Responsible management education in UK business schools: Critically examining the role of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education as a driver for change

Abstract

As examinations of the ethics of business practice have increased so too have questions regarding the role of business schools. A key aspect of this re-evaluation has been the emergence of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), reflecting the growing emphasis upon 'soft regulation' and voluntary action within new governance frameworks around responsible business practice. This article focuses upon the changing nature of responsible management education within UK business schools and examines the potential role of PRME in shaping these developments. The article examines the findings of two surveys of responsible management education conducted in 2006/07 and 2009/10, and qualitative data derived from case studies of five PRME signatory schools. The article questions whether there is any direct evidence for PRME as a driver of curriculum change. It suggests that its primary impact may lie with its facilitative capacity and the ability of active faculty members in utilising this capacity.3 This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by SAGE Publishing in Management Learning, available online at

Understanding Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecocentric Radical-Reflexivity: Implications for Management Education

“…Hence, PRME advocates reflective practice as a key element of education for sustainability. However, a recent evaluation of the PRME initiative found that while opening up issues for discussion, PRME has not become a key driver of curriculum change in business schools (Burchell et al 2015). We argue the need for a more fundamental change, one which requires educators to consider how incorporating a radically reflexive ecocentric approach to sustainability in the heart of a management curriculum might offer a way of rethinking our responsibility to act on these issues.…”

Beyond the Curriculum: Integrating Sustainability into Business Schools

“…We follow Burchell et al (2015) in arguing that we need to look the beyond the curriculum to judge whether change is in fact happening. It is therefore necessary to focus on the key institutional success factors that should be developed in order for students and staff to understand sustainability challenges, implement sustainability management and innovate towards sustainability.…”

Insights into responsible education for sustainable development: The case of UWE, Bristol

“…UWE sees its ESD engagement and long-standing active membership of and contribution to UN PRME as being the right thing to do but also having the potential to contribute to other institutional drivers such as student and staff satisfaction and graduate employability (c.f. Burchell, et al 2015).…”

“…The alignment between responsible management education and the focus on education for sustainable development (in all components of UWE educational provision), within a framework of more general management education, is the unique aspect of this case, empirically and conceptually (c.f. Burchell, Kennedy, and Murray, 2015).…”