What would you do if ... ?

Angela Clegg was in the second month of her business program. She was enjoying the courses

and interacting with her student colleagues. She was having a good time and felt that she had

made a correct decision to enter the program.

When Angela announced that she was taking business, many of her friends questioned the

wisdom of her choice by pointing out various business misdeeds. They said that the financial

crisis in 2008- 09, and the economic downturn that followed, was caused by the greed and

mismanagement of bankers, particularly in the United States and Europe. Her friends pointed

out that insult had been added to injury when taxpayers, through their governments, had to

bail out some banks and automobile companies. Several other examples presented to her

involved financial advisers who destroyed people's life savings with fraudulent Ponzi schemes;

massive recalls of automobiles, especially Toyotas and VWs; environmental

damage of the Alberta oil sands; excessive executive compensation schemes; and numerous

plant closures throwing thousands out of work. Lastly, her friends said there are no ethics in

business and that "business ethics" is an oxymoron.

These arguments did not discourage Angela. She was aware of ethics in business and society

and of social responsibility from the extensive coverage they were receiving in the media. The

media frequently carried stories about business ethics and social responsibility. Many

corporations even took out advertisements in newspapers, including Angela's campus

newspaper, describing the contributions they were making to the

community. Also, Angela had participated in the Junior Achievement program in high school

and enjoyed developing and operating a small venture.

During a student society meeting, Angela heard about an interesting proposal- "The First Year

Pledge of Social Justice, Economic Strength, and Environmental Responsibility":

I pledge that during my years in higher education I will explore and take into account the

social, economic, and environmental consequences of my behaviour and that of my

institution. I will learn about issues of environmentalism, social justice, and economic

strength, and will try to promote a sustainable and just society both at my institution

and in the wider world.

The pledge was developed in the United States but seemed applicable to Canadian business

students. The purpose of the pledge was to increase awareness of social responsibility among

52 MGMT 5017 SUSTAINABILITY

SPRING TERM PROJECT

Page 2 of 2

students through teaching and by encouraging them to undertake social initiatives while in

school. Examples given of such initiatives included counselling entrepreneurs on ethics,

organizing recycling projects on campus, assisting Aboriginal business enterprises, and

developing financial literacy programs for teens and seniors. It was argued that

a business program would be given added meaning through participating in these initiatives

rather than merely relying on the completion of courses.

Angela had some questions about the pledge proposal. Would it make any difference? In

particular, would her friends view her goals to succeed in business any differently? Would

anyone recognize or respect the pledge? What would be expected of her