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Corporate Responsibility History Project

 

U.S. and Global “History of
Corporate Responsibility” Launched

 

The Center for Ethical Business Cultures (CEBC) announces the launch of an unprecedented 3-year project to research and write U.S. and global histories of corporate responsibility. The Center has recruited a team of distinguished scholars to research and write the U.S. component (listed below)and will develop an international team to tackle development of corporate responsibility in other nations and cultures.

“Our goal is to reach a broad audience of national and international business leaders and policy makers with a compelling and thought-provoking history,” noted Ron James, CEBC President and CEO. “Given the Center’s roots in the commitment of Minnesota business leaders to responsible conduct and corporate citizenship, we are delighted to lead this project.” The Center was founded in 1978 by Minnesota business leaders who believed business must play an active role in addressing community challenges.  In 2000, CEBC published Culture of Corporate Citizenship by Wilfred Bockelman, a book about the origins and future of Minnesota’s business tradition. “Addressing the question at a national and international level is very timely.”

Corporate responsibility is not new concept or practice; variants date to the 19th century.  However, the last 40+ years have witnessed dramatic social, economic, environmental and regulatory issues, both in the U.S. and globally, that challenge business. Scholars have written extensively on the “concept” of corporate responsibility during this period, but less has been written on how business, in the U.S. and around the globe, translated questions of responsibility into strategy and practice. The CEBC-led history will track developments from post-World War II to the present examining business leadership and practices including the influence of key issues and regulatory frameworks and gauge the impact of business on its stakeholders.

Kenneth Goodpaster, Ph.D., Koch Chair in Business Ethics in the Opus College of Business and a CEBC board member, described Mr. Halloran’s vision to create a history as “truly inspirational.” Goodpaster, who will serve as executive editor for the history characterized the project as “an opportunity to learn from the past in ways that will inform business leaders as they make future decisions.”

David Rodbourne, the Center’s project director, emphasized CEBC’s interest in bringing the experience of business practitioners into the research effort. “Capturing the insights of people who designed and implemented corporate responsibility strategies will infuse the history with the tensions and choices that confronted leaders as this field evolved.”

The project’s funding derives from a major gift to the University of St. Thomas’ “Opening Doors” capital campaign by Philadelphia entrepreneur Harry R. Halloran, Jr.  The gift primarily endows the University’s SAIP Institute* at the Opus College of Business with a portion devoted to funding the Center’s history of corporate responsibility project.

Halloran is the Chairman and CEO of American Refining Group, Inc., and founder and CEO of Energy Unlimited, Inc., both headquartered in Pennsylvania. The Halloran Philanthropies are guided by Halloran’s belief that business is one of the most powerful drivers for positive social change. Mr. Halloran has been impressed by the work on business ethics at the University’s Opus College of Business and at CEBC. Halloran’s commitment to the history project builds on his two earlier grants to CEBC for preliminary research and a consultation among national and international scholars and practitioners convened by CEBC in November 2007. [For a roster of November 2007 participants see below.]

The project team for the U.S. history began its work with a preliminary meeting on May 12-13.  Research gets underway during summer 2008. The Center expects to complete and publish the history in mid-2011.

The History Project Team:

To produce the U.S. history, CEBC has recruited a distinguished team of scholars, noted below, as well as an advisory network of experienced business practitioners and scholars.  For the history’s global component, CEBC will tap institutes and practitioners, yet to be selected, in countries around the world to detail how corporate responsibility has evolved in different cultural and national settings. 

Executive Editor:         Kenneth E. Goodpaster, Ph.D., Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas.

U.S. Authors:               Archie B. Carroll, Ph.D., Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia.

Kenneth J. Lipartito, Ph.D., Department of History, Florida International University.

James E. Post, Ph.D., School of Management Strategy and Policy, Boston University.

Patricia H. Werhane, Ph.D., who holds appointments at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and at the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, DePaul University.

Project Director:          David Rodbourne, Vice President, CEBC.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

November 2007 History Consultation Participants:

As the culminating step in preparing for the corporate responsibility history project, CEBC convened national and international scholars and business practitioners November 6-7, 2007 at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.  The group endorsed the need for an authoritative history and its value for business leaders and reflective policy makers.

Consultation participants included:

  • Archie B. Carroll, Professor of Management, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia.

  • Rev. Gerald Cavanagh, SJ, University of Detroit Mercy.

  • William Frederick, Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration, University of Pittsburgh.

  • Kenneth Goodpaster, Koch Chair in Business Ethics, Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas – Minnesota.

  • Bradley Googins, Executive Director, Center for Corporate Citizenship, Boston College.

  • Kirk Hanson, Executive Director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, University of Santa Clara.

  • Heidi von Weltzein Hoivik, Professor, Business Ethics and Leadership, BI Norwegian School of Management, Oslo, Norway.

  • Pamela Laird, Associate Professor of History, University of Colorado Denver.

  • Kenneth Lipartito, Professor, Department of History, Florida International University.

  • David Logan,  Co-Founder and Director, The Corporate Citizenship Company, London.

  • Mary Pickard, former VP Community Affairs for St. Paul Travelers, and currently Principal Advisor for the Opus Philanthropy Group.

  • James Post, Professor of Management, Boston University.

  • David Vogel, Solomon Lee Professor of Business Ethics, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.

  • Sandra Waddock, Professor of Management, Carroll School of Management, Boston College.

  • Patricia Werhane, Ruffin Professor of Business Ethics, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and Professor and Wicklander Chair of Business Ethics and
    Director of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics in the Kellstadt School of Commerce at DePaul University.

  • Note:  Richard De George, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Kansas was unable to participate on November 6-7, but his submissions on framing and bibliographic suggestions are included in the complete record.

Other Participants:

  • J. Anthony (Tony) Carr, III, Executive Director, The Halloran Philanthropies.

  • Harry Halloran, Chairman and CEO, American Refining Group, Inc. (ARG).

  • Ronald Hill, Senior Associate Dean and Naclerio Endowed Chair, Villanova University School of Business.

  • Ron James, President and CEO, Center for Ethical Business Cultures.

  • T. Dean Maines, President, SAIP Institute, University of St. Thomas.

  • Christopher Puto, Dean, Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas.

  • David Rodbourne, Vice President, Center for Ethical Business Cultures.

The Center for Ethical Business Cultures assists business leaders in their journey to create ethical and profitable organizations at the enterprise, community and global levels.  The Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit business membership organization.  CEBC is engaged in a permanent joint venture with the University of St. Thomas and is located at the University’s Opus College of Business.

* The SAIP Institute at the University of St. Thomas is the principal beneficiary of the Halloran gift.  The Institute helps companies assess and enhance their ethical performance using the Self-Assessment and Improvement Process (SAIP), a proprietary tool modeled on the appraisal method pioneered by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program.  The SAIP provides a systematic framework for data collection and analysis which helps organizations examine and continuously improve the processes and practices which drive relations with employees, customers, investors, communities, and other stakeholders. Harry Halloran led the SAIP’s development and provided financial backing for the institute’s launch in 2007.  The Institute and CEBC cooperate closely on approaches to assessing ethical culture in organizations.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

 

 

 

Center for Ethical Business Cultures

1000 LaSalle Avenue, TMH 331 ▪ Minneapolis, MN 55403-2005 ▪ USA

Phone: 651 962 4120 or 800 328 6819 Ext. 2-4120 ▪ Facsimile: 651 962 4042

Email: mail@cebcglobal.org

 

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