academic excellence. Key to realising that vision has been its focus on “societal challenge themes”, big challenges which affect our whole society; areas in which the University can make a difference through the provision of academic research that provides real solutions. During 2010-11, the University launches the second of its societal challenge themes: sustainability. The aim of the theme is to not only raise awareness of the University’s established expertise in many aspects of sustainability, but most importantly to use its influence and relationships with industry, academia, students and alumni to achieve positive outcomes for a more sustainable future for all.

Newcastle upon Tyne has been named the most sustainable of the UK’s twenty largest cities for two years in succession (2009 and 2010) by the influential think-tank Forum for the Future. The Launch Year of Sustainability is an opportunity for all members of the Newcastle University community, internally and externally, and the city as a whole, to work together to showcase the area’s sustainability potential, with a view to building upon the city’s existing status, and to work towards becoming an international point of reference for sustainability best practice and solutions.

The challenge, however, is huge and the University recognises that only where there is consensus and active participation will positive changes result. The University has adopted a four-word slogan to capture the essence of the sustainability challenge: Enough, For All, Forever. ‘Enough’ implies a material sufficiency (though not wasteful excess); ‘For All’ evokes both social equity and consideration for the non-human inhabitants of shared ecosystems; ‘Forever’ signals respect for natural resource limitations as well as ensuring we preserve our planet for future generations.

The vision of ‘Enough, For All, Forever’ is the raison d’être of the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability (NIReS) at Newcastle University, which is fostering inter-

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disciplinary research throughout and beyond the University community to deliver world-class solutions in the development of clean fossil fuels, renewable energy, water management in the face of climate change and the development of more sustainable modes of transport, to name but a few. The Institute, under the direction of Professor Paul Younger, is leading the campaign. “The University-wide focus on sustainability provides a boost to our existing efforts to deliver lasting solutions rather than merely analyse problems,” he explained. “The pursuit of a knowledge economy’ is much talked about in academia and government. We want to go a step further, pursuing a ‘wisdom economy’ in which knowledge is tempered by a principled commitment to ensuring that all beings – human and non-human – have access to sufficient resources in perpetuity.” The Sustainability societal challenge theme programme for the launch year of 2011 comprises a diverse programme of events bringing together internationally acclaimed academics, business leaders, politicians, artists, and relevant trade bodies and institutions to present, debate and solve the challenges posed by the pursuit of sustainability.

Developing Sustainability through Synchronisation of Processes

Professor Chris Hicks and Dr Tom McGovern are leading the Business School on LEAN production is helping manufacturing organisations to develop sustainably through synchronisation of processes that enable continuous improvement, stock minimisation and reduction or elimination of waste and costs. It makes production systems more sustainable and more competitive by reducing materials, time, capital and energy, thus underpinning regional employment. Developed originally in the automotive industry, the group is extending its application in other manufacturing, health care and service industries and SMEs where it is evaluating the impact of LEAN approaches. The research of the group is part of a European partnership between institutions in the North Sea region of Europe (including Holland, Flanders, Norway, Sweden and Germany), funded by a 3.3m EU Interreg grant and underpinned by an Innovative Productivity Centre (IPC) consisting of a university, a regional development agency and a leading company in each area. A second component of the group’s work is using LEAN to shape the vision, psychological contract and methods between healthcare professionals and the organisations in which they work, improving patient care while reducing costs and waste, funded by a £500k grant from the NHS North East’s North East Transformation System (NETS), which is joint with David Hunter at Durham University. The work in manufacturing includes colleagues from Groningen and arrangements are in place to develop comparative work in health and manufacturing with Monash, Australia. Professor Chris Hicks and Dr Tom McGovern are also involved in a second project evaluating the North East Transformation System. It is the largest project of its kind investigating transformational change in the NHS in the North East of England.  It is a joint project with the Wolfson Research Institute at Durham University, the Institute for Health and Society and NUBS. The project received £500,000 from the National Institute for Health Research. My other research interests apart from Lean and change management are company growth strategies, organisational decline and failure, and turnaround strategies.

Innovating Women: Illuminating Achievement and Success

In a bid to encourage more women into the science, innovation and technology sectors and raise the profile of women currently in the industry, Newcastle University Business School has launched a new role model initiative. The launch of the “North East of England Role Model Platform for Innovative Women” took place at an “Inspiring Women” event at Newcastle University Business School. The scheme, which has been established to help women overcome personal and professional barriers to success in the science, innovation www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

and technology sectors, was initiated following research carried out by Professor Pooran Wynarczyk of Newcastle University Business School’s Small Enterprise Research Unit. Professor Pooran Wynarczyk comments: “The purpose of the initiative is to identify inspirational women within sectors that are primarily male dominated. By highlighting these women’s success stories and having them on-hand for advice, guidance and mentoring, we hope to encourage more women into the industry.” The research concluded that women are massively under represented in certain sectors, namely, in science, technology and innovation. It also indicated that women in these sectors had to overcome professional and personal barriers such as work-life balance issues, institutionalisation, sexism and a lack of access to local role models in order to enter the industry or progress beyond the glass ceiling. The platform, which is funded by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) is seen as a positive step towards overcoming the issues concerned with participation of women in the science, innovation and technology sectors and is supported by the Newcastle Science City Initiative that aims to encourage participation in science

The Business School’s Small Enterprise Research Unit (SERU) also held a one day event on International Women’s Day, as part of the Newcastle University’s Diversity Session 2011, to illuminate the contribution of women to technological advancement and scientific breakthroughs and promote a greater participation in innovation, invention, patent, technology transfer and spin out activities, particularly amongst women. Speakers included, Professor Nick Wright, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (Newcastle University), Professor Colette Henry, FRSA (The Royal Veterinary College, University of London), Deborah Jaffé (the author of ‘Ingenious Women’), Professor Pooran Wynarczyk, FRSA (Newcastle University), Professor Susan Marlow, FRSA (De Montfort University), Dr Douglas Robertson (Newcastle University), and Professor Sudipta Roy (Newcastle University). The collaborative event was a unique opportunity to illuminate the contribution of women to technological advancement in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of International Women’s Day’

Dr Janine Swail joined the Business School as a Lecturer Janine joined the Business School as a Lecturer in Management in September 2007, shortly before graduating from University of Ulster, with a PhD in the area of nascent female entrepreneurship. Her doctoral research work examined the process of venture creation among women in Northern Ireland and her research interests lie primarily within the focus of her Ph.D, with an additional focus in entrepreneurship within higher education. Talking about a key skill developed from pursuing a PhD, Janine says: “It has given me the ability to effectively disseminate research to a wider audience – be they students, academics or practitioners.”

Dr Matthew Gorton is working on Waterweb a EU funded project considers agricultural water management in Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Agriculture is a major user of water, and in the face of greater demand from other users and climate change, the efficiency of irrigation systems needs to be improved. Matthew Gorton’s research on the project has involved evaluating the performance of water user communities in Macedonia, which are designed to be farmer managed, self-sustaining institutions. In Serbia work has focused on the reform of agri-environmental policy and the ‘real’ regulation of fresh fruit and vegetable production.

Dr Peter Edward’s research on poverty and inequality has been included in publications for development practitioners by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has been cited in evidence to UK Government select committee by the reformist think-tank the New Economics Foundation.www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

Dr Stefanie Reissner’s current ESRC funded research is on storytelling in management practice, seeking to understand if and how communication through stories work in practice. Research findings have been disseminated to manager practitioners through two articles published as part of the Chartered Management Institute’s ‘Top Management Articles’ initiative and through two workshops with management practitioners in November this year.

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Principle 6

Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue 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.

We understand that our own organizational practices should serve as example of the values and attitudes we convey to our students.

Dr Peter Edward is convener for the UK and Ireland Development Studies Association study group on Business and International Development. The group brings together not only academics in both the management and business field and the development studies field but also practitioners in businesses that are attempting to be socially responsible in developing and emerging economies.

Professor Kathryn Haynes is a member of the steering committee of the UN PRME working group on gender equality. She took part in the inaugural webinar discussion which set the agenda for this group, which is currently working on a Gender Equality Repository of curriculum materials.

Professor David Campbell is the examiner for the ACCA compulsory professional paper P1, 'Governance, risk and ethics'. ACCA is one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world with the highest international membership. Professor Campbell was engaged by ACCA in 2005 and has written one of the world's first professional curricula in systematically applying ethics within a professional accounting context. The paper is sat by 50,000 candidates a year in 170 countries with Professor Campbell writing each exam paper and co-ordinating the marking through a team of over 50 markers. He also regularly contributes teaching articles for 'Student Accountant' magazine on ethical issues, the circulation is 330,000.

RM3 is a research project lead by Dr. Hugh Metcalf supervising PhD students Zishun Ma; Fengyuan Shi; Hanxiong Zhang. The work aims to help people better understand what risks they are taking. By introducing our financial services and products, we are hoping to help individuals and firms to have better control of their economic lives and steady earnings growth. In other words, we want to reduce the variability of economic activities in order to increase investment confidence. In time, a significant improvement in the economical utilization of market resources followed by the sustainable growth of the entire economy can be anticipated when our idea is applied on the entire society level.

Professor Klaus Schoefer has a background in services marketing research, and says the post gives him the opportunity to develop his study of the public’s relationship with sustainable products, whether they are willing to pay more for them, and why they discard them before the end of their shelf life. Professor Schoefer’s research is something that interests the University as a whole. Professor Clarke says ‘there’s an expectation within the university that the Business School will make significant contributions on a variety of sustainable themes’.

Ethics Forum

Civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti’s career path took her from the Home Office to her current role as director of Liberty. Andrew Hebden from the Journal, who interviewed www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs

Shami on stage at the Business School’s recent Ethics Forum event, reflects on his meeting with the woman the Sun newspaper has called “Britain’s most dangerous woman”. So tackling the connections between business and civil liberties naturally posed no problem for the feisty Liberty director. So what about the business community? Are human rights really on the corporate agenda in the same way, for example, as the environment? Shami says that it was the case of the NatWest Three – the trio of British bankers who faced summary extradition to the United States even though their alleged crimes did not take place there – which first aroused substantial interest within the business world. “People in suits began asking: Will I be next?” However, she sees the relationship between human rights and business on a much more fundamental level. “We are all human beings, whether we are employers or employed people or entrepreneurs or lawyers. Ultimately you appeal to the very basic sense of decency and ethics that we all share.” “People talk about a free market but it isn’t actually that free. It isn’t anarchy, it isn’t the rules of the jungle. It takes law and ethics to keep the whole system working…You need the basic rule of law and a basic ethical framework for people to have any dealings with each other.

The Ethics Forum events run by the Business School in association with the Bridge Club have hosted many speakers including Sir Michael Darrington, the retired group Managing Director of Greggs plc from 1984 - 2008. Sir Michael spoke on reflections on a range of ethical issues in business after his long and distinguished career. A keen supporter of ethics in business, Sir Michael takes a long term view on how he believes that Greggs people would make a positive difference for themselves, their customers and the wider community by putting values at the heart of the organisation.

Other Ethics Forum speakers include Das Sreedharan, owner of the RASA restaurant chain, who shared his experience of his early beginnings and how food was the main influence for the both birth of his business and as well as his philanthrophic endeavour – the Rasa Institutions. Das brought with him a taste of India with trays of treats to set the scene. His passion for food and the way it integrates with everyday life and wellbeing shone through and attendees left the evening feeling inspired and uplifted.

More than just Coffee and Bananas. Fair trade. Have you Cottoned on yet? Coincided with Fair Trade fortnight the Business School’s Ethics Forum in association with the Bridge Club, held an event where Chairman of the Board for Shared Interest, Philip Angier and PLC Business Director for Traidcraft, Mags Vaughan, discussed their different approaches to the issue of poverty in developing countries were interviewed in a conversation style by Geoff Moore, Professor of Business Ethics at Durham University.

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