Future Managers: How You Can Prepare For a New Era of Socially Responsible Business

Sponsored by Newcastle University Business School

It pays for businesses to be more socially and ethically responsible. It boosts their brand and image while simultaneously boosting workplace morale which leads to greater productivity. It’s a win-win for everyone.

If you’ve got your sights set on pursuing a career in management, or want your own startup, how can you make sure you and your business are well-prepared for the fast-changing expectations of responsible and ethical business practices?

According to Dr Cristina Neesham, Director of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, and Dr Peter Edward, lecturer in International Business Management at Newcastle University Business School, there is a lot that you can do. We spoke to them both and International Economics and Finance graduate Hitesh Anand, who founded his own socially responsible business, to find out more.

Dr Neesham and Dr Edward talk in great detail about the fast-changing expectations that are driven by global developments and challenges – from climate change to environmental degradation, mass extinctions to global pandemics. 

Globalization is also a matter which shouldn’t be considered as something that is “objective and inevitable” according to Dr Neesham.

“Humans can think critically and reflexively. This means we can improve the possible ways in which we can ‘do’ globalization, so to speak,” she said.

The ‘business as usual’ system is flawed in this instance. What businesses require now is a fundamental revision of how this system should work instead, which leads to several critical considerations:

• Being agile and adaptable
• Having higher levels of resilience
• Having a global perspective

“Without these sophisticated cognitive and behavioral abilities, our future managers won’t stand a chance in even beginning to understand what their social responsibilities are, and what it means to be ethical in this world full of new systemic challenges,” said Dr Neesham.

“In a global society, we are all interconnected – and all playing our vital part,” she said.

In order to do all of this effectively, you need to have the confidence to ask the right questions, which leads us to the next point.