Business schools have been criticized for their failure to inculcate values that would address social justice issues. Defensively, business school faculty have just as stridently declared that it really was not their fault. They claimed, “We were only preparing students for the real world.” (Verschoor, 2003). Unfortunately, this real world is viewed in terms of profits and returns whose influence is so strong that they overwhelm the other ways in which the responsibilities of business can be perceived.
To address this need to educate for social justice, De La Salle University has committed to developing Lasallian business leaders who will work to ensure inclusive growth, thereby addressing poverty and sharing prosperity. Therefore, Lasallian educators must realize how important their attitudes, perceptions and beliefs are in shaping their students minds and touching their hearts.
Faculty survey
A total of 15 faculty members from the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University accomplished a preliminary survey inspired from the work of Toubiana (2012).
The survey included eight questions that delved into topics like the faculty member’s conception of social justice and its context in business practice and business education, elements of social justice, the role of business and business education, the relevance of social justice to business and the specific roles of business in achieving social justice.
Survey results
The answers of faculty were encoded and analyzed to look for common themes and answers that converged and even answers that diverged. Respondents defined social justice along four main themes: 1) equality, 2) equity or fairness; 3) transparency and 4) service. Further, most of the respondents defined social justice along the first two themes, equality and or equity.
A second observation is that many respondents mentioned to whom social justice should be applied. Almost half of the 15 respondents stated that social justice is for society, for all, or for every person. Three respondents mentioned multi-stakeholders, or other stakeholders including the environment and suppliers.
Three other respondents specified that social justice must be applied to the marginalized/the underprivileged/those with less. This perspective is supportive of one of the main principles of Catholic Social Teaching, specifically an option for the poor and vulnerable.
Finally, someone also mentioned that social justice must be applied to both the greatest and least in society. Again, mentioning the “least in society” shows a preferential treatment of the poor and vulnerable, consistent with one of the main principles of CST.
Not merely for profit
It is noteworthy that most participants except for one agreed that both business practice and business education should engage social justice. This engagement had many forms. The most popular answer is the stakeholder model, which was cited either implicitly or explicitly by four of the 15 respondents. Other broad themes on why business has to engage social justice was related to: 1) ethics, 2) reciprocity, 3) sustainability, 4) the traditional profit motive and 5) the role and unique position of business.
It is encouraging to note that most MOD faculty members thought that business should operate not merely for profit but should move beyond it. There was a common sentiment that success should be measured using multiple bottom line indicators (i.e., people, planet and profit). These indicators are aligned with several CST themes including respect for human dignity (people) and stewardship of the environment (planet).
Operationalize social justice education
While business education was thought to play many roles: a molder and developer of students, a source of awareness and exposure, promoter of consciousness, faculty members did not stop here. Many of them agreed that social justice needs to be lived out in the lives of students and in businesses.
More importantly, social justice and CST can be operationalized in Catholic academic institutions. While business education is first and foremost geared towards businesses and business professionals, it must also be pointed out that social justice and CST must also be lived out in the academic life of the institution.
Some policy implications that could assist in this goal include more opportunities for exposure, immersion and reflection in social justice and CST within and among academic institutions; operationalize CST and social justice within courses through specific avenues like service learning; and promote CST and social teaching in businesses through rubrics like the Bishops Businessman’s Code of Ethics and Vocation of a Business Leader.
Other interventions and policies can be developed in time. Needless to say, the most important thing is that CST and social justice do not remain as mere constructs but are advocated, supported, promoted and lived out not only in Catholic academic institutions but also in business and government.
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From Feb. 26 to 28, over 200 participants from 22 countries will gather to discuss the crucial issues that surround the interaction of poverty and prosperity and how Catholic social thought and Catholic business education can inform the discussions of poverty in relation to human development and the common good. The 9th International Symposium on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education co-sponsored by Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, St. John’s University (New York) and Marquette University (Wisconsin) will be held in Manila, Philippines for the first time. The keynote addresses will be given by Luis Cardinal Antonio Tagle during the first day of the conference, which will be hosted by De La Salle University. For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/conferences/cst/2015/.
The author is the Chair of the Management and Organization Department, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. She can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.