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typical of the speakers there。
The spirit of the teaching is around preparing a business plan to be presented
to a panel along the lines of Dragons’ Den； o。。en with similar outes
in that the business gets funding。 It would be incorrect to suggest that
droves of MBAs rush off to found ventures straight off； but perhaps three
or four in a hundred do。 Within a decade that will have risen to around
40 per cent according to research carried out for Top MBA （topmba。
）。
Aside from ge。。ing funding and marks towards their MBA grade； the
most successful business plans are usually entered into one of a number
of Business Plan petitions。 These offer prizes such as Nano Challenge
（nanochallenge） offering two prizes of �300；000； promoted by
Veneto Nanotech； the pany managing the Italian Cluster for Nanotechnologies
and PriceWaterhouse Coopers。 Usually more modest awards
of cash； consulting and investment are on offer。 Small Business Notes （
smallbusinessnotes/planning/petitions。html） has a business plan
directory with around 100 petitions around the world。
You don’t have to be in a business school to enter most of these petitions；
though you may find it hard to find out about them if you are not
and you will almost certainly be up against a business school team。 Oxford
Said Business School （sbs。ox。ac。uk/21challenge） will take entries from
individuals； teams； new panies； existing panies creating spin…offs；
students； scientists； academics and entrepreneurs。 Regional； national and
international participation is encouraged。
Ethics and social
responsibility
。 Owners vs directors
。 Stakeholder groupings
。 Ethical and responsible strategies
。 Whistle…blowing
。 Green pays off
Actions for which a person or group of people can be held accountable and
so mended or blamed； disciplined or rewarded； are said to lie within
their sphere of responsibility。 Anything that lies outside our control also
lies beyond the scope of our responsibilities。 Ethics； known in academic
circles as moral philosophy； is concerned with classifying； defending； and
proposing concepts of right and wrong behaviour in the way in which
we discharge our responsibilities。 While many responsibilities lie within
the scope of the law； shareholders’ protection； discrimination at work；
misleading advertising and so forth （see Chapter 6 for more on business
law）； both in those areas and in the grey area that surrounds them lies the
province of ethics and social responsibility。 Right and wrong in themselves
are o。。en not too difficult to separate out。 The problem usually stems from
peting ‘rights’ – giving shareholders a be。。er return vs saving the planet；
for example； and the inherent selfishness of humans。 Many； if not all； of our
actions are triggered by self…interest。 In fact； much of the justification for
capitalism’s a。。raction lies in the ‘invisible hand’ theory advanced by Adam
Smith in his defining book； The Wealth of Nations （1776）：
Every individual。 。 。 generally； indeed； neither intends to promote the public
interest； nor knows how much he is promoting it。 By preferring the support
9
222 The Thirty…Day MBA
of domestic to that of foreign industry he intends only his own security； and
by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the
greatest value； he intends only his own gain； and he is in this； as in many
other cases； led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of
his intention。
Unfortunately； the invisible hand suggests only that businesses and consumers；
in being selfish； may by accident do good； not that their actions are
made ethical in the process。 Many purely selfish actions； say by operating
a cartel to rip off consumers； or adopting a polluting production process
purely to boost the bo。。om line； fall firmly into the unethical bracket。 Even
overtly ethical actions； for example when a business gives to charity or
supports a ‘not for profit’ event； such as Coca…Cola’s sponsorship of the
Olympic Games over an 80…year period； can prove ethically questionable。
In the first place Coca…Cola； McDonald’s； Samsung and the other Olympics’
sponsors hope for a share of the huge marketing benefits that accrue from
such association。 Secondly； supporting the Games may be the ‘right’ thing
to do； but supporting the 2008 host country； China； a regime with a questionable
human rights track record； may well be ‘wrong’。
Business ethics defines the categories of duty for which we are morally
responsible。 Lists of moral duties and rights can be lengthy and overlapping。
The duty…based theory advanced by a British philosopher； W D Ross （1877–
1971）； provides a short list of duties that he believed reflects our actual
moral convictions：
。 Fidelity： the duty to keep promises。
。 Reparation： the duty to pensate others when we harm them。
。 Gratitude： the duty to thank those who help us。
。 Justice： the duty to recognize merit。
。 Beneficence： the duty to improve the conditions of others。
。 Self…improvement： the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence。
。 Non…maleficence： the duty to not injure others。
Ross recognized that there will be occasions when we must choose between
two conflicting duties。 For example； should your business be involved in
any way with products that facilitate abortions？ On one side of that moral
argument lies beneficence in improving the conditions of women and； on
the other； non…maleficence in not doing injury to the unborn child。 You
can find out more about the theoretical aspects of ethics on The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy （iep。utm。edu/e/ethics。htm） and on
related business issues on the Free Management Library website （
managementhelp/ethics/ethxgde。htm）。
Ethics and Social Responsibility 223
TEACHING ETHICS AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS
This subject is perhaps the most controversial and disputed in terms of the
teaching methodology and content used in business schools。 A recent survey
on Corporate Social Responsibility Education in Europe found that while
most business schools had some content in this