Positive Trends

Management education changes. Then changes again and again. And so, this cycle continues.

- Rinky Marwaha

Every few years or so, the huge and ever-increasing tribe of management experts put on their thinking caps and herald in these innovative practices into this branch of training. Lately, changes in management training are showing a rather positive trend. They are moving a lot towards ethics-based studies and knowledge. Towards trades and practices which involve goodness for humanity as their very basic core. Also, towards inculcating a sense of some value-based ethos in their fibre. There are several philosophies which have been introduced towards achieving this objective. One of these is corporate social responsibility or CSR. In business parlance, this is also termed corporate conscience, corporate citizenship or responsible business.

This is basically a format of conducting a given business with some sense of corporate self regulation in terms of keeping with a standard code of ethics incorporated into its structure. In some cases, where the business really is in line with this ideology, the whole sole mission statement of the firm is aligned towards doing social welfare. At times, what happens is that some companies may or may not signal in codes like gender equality or having disabled staffers in their midst. There is also something termed as hard laws and weak laws. The weak laws are ones which may not always be strictly followed by corporate organizations. Those business people who abide by CSR rules and regulations opine that these will eventually produce long term profits in the core business of the organization. However, those who argue against this philosophy hold the view that such regulations often deter good business from happening. Nowadays, a good chunk of management studies is devoted to knowing and absorbing CSR objectives. Students at all stages must be made aware of this and should learn to abide by such codes.

Ethics-based management studies…