The PRME Working Group on Anti-Corruption in Curriculum Change has developed an innovative new resource for integrating anti-corruption values into the core curricula of leading business schools. Launched at the 3rd Global Forum, the Anti-corruption guidelines for curriculum change, or Anti-Corruption “Toolkit,” is part of a four-year project dedicated to providing a teaching framework that prepares students for the ethical, moral, and practical challenges that they will face in the marketplace.
According to the project coordinators, Matthias Kleinhempel and Gabriel Cecchini of IAE Business School’s Center for Governance and Transparency in Argentina, “The toolkit provides guidance and step by step approaches on successful guidelines, methods, techniques, mechanisms and processes for effective changes in responsible management curricula. By drawing lessons and experiences from several sources around the world, the Toolkit describes various methodologies and strategies. The toolkit is easy to use, it is constantly being updated and can be adapted to local use.”
What will you find in the toolkit?
The toolkit utilizes a mix of core concept readings, detailed case discussions, primary sources and documents, and scenarios devised for class discussion. Each of the ten study modules includes a long list of resources that allow faculty of different countries to design a course that is appropriately suited to the necessities of his/her students. The modules include;
(1) Core Concepts: The recognition and framing of ethical dilemmas and social responsibility and their importance in strategic decision making.
(2) Economics, Market Failure and Professional Dilemmas:Economics and market failure in its various forms and how it is manifested in corruption.
(3) Legislation, Control by Law, Agency and Fiduciary Duty: Many questions of agency leading to corruption arise from improper gifts, side deals and conflicts of interest.
(4) Why Corruption, Behavioral Science: This module addresses the question: What does Behavioral Science teach us about how to design a performance incentive system that encourages integrity as well as productivity?
(5) Gifts, Side Deals and Conflicts of Interest: Legislation and cases to understand gifts, side deals, and conflicts of interest and thelying and obfuscation that is often used to conceal them.
(6) International Standards and Supply Chain Issues: Frameworks and analytic methods for discussing the problems that companies face in the need to respect moral standards across borders, local customs (e.g., giving and receiving gifts) and bribery.
(7) Managing Anti-Corruption Issues: Designing, implementing, and overseeing corporate ethics and compliance systems in response to local and global compliance regimes.
(8) Functional Department and Collective Action Roles in Combating Corruption: The functional departments examined include human resources, marketing, accounting and finance.
(9) Truth and Disclosure, Whistle blowing and Loyalty: These topics raise issues of timing and context as towhat point and under what circumstances an agent or employee is permitted to blow the whistle on corruption.
(10) The Developing Global Anti corruption Compliance Regime: Topics include (a)global public policy principles and how are they promoted/enforced and (b) links between corruption and forms of state failure such as deprivation of human rights and environmental degradation.
How can others use this resource?
The basic idea of the Toolkit is to present a buffet of ideas and resources on how to take education on anti-corruption to the next level. It presents up-to-date content in a comprehensive way and supports its delivery in the classroom. Faculty can choose those elements deemed most useful in revising their curriculum or creating a new stand-alone course. The corresponding chapters outline their importance, define learning goals and questions, provide a listing of relevant literature, cases and dilemmas address.
Who is currently implementing this project?
More than ten schools are currently involved in the pilot phase of the Toolkit. Taking place in the second half of 2012 and first half of 2013, this process will enable adaptation of lesson for local use and improve core elements. The participating pilot schools include HSBA Hamburg School of Business Administration (Germany), University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur (Switzerland), Bangalore University (India), IAE Business School (Argentina), Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), AESE Business School (Portugal), Lagos Business School (Nigeria), Silesian University of Technology (Poland), Faculty of Business Management – Open University (Tanzania), and Audencia Nantes School of Management (France).
How can others get involved?
Once the pilot phase concludes in the first half of 2013 and the feedback from pilot schools has been received and processed, the Toolkit will be openly available to all interested institutions around the world through an online platform. In early 2013 we will post some further blogs with some of the lessons learnt from this process.
The toolkit will also be presented by Ron Berenbeim of NYU Stern and a member of the PRME working group at the upcoming International Anti-Corruption Conference.
You can access the toolkit online.
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