International Conference on Global and Contextual Business Ethics organized by Globethics.net and IIMB
An International Conference on Global and Contextual Business Ethics was held on April 25-27, 2010 at Mysore. Organized by Globethics.net Foundation, Switzerland and the Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship (CCGC) of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) the conference was designed to share the findings of the Global Survey on Business Ethics and to arrive at an agenda for research, teaching and training in the field of ethics, responsibility and governance.
Welcoming the participants to the conference on the evening of April 25, Professor Vasanthi Srinivasan, Chairperson CCGC, said that over the past 18 months, especially in the background of the recent global financial crisis, there have been increased questions on corporate governance, ethics and responsibility. The implications have necessitated greater emphasis on the teaching of Ethics in B-Schools, more Ethics training in Corporations and more research on Corporate Responsibility. The conference aimed to bring together participants from diverse backgrounds and obtain inputs towards developing an agenda for corporate responsibility and business ethics that would support the needs of different stakeholders. The networking opportunities provided at the conference was expected to lead to greater coordination and convergence in achieving desired goals.
Mr. Walter Fust, President of the Board of Globethics.net Foundation provided his perspective on the increased risks and uncertainties in doing business that required an institutional response in preparing for the future, and sound leadership.
The introduction to the conference was given by Mr. S.D. Shibulal, COO, Member of the Board and Co-Founder of Infosys, and Member of the Board of Globethics.net. He said that a civilized society must be built on a foundation of trust, the two key pillars being ethics and governance. Modern corporations are obliged to behave in a legal and ethical manner. For the right to exist, trust has to be earned on a continuous basis. "Ethics and good behavior cannot be legislated," said Mr. Shibulal, and added that "clear, well-articulated value systems must be established." Over time, companies evolve into corporations and then into institutions, and while corporate governance norms may change, value systems do not, so it is important to have a larger cause for people to rally around.
The inaugural address on "Ethics, Governance and CSR" was delivered by Mr. R. Bandyopadhyay, Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He detailed a number of initiatives that the Ministry had undertaken, in the pursuit of "corporate growth through enlightened regulations". The India Corporate Governance Week held in December 2009 had raised awareness of corporate governance issues; an "Investors Education Programme" had been launched; reference documents on Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Governance and CSR had been published.
Professor Dr. Christoph Stuckelberger, Executive Director and Founder Globethics.net provided the background on the Global Survey on "Business Ethics in the field of Teaching, Training and Research", that had been coordinated by 9 regional/continental groups and over 70 national researchers over the past year. He spoke on the need for contextualization, and judiciously applying corporate governance rules by combining law and ethics relevant to each society.
On April 26, 2010, the results of the Survey were presented exclusively for the first time, with reports from the nine World Regions: East Asia; South/South East Asia; Oceania; Central Asia; Middle East / North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and North America. Professor Dr. Deon Rossouw of South Africa gave the introduction as the Moderator for the Global Survey. The outcomes of this Survey are to be presented as a "Global Report" in the Journal of Business Ethics; further, a book will be published with the detailed findings; a Directory of Expertise will be developed, incorporating references of persons engaged in the field of business ethics and CSR, and a Handbook of Research in Business will be issued providing best practices in corporate governance.
The post-lunch session on April 26 saw a panel discussion on the topic "Engaging with Ethics, CSR and Governance in India", in which Mr. Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, Mr. Prasad Chandran, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India, and Mr. Gopal Nair, Director, Capital Markets Division in the Union Finance Ministry participated.
On April 27, another panel discussion was held on the topic "Changing Scenarios in the field of Ethics/CSR/Governance - Challenges and Opportunities". Presentations were made by Ms. Meena Raghunathan, Director, Community Services, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, Mr. Kishor Chaukar, Managing Director Tata Industries, and Professor P.D. Jose of IIM Bangalore.
Group work formed part of the conference, with ideas on "Defining the agenda for Business Ethics in the field of Teaching, Training and Research in India" being presented by all the participants.
The key points that emerged from the discussions were:
- Creating teaching material that is India-focused
- Building an Ethics/CSR network to strengthen sharing of information
All participants at the conference agreed on the need to have a global discourse on business ethics on a continuing basis, and stressed the need for formal networks. This particular international conference contributed significantly to these ongoing processes.
Visit: www.globethics.net
International Conference on Global and Contextual Business Ethics organized by Globethics.net and IIMB
An International Conference on Global and Contextual Business Ethics was held on April 25-27, 2010 at Mysore. Organized by Globethics.net Foundation, Switzerland and the Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship (CCGC) of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) the conference was designed to share the findings of the Global Survey on Business Ethics and to arrive at an agenda for research, teaching and training in the field of ethics, responsibility and governance.
Welcoming the participants to the conference on the evening of April 25, Professor Vasanthi Srinivasan, Chairperson CCGC, said that over the past 18 months, especially in the background of the recent global financial crisis, there have been increased questions on corporate governance, ethics and responsibility. The implications have necessitated greater emphasis on the teaching of Ethics in B-Schools, more Ethics training in Corporations and more research on Corporate Responsibility. The conference aimed to bring together participants from diverse backgrounds and obtain inputs towards developing an agenda for corporate responsibility and business ethics that would support the needs of different stakeholders. The networking opportunities provided at the conference was expected to lead to greater coordination and convergence in achieving desired goals.
Mr. Walter Fust, President of the Board of Globethics.net Foundation provided his perspective on the increased risks and uncertainties in doing business that required an institutional response in preparing for the future, and sound leadership.
The introduction to the conference was given by Mr. S.D. Shibulal, COO, Member of the Board and Co-Founder of Infosys, and Member of the Board of Globethics.net. He said that a civilized society must be built on a foundation of trust, the two key pillars being ethics and governance. Modern corporations are obliged to behave in a legal and ethical manner. For the right to exist, trust has to be earned on a continuous basis. "Ethics and good behavior cannot be legislated," said Mr. Shibulal, and added that "clear, well-articulated value systems must be established." Over time, companies evolve into corporations and then into institutions, and while corporate governance norms may change, value systems do not, so it is important to have a larger cause for people to rally around.
The inaugural address on "Ethics, Governance and CSR" was delivered by Mr. R. Bandyopadhyay, Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He detailed a number of initiatives that the Ministry had undertaken, in the pursuit of "corporate growth through enlightened regulations". The India Corporate Governance Week held in December 2009 had raised awareness of corporate governance issues; an "Investors Education Programme" had been launched; reference documents on Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Governance and CSR had been published.
Professor Dr. Christoph Stuckelberger, Executive Director and Founder Globethics.net provided the background on the Global Survey on "Business Ethics in the field of Teaching, Training and Research", that had been coordinated by 9 regional/continental groups and over 70 national researchers over the past year. He spoke on the need for contextualization, and judiciously applying corporate governance rules by combining law and ethics relevant to each society.
On April 26, 2010, the results of the Survey were presented exclusively for the first time, with reports from the nine World Regions: East Asia; South/South East Asia; Oceania; Central Asia; Middle East / North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and North America. Professor Dr. Deon Rossouw of South Africa gave the introduction as the Moderator for the Global Survey. The outcomes of this Survey are to be presented as a "Global Report" in the Journal of Business Ethics; further, a book will be published with the detailed findings; a Directory of Expertise will be developed, incorporating references of persons engaged in the field of business ethics and CSR, and a Handbook of Research in Business will be issued providing best practices in corporate governance.
The post-lunch session on April 26 saw a panel discussion on the topic "Engaging with Ethics, CSR and Governance in India", in which Mr. Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, Mr. Prasad Chandran, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India, and Mr. Gopal Nair, Director, Capital Markets Division in the Union Finance Ministry participated.
On April 27, another panel discussion was held on the topic "Changing Scenarios in the field of Ethics/CSR/Governance - Challenges and Opportunities". Presentations were made by Ms. Meena Raghunathan, Director, Community Services, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, Mr. Kishor Chaukar, Managing Director Tata Industries, and Professor P.D. Jose of IIM Bangalore.
Group work formed part of the conference, with ideas on "Defining the agenda for Business Ethics in the field of Teaching, Training and Research in India" being presented by all the participants.
The key points that emerged from the discussions were:
- Creating teaching material that is India-focused
- Building an Ethics/CSR network to strengthen sharing of information
All participants at the conference agreed on the need to have a global discourse on business ethics on a continuing basis, and stressed the need for formal networks. This particular international conference contributed significantly to these ongoing processes.
Visit: www.globethics.net