The Case for Business and Human Rights in Business Education - A Tool Kit

Abstract

In today’s globalized economy, companies face a range of human rights challenges that are growing in importance and attracting increasing attention. Human rights generate great student interest and complements teaching and research in many other areas of business education. Because so many of these issues are highly visible, business schools that incorporate human rights into their curricula will have the potential to enhance their public reputations, improve recruitment prospects for top students, strengthen their ratings, and generate new sources of funding. Incorporating human rights into the curriculum is also the right thing to do, because of the importance of these issues to society. As the current model for business education is being tested by rising costs and declining application numbers, schools that feature cutting-edge global issues like human rights in their teaching and research will be seen as leaders in shaping 21st century global business education.Human rights issues manifest themselves differently in each business sector. Companies that rely on global manufacturing or agricultural supply chains grapple with labor issues that run the gamut from worker safety to child labor. Mining companies routinely operate in conflict zones, where security challenges are ever-present and exploitation of women and children is a subject of constant concern. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted growing economic inequalities that fuel populism and nationalism, threatening to undermine economic and political stability. Those who exploit social media to exacerbate political divisions and amplify hate test the current governance models of online platforms. Businesses now are expected to navigate this complex terrain while operating in a fishbowl–a world dominated by new technologies that amplify public attention to all of these issues, putting the brand reputation of even the largest and most profitable companies at risk.Most business schools have devoted little or no attention to these issues, but this is now about to change. As global businesses increasingly deal with these challenges, business educators will be expected to provide the tools for current and future business leaders to grapple with these issues. Business schools offer the ideal venue to explore 21st century human rights challenges, both in teaching future business leaders and conducting cutting-edge research. Business school professors will have an opportunity to work with corporate leaders, helping them better understand these complex challenges and develop the tools to address them. Over time, business schools can and should play a leading role in this new field, developing effective industry standards and metrics, as well as organizational insights into how to apply these standards in practice. This guidance will help corporations address risks to their operations and to their reputations. Finally, business schools also can provide the empirical and conceptual framework to help corporate leaders and others build the business case for adopting long-term strategies to promote human rights.