Page 27 - Global Focus, Issue 2, 2018

Building a Human Rights Framework for Business Education | Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and Michael Posner

Developing teaching material and tackling
research questions that examine the business
models of corporations in different industry
settings will help to understand how business
can be a positive force for human rights

Professor Henry’s leadership on these issues The way forward
has enabled the Stern Center for Business As the field of human rights in business is
and Human Rights to develop a human rights taking shape, teaching and research in leading
programme at the school that includes several business schools is an important element of this
stand-alone courses and increasingly integrates process. Developing teaching material and
human rights issues into the school’s core courses tackling research questions that examine the
and executive programmes. business models of corporations in different
It is this full integration into mainstream industry settings will help to understand how
business school teaching and research that creates business can be a positive force for human rights.
an overarching human rights frame. It offers future This year marks the 70th anniversary of the
managers a compass that will guide them in their Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The
careers as they navigate evolving trends and central involvement of business in defending these
business challenges related to human rights. fundamental rights and freedoms is essential
for the future of our economies and our society.
Business schools’ response As Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, the UN High
Last November the NYU Stern Center, the Commissioner for Human Rights, put it recently:
Alliance Manchester Business School in the “it is the accumulating human rights violations…
UK and the Geneva School of Economics and and not a lack of GDP growth, which will spark
Management at the University of Geneva in conflicts that can break the world”.
Business educators need to adapt and be
Switzerland co-hosted an inaugural group of
70th over 20 business schools to discuss current responsive to this changing global environment.
efforts to promote human rights in business
schools and explore future opportunities.
The group agreed to share teaching material
This year marks the and research and explore how their institutions
70th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration could collaborate to advance human rights issues
of Human Right on the business education agenda. Accreditation
organisations such as the AACSB and EFMD can
play an important role in supporting this objective.
The inaugural group will reconvene this year in About the Authors
Geneva in November. We aim to grow the number Dr. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly is research director NYU Stern Center for
Business and Human Rights and oversees the Center's research activities,
of schools participating and create an active including development of academic publications, case studies and other
network of schools that promotes human rights teaching resources.
as an overarching frame for business education. Professor Michael Posner . is Director of NYU Stern Center for Business
and Human Rights. He and Sarah Labowitz co-founded the Center in 2013.
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