MBA Program in Global Entrepreneurial Management.

A push for the use of sustainability education as a strategy to improve sustainable development has been going on for the past few of years (SD). The issue then becomes what part universities and other higher education institutions can play in ensuring that both current and future generations continue to enjoy life. This study report looked at the degree to which American colleges have embraced the idea of sustainability education and incorporated it into the business school curricula. The main sustainability issue that this thesis focuses on is economic sustainability. This is owing to the recent economic crises that have been witnessed in the financial world primarily arising from the greed and unchecked actions by business managers geared towards profitability and with utter disregard to the society and environs in which they generally function in. The adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ethics, and general sustainability education is the core thesis of this thesis. The author further examines the adoption of sustainability education on a few select undergraduate business courses in the US. To understand the depth and breadth of the implementation of sustainability education in these institutions, an analysis of the level of adoption of CSR, ethics and general sustainability education is carried out.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable education, sustainable development, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ethics, business managers, business school curricula, education, Institutions of Higher Learning, Universities

Acknowledgement

Table of Contents

I. Introduction and Study Background 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Problem Statement and the Drive of this Investigation 3

1.3 Study Questions and Hypothesis 6

1.4 Motivation and Impact of the Investigation 6

1.5 Definition of Terms 9

1.6 Limitations of the Investigation 9

1.7 Thesis Statement 10

1.8 Aims and Objectives 10

1.9 Contributions 12

1.10 Work Outline 13

1.10.1 Chapter 1: Introduction. 13

1.10.2 Chapter 2: Background/Related Work 13

1.10.3 Chapter 3: Methodology. 14

1.10.5 Chapter 5: Observations and Analysis of the Results. 14

1.10.6 Chapter 6: Future Research and Conclusion. 14

II. Background / Related Work 15

2.1 Sustainable Development 15

2.2 Is Sustainable Education Teachable? 15

2.3 Background on Sustainability Education 17

2.4 Principles of Sustainable Development 18

2.5 Sustainability Education (SE) 19

2.6 Sustainable Education in the University 21

2.7 Previous Works 22

2.8 Literature Review 23

III. Methodology 28

3.1 Study Design 28

3.2 Participants 29

3.3 Instruments 29

3.4 Sampling 29

3.5 Statistical Procedures 30

IV. Results and Findings 32

4.1 Effects of Sustainability Education on Corporate Social Responsibility 32

Implementation 32

Decision Making 33

Improved Quality of Life. 33

4.2 Higher Edification Institutions and Sustainability Tutoring 35

4.3 CSR, Ethics and Sustainability in University Curricula 38

4.4 The Manner and Point at which the Integration of these Concepts is done in the Curricula 39

4.5 Experience of Professors in CSR, Ethics, and Sustainability. 40

4.6 Delivery of Concepts 42

4.7 Availability of Teaching Material 48

4.8 Challenges to Sustainability Education 49

4.8.1 Resistance to change among the academic staff. 49

4.8.2 Lack of self-confidence among the tutors. 52

4.8.3 Rigid institutional policies and frameworks. 53

V. Observations and Analysis of the Results 55

VI. Future Research and Conclusion 57

6.1 Future Research 57

6.2 Conclusion 58

References 60

List of Tables

Table 4.1 Response by Business Deans on implementing Ethics, CSR and Sustainability concepts in their corporate curriculum. 38

Table 4.2 At what level are students exposed to these concepts? 39

Table 4.3 Coaching experience, industry expertise and the professor’s rank in sustainability, ethics and CSR courses. 41

Table 4.4 Assessment Approaches 47

List of Figures

Figure 4.5. Bloom’s Taxonomy 37

Figure 4.6 Modifications on Bloom’s Taxonomy (Conklin et al, 2005) 40

The Role of Sustainability Education in Corporate Social Responsibility Development

I. Introduction and Study Background

1.1 Introduction

Sustainability education has in the last few years been a contentious subject of discussion in the public domain especially as a tool towards sustainable development. As regards to economic sustainability, many critics have argued that the absence of CSR and ethics within the business world, especially by managers, has led to an unprecedented corruption of the global financial system model.

Dawe and Martin (2005) note that throughout the ‘Summit for Sustainable Development’ in the black continent held in 2002, the bulk of world leaders who were present failed to succinctly express themselves on issues on sustainability. What worried Dawe and Martin (2005) was not the fact that these were world leaders but that most of them had higher degrees from some of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. Orr (1994) has been quoted as saying that the main threat to the planet is mainly due to the works of highly educated people. These sentiments, thus, form the basis of the arguments by scholars and researchers that the education system is not sustainable in its form. Dawe and Martin (2005) raise questions about why it is so rare for these highly educated leaders to challenge unethical decisions and the disrespect of all forms of life and the environment. Furthermore, they raise questions about what kind of leadership is expected in the future with the continuous degradation of the social fiber. Some of these questions have led to various actions being taken to encourage the uptake of school-training for sustainable development.

Proponents of supportability education advocate for embedding sustainability education within the curriculum in an interdisciplinary and holistic manner. This reinvention of the education system is supposed to include different pedagogy approaches including problem-solving, critical thinking, and a multi-method and participatory strategy.

The introduction of sustainable development eventually led to the attention on sustainability education. The supporters of sustainable development realized that it’s not sufficient only to teach about sustainable development, but that sustainable development concepts needed to be inbuilt within the education system as a whole (McKeown, Hopkins, Rizi, & Chrystalbridge, 2002). Therefore, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was generally agreed that sustainability education would be encouraged globally and that all business schools need to incorporate sustainability education in their syllabus in order to receive accreditation (McKeown et al., 2002). This sustainability education for business students was supposed to be implemented as ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and universal concepts that can be upheld. Therefore, business schools were required to develop curricula which are in line with these sustainability concepts. However, the multiple financial crises which have been witnessed over the last couple of years throws in some doubts on whether business schools are actually effectively teaching on sustainability. The purpose of this paper, as shall be made clear in the later sections, is to analyze the role of universities in creating a corporate culture that favors the collective gain of the society in general as opposed to the seeking of the fulfillment of personal interests and corporate profits. The paper examines the current situation in some US universities regarding the uptake and implementation of sustainability concepts. It is expected that these randomly selected universities are an ideal representation of the situation in most business universities.

The paper examines various aspects of learning in these institutions including the level of embedment of CSR, ethics and sustainability concepts in the curriculum. To further investigate the hypothesis, the research questions the pedagogy techniques which are employed by tutors to deliver the information on sustainability education to the students. This is done mainly through the aid of Bloom’s taxonomy. Moreover, the study investigates the various challenges that the uptake of sustainability education is facing in various universities. Recommendations on how to best handle these challenges are presented in this paper too.

1.2 Problem Statement and the Drive of this Investigation

In between the great recession (2007-2009), occurred the financial crisis of 2008. Immediately after this, economists, financial journalists, and researchers attributed this failure to greed, a lack of values and ethics among the business managers as well as free-market capitalism. The argument that most of these researchers put forward is that the unchecked greed and corruption among the business managers led to the financial crisis of 2008. Greed by the financial institution managers led to many unsecured loans. In Wall Street, multiple actions all fuelled by unmitigated greed and corruption were rampant at the time (Suranovic, 2010). The CEOs are not left behind in this crisis. This greed was manifested in many forms including unwarranted compensation packages to the executives. This greed was characterized by business managers pursuing their ruthless gain; enriching themselves at the expense of others.

The public somehow stopped viewing the actions by these individuals as personal traits but rather a systematic problem owing to the kind of education that these business managers receive. Therefore, the blame was shifted to the business schools. There have been proposals in the education sector by many bodies to include sustainability learning within the school, especially towards business courses.

Guidelines on the implementation of the curriculum altering by these business schools, however, are not available in a comprehensive manner (Velazquez, Munguia, & Sanchez, 2005). Therefore, these schools are left to their own devices to decide on the best way to implement these requirements. Due to the lack of a standardized practice, it is expected that each institution deals with the issue differently, depending on what the leadership decides. It may be common knowledge that sustainability education needs to be encompassed in the learning delivered to business managers, but the effectiveness of any system is majorly dependent on the moving parts on the ground. The idea on the implementation of sustainability, ethics, and CSR education is a good one. However, how this task is implemented makes all the difference.

The problem that this research deals with is, from the argument presented above, multidimensional. First is the issue of the role of institutions in the promotion of the three main elements notably; sustainability, ethics, and CSR within the business community. Secondly, as there are no succinct guidelines on how to deal with the issue effectively, how these universities and institutions of higher education are handling the issue.

The issue of the inclusion of sustainability education has been discussed across many forums worldwide from the day of the introduction of sustainable development. The issue of embedding sustainability education in the curriculum is a multidimensional one and involves the participation of the students, tutors and the entire business school departments. Universities need to develop student leadership through the empowering of students with the knowledge on sustainability education across all disciplines, not only in business schools. In addition, business schools need to create and participate in business opportunities for researchers, faculties, and students to engage in discussions and presentations about sustainable education. As sustainability education rotates about taking care of the community, eternal links with these communities need to be created and maintained. Leadership within the business community needs to be provided for the external community also.

1.3 Study Questions and Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this study is that sustainability education can be effectively used to promote ethics and CSR among business managers. This is in a bid to prevent the proliferation of actions and business decisions which are solely driven by personal interests and gains and seldom by the collective interest of the society.

The main question that this paper deals with is ‘What role do universities have in the preparation of business leaders in creating a socially responsible, ethical, and sustainable climate in the globe’s business corporations?’ Additional research questions aimed at emphasizing on the main research question above included:

Are CSR and ethics included in United States universities’ curricula?

How much emphasis is given to these ethics and CSR courses if indeed they are included in the universities’ curricula?

How broadly are sustainability courses included in the university curricula?

How many Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) offer courses which emphasize on corporate social responsibility?

1.4 Motivation and Impact of the Investigation

The study on the role of universities in the creation of socially responsible and ethical managers is meant to shed light on the level of sustainability education that students in institutions of higher learning are receiving. The data collected will aid in the determination of whether the globe is prepared to cater for the survival needs of current and future generations, from an economic and Corporate Social Responsibility perspective.

With the increased discussions on sustainability at the international arena, it is imperative that studies are carried out to determine how much of the actual sustainability education is being delivered to learners.

In 1992, at the earth Summit in Rio, education was acknowledged as one of the major factors that can be used in driving sustainable development (Cullingford & Blewitt, 2013). The concerns which were raised in Rio are as a relevant as before. The role of sustainability and the need for education in the subject, therefore, still remains significant. Living in a weightless knowledge and globalized economy, almost every inhabitant of planet earth is feeling the pressure of the need for sustainable economic, environment and social frameworks. As some people amass wealth to an unimaginable scale, the scourge of poverty still bites mercilessly to some people, especially in developing countries. Furthermore, economic inequality is being witnessed at an unprecedented rate the world over. Therefore, economic equality is far from being fair.

Issues have been raised towards Higher Education. This sector has been highly implicated as it is also a significant player in the generation and distribution of knowledge as pertains all the issues discussed above. The education sector has a huge responsibility in the shaping of the reality of life as the current and future generations lead it (Barth, Godemann, Rieckmann, & Stoltenberg, 2007). Therefore, issues of poverty, unequal distribution of wealth, Corporate Social Responsibility and general ethics need to be understood all the way from the classroom setting. This work aims at examining the position of the education system and regards to the direction in which it is heading in terms of sustainability learning. For this reason, this paper not only looks at the current trends in the education sector regarding sustainability education, it also examines ways in which this sector should evolve in the future to further enhance the sustainability of human life on earth.

As the world has been rapidly evolving, one space that has been constantly left behind is the classroom (Barth et al., 2007). Therefore, the education sector should be re-invented and made to be relevant to the trends being experienced in the business sector the world over. This can be achieved through the reshaping of the curriculum to involve current trends. One of the main current trends is sustainable development. It is not just enough to teach about sustainable development in the classroom. For the concepts of sustainable development to be better grasped by the students, they need to be inbuilt in the curriculum. It is high time that the education sector becomes an active participant in the issues of economic sustainability. Before, the education fraternity were just analysts and observers on issues to do with sustainability. This kind of a system was flawed as it taught about sustainable development without the realization that the education system itself needs to be sustainable.

1.5 Definition of Terms

Sustainability - the maintenance of basic support systems geared towards the indefinite survival of the human race

Sustainable development - development as the maintenance of non-depreciating quality of life for current and forthcoming generations

Sustainability education- education that has the ability to be used as a means to enhance defensible growth. The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education define the term as

“A transformative learning process that equips students, teachers and school systems with the new knowledge and ways of thinking that is needed in order to achieve economic prosperity and responsible citizenship while restoring the health of the living systems upon which human lives depend”

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - the alignment of individual and collective interests

Ethics - moral principles and values that guide a person’s behavior or the conducting of any action.

1.6 Limitations of the Investigation

This exploration encountered a couple of challenges, some of which are discussed in the following text. First of all, sustainability education is a rather new subject. Therefore, the amount of data available for analysis is limited. This presented the challenge that the little information available for analysis may not have been sufficient to determine the outcome of this research.

Secondly, the research was constrained by time factors. Only a minimal amount of time was available for the entire analysis of all the available data. Lastly, the sample that was selected for this study may not have been representative of the globe. The studied universities were mainly from the United States, and hence, providing information that is more biased to the situation in the United States.

1.7 Thesis Statement

This paper analysis the hypothesis that ‘Higher learning institutions play a significant role in preparing commerce managers to construct an ethical, socially accountable, and sustainable climate in the global business world.’

Different aspects are used to examine this hypothesis. These include the use of various research questions as discussed at a later section in this paper. The truth of this thesis statement is examined towards the end of the paper through the analysis of the results and observations of this research.

1.8 Aims and Objectives

This research is aimed at analyzing the role of universities and other institutions of higher learning in the implementation of sustainability education. It focuses mainly on the role of education as a tool towards the education of business managers who are ethical in their actions and abide by societal values which promote a sustainable and socially responsible economic climate. This study seeks to determine the obligation of sustainability education in developing corporate social responsibility.

This research goals and objectives will be met through the thorough analysis of data as described in the next section on methodology.

1.9 Contributions

This study will point out on the role of universities in the creation of moral corporate citizens who are not only ethical in their decision making but who also take responsibility for their actions towards the society. The objectives of this study will be achieved through the examination of university curricula to examine the degree to which sustainability concepts have been integrated into the educational framework of US universities. By doing so, this research will contribute towards the growing global interest in sustainability concepts. It will provide awareness into the level of adoption of sustainability education in US business courses hence determining the level of participation of education into the drive towards sustainability.

Globalists and environmental conservationists have for a long time been lobbying for the adoption of sustainability concepts to guarantee the continuity and enjoyment of life for forthcoming generations (Porter & Córdoba, 2009) However, there have been cases whereby business managers and people in power have made decisions that have endangered the existence of the very economic system that the world relies on for sustenance and survival. The need to train business managers on the need for sustainability development has thus arisen from these concerns. However, due to the novelty of the ideas on sustainability, there have not been any succinct definitions of the terms concerned with sustainability, including sustainability itself, Corporate Social Responsibility and business ethics. This study will thus try to make these definitions clear. Furthermore, the adoption of CSR, ethics, and sustainability learning into the business courses curriculum has been facing significant difficulties. One such difficult is the lack of proper standards on how best to include these concepts in the syllabus. This study aims at analyzing the best practices that can be adopted by universities in including sustainability ideas into their curriculum.

1.10 Work Outline

1.10.1 Chapter 1: Introduction. The introductory segment serves as an outline of the subject of discussion in this paper. It presents an introduction to the issue of sustainability education in terms of its advent and the perception on its implementation. This section of the paper gives a rough outline on what is expected in the rest of the paper.

1.10.2 Chapter 2: Background/Related Work. This section presents a background on the theme of sustainability education and the adoption of the three principle elements in universities and other institutions of higher learning. Next is a general background on sustainability education as well as sustainable development, as these two concepts go hand in hand. A discussion on the principles of sustainable development as described in the Rio Declaration is also presented. Subsequently, the question on whether sustainability education is viable is debated. The general concepts of sustainability education and sustainability education in the university are then highlighted. The chapter closes with the highlighting of some of the most prominent previous works in the area.

1.10.3 Chapter 3: Methodology. This chapter deals with the methods that were employed in the collection and analysis of data that was relied upon in this research.

1.10.4 Chapter 4: Results and Findings. This section is an in-depth presentation of the facts as were discovered on the ground. It starts with a discussion on the effects of sustainability education on corporate social responsibility. Later on in the chapter are detailed findings on the inclusion of CSR, ethics, and sustainability education in universities.

1.10.5 Chapter 5: Observations and Analysis of the Results. This chapter uses the results and findings as presented in Chapter 4 to analyze the role of university education in developing business managers who are concerned about the wellbeing of the society in general.

1.10.6 Chapter 6: Future Research and Conclusion. As not everything within the area of sustainability education was examined in this work, this chapter commences with a discussion on the opportunities for future research to continue or complement this paper. The end of this chapter comes in the form of a conclusion which reiterates the subject area of this research and summarizes the findings of the research.

II. Background / Related Work

2.1 Sustainable Development

Sustainability can be defined as the maintenance of basic support systems geared towards the indefinite survival of the human race (Brown, Hanson, Liverman, & Merideth, 1987).

Daly (2006) defines sustainable development as the maintenance of non-depreciating value of existence for the prevailing and upcoming generations. This, in the words of Daly (2006), can be determined by the level of utility and happiness by these generations. Therefore, the quality of life should either be maintained or, better still, enhanced for future generations; but never declined. Secondly, sustainable development concepts outline that physical throughput should be sustained. That is, the extraction of natural resources for use in economic advancement and the eventual flow of the by-products back to the environment needs to be non-declining. For the sake of this paper, the second definition is adopted since the definition involving utility has several weaknesses. First of all, utility is unquantifiable. Secondly, even if utility was quantifiable, it is something that cannot be passed on to future generations as an inheritance. It is upon the future generations to decide upon the value of life that they will lead, regardless of how much knowledge and resources that the current generation leaves them.

2.2 Is Sustainable Education Teachable?

The need for global sustainable development has led to experts in the field to highly concentrate on education as a tool to enhance its adoption. Sustainable education is highly teachable and there have been pushes from many bodies to adopt it in the curricula throughout the education sector, from elementary school all the way to university.

Universities, in particular, have a profound responsibility to advance the adoption of sustainability in the globe. This can be achieved through the inclusion of sustainability concepts in the syllabus and curricula which students go through before they are released into the business world. Currently, the world is made up of business people with varying values, perspectives and goals (Wals & Corcoran, 2006). This can be attributed to the lack of proper education on what actions are best for the society as a whole. Therefore, values and ethics need to be incorporated into the learning process to ensure increased corporate social responsibility from among the business people.

The teaching of sustainable education can be achieved through various means. The most advocated method, however, is the inclusion of ethics, CSR and sustainability concepts into the curriculum. Sustainability education, however, needs to be taught not only in the classroom, but also at homes and in many others informal settings. Sustainable education needs to be presented at a continuous basis due to its ever changing dynamic. The inclusion of sustainability concepts would greatly aid in the adoption of CSR by the student. As sustainability education concentrates lots of efforts on the society, the student would be mindful of the impacts his/her decisions have on the society and eventually encourage CSR.

2.3 Background on Sustainability Education

The discussion on sustainability education started almost at the same time as those on sustainable development. Sustainable development was for the first time recognized at the UN General Assembly in 1987 (McKeown et al., 2002). Between 1987 and 1992, the idea of sustainable development and sustainability education was advanced through discussions and negotiations which eventually led to the writing of the 40 chapters of Agenda 21 (McKeown et al., 2002). The concept of Sustainability Education is covered in the 36th Chapter of Agenda 21, under the umbrella of ”Promoting Education, Public Awareness, and Training” (McKeown et al., 2002). The sustainability education movement was, ironically, started by stakeholders outside the education community. Most of the discussions about sustainability education came from the Organization of American States, as well as the UN, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

2.4 Principles of Sustainable Development

Sustainability education is aimed at achieving sustainable development the world over. Economic sustainable development, thus, needs to use the tools of sustainability education if it is to be achieved.

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development formulated 18 sustainability principles. The following list has fleshed out only the relevant principles to economic development and those which affect the values and ethics of business managers (McKeown et al., 2002).

The current development must not hinder the advancement and environment requirements of current and forthcoming generations.

Any nation has the autonomous privilege to exploit its own resources, so long as they do not cause adverse effects and environmental degradation beyond their international boundaries.

In such a case that the activities of a particular nation lead to adverse effects on the environment beyond their borders, laws shall be put in place to provide compensation for the affected parties.

The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) does not just involve the provision of information to students but to a larger extent the initiation of transformation and change to the student in the hope that this change will eventually lead to a greater change within the community (McKeown et al., 2002). Furthermore, ESD concentrates more on a lifelong learning process. Therefore, sustainability education does not discriminate anyone based on age, background. Sustainable learning therefore takes place in all kinds of settings, be formal or informal. Therefore, it is possible that sustainability learning takes place in spaces such as schools, workplaces, homes and communities.

ESD, furthermore, encourages a system thinking. Education for sustainable development aims at equipping learners with concepts which connect environmental, economic, social and political systems as sustainability involves the interconnection of all these aspects. ESD advocates for critical thinking, participation, and partnerships for change, all aimed at making the lives of current and future generations better.

2.5 Sustainability Education (SE)

As earlier mentioned, the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education defines the term as a transformative knowledge-gaining procedure that furnishes scholars, educators and school structures with the fresh understanding and ways of discerning that is necessary to attain economic success and accountable citizenship while reinstating the health of the living schemes upon which mankind depends. Sustainable improvement, which is meant to be accomplished through sustainable education, is defined by the same institute as the progress that counters the need of the contemporary without undermining the ability of upcoming generation’s needs to be met. A section of Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration, formulated during the Earth Summit (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) deals with issues of education as relates to sustainable education. Some of the issues addressed in this agenda include:

The improvement of basic education,

The reorientation of current education practices to address sustainable development,

The development of public understanding, awareness, and

Training.

Sustainable development generally has three parts namely:

Environment,

Society, and

Economy.

This article concentrates on the third component, economy, as regards to sustainable development and sustainable education. However, it is important to take note that sustainable development can only be attained through the hitting of a balance between the three components above as they are mutually dependent.

Education experts and stakeholders in the education sector realized the clear dissimilarity between education for maintainable development and education about sustainable advancement. As the principle focus was on education about sustainable development, there have been reorientations which gave rise to the coining of the term ”Education for Sustainable Development.” This gave rise to a pattern modification in the edification system from a theoretical perspective to tutoring being used as a means to achieve sustainability (McKeown, Hopkins, Rizi, & Chrystalbridge, 2002)

The current economic model is not sustainable, as can be witnessed from the many financial crises that have rocked the globe in past years. Most of the public agrees that education is a vital means to sustainability. But that is just as far as the agreement goes, as there have been lots of a...