A Sense of Responsibility
By Robert Gunther
Wharton's Zicklin Center puts knowledge about corporate social responsibility to work around the world.
A huge blue-and-white WorldCom sign spans one
wall of the sixth-floor conference room at The
Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business
Ethics Research where Professor Bill Laufer is discussing the Center's initiatives.
Laufer, director of
the Center, displays just a tinge of embarrassment
when attention is drawn to the sign and the peacock-colored Enron
logo perched on the windowsill.
This hesitation may be because the Center has remained so steadfastly above the fray of the whipsaw of public opinion and headlines
about corporate scandals. For three decades, while public outrage has
come and gone and come again, Wharton faculty have maintained a
steady commitment to rigorous research, pioneering education and
thought leadership on business ethics and corporate social responsibility. The School has assembled a brain trust of some of the most
respected faculty from diverse departments in this field. This is not
a place that runs with the headlines. That may be why this elephant's
graveyard of corporate miscreants in the Center's conference room
elicits a moment of hesitation from Laufer.
In another sense, however, these relics of corporate corruption
and greed reflect a central aspect of the Center's activities:the direct connection between research on business ethics and the world
of business. Through far-reaching initiatives with the World Bank,
United Nations, and other organizations, this small research center
in Philadelphia is having an impact in places like Russia, Singapore,
Mexico, and Dubai. Questions of ethics and social responsibility are
not considered from a philosophical distance, but rather through a
direct engagement with leaders of business, government, and non-profits
who are wading through them.
In this context, these unusual conference room furnishings send
a strong message. After his brief pause, Laufer says with determination, "They are a reminder that the field of business ethics has
unrealized potential and that there remains a fight to be fought."
- Research Driven
- Rise of the Hummingbirds
- Taking on the World
- Seeking Knowledge without Borders
- Rising Student Interest
- Responding to Dramatic Change
-
What are some of the key insights we
have gained from research on corporate
social responsibility over the past three
decades?
- Philip Nichols' global studies have found a remarkable similarity in perceptions of corruption around the world.
- A Perspective from Europe
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