Managing and teaching Business Ethics: Global trends and challenges

is the title of the European conference held from 13 to 16 May 2018 at the Lassalle-Haus, the Swiss Jesuit centre in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. It was organised together with ESADE (Barcelona), one of the leading Jesuit business schools, and the Munich School of Philosophy, and constituted the second in a three-part series focusing on business ethics in different cultures and continents. The series kicked off with a conference in Manila (Philippines) in 2017 and will close in Santa Clara (California) in 2019 year. The Lassalle-Haus was chosen as host for the conference covering the regions of Europe and Africa.

The aim of the conference series is to explore the possibilities and difficulties of maintaining ethical standards in one’s business activities in a globalised world, and what contributions the Ignatian tradition can make in this context. Among the initiators of the series was the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS).

Both theory and practice of business ethics were spotlighted. Day one was dedicated to academic exchange. In his keynote speech, John Dardis SJ, General Counsellor for Discernment and Apostolic Planning, Rome, introduced some key terms for business ethics informed by Ignatian teachings: incarnation and vulnerability, gratitude and vision, inner freedom and inhabitor of two worlds. The prime goal must be to nurture a passion for commitment in young men and women. With over 100,000 Jesuits and non-Jesuits employed in its teaching facilities around the world, the Jesuit order is ideally placed to do so.

In 12 sub-groups, researchers from around 40 universities presented their research questions and results regarding business ethics in practice. The topics selected centred around the teaching of business ethics and ways in which interest among the young generation can be stimulated. With a view to executive education, the key question was how leadership and spirituality can be combined. Finally, several topical corporate culture issues were broached, such as digitalisation and whistle-blowing.

The second day was marked by exchanges between business ethics researchers and academics on the one hand and practitioners in the form of over 20 Swiss company executives on the other. Representatives of a Swiss asset management firm, an HR consultancy with a global reach, and an internationally operating toolmaker based in Liechtenstein each gave a presentation outlining their vision of ethics in the business world, which initiated a lively discussion.

Evidence of cultural differences in business ethics led to a particularly animated debate.  While business ethics in the Anglo-Saxon sphere are primarily understood as an adherence to legal standards and regulations (compliance),  the continental European view tends to take the interests of stakeholders and society as a whole (e.g. environmental aspects) into account as well. Input from emerging economies in Asia emphasised the importance of relationships. In China, however, recent developments suggest a shift from relationship-oriented to rule-oriented business leadership.

It was pleasing to note that participants at the conference included representatives from Uppsala, Geneva, Innsbruck, Vienna, Budapest and Vilnius, in other words from all five provinces that are due to merge into one in the coming years.

The fact that the conference coincided with the publication of the Vatican’s document entitled “Considerations for an Ethical Discernment Regarding Some Aspects of the Present Economic-Financial System“, which also emphasises the importance of teaching business ethics, is no doubt an encouraging sign.

The event represented a further incentive for the Lassalle-Institut to continue to pursue its goal of fostering international and interprovincial networking. In terms of content, it gave rise to a new research project on Ignatian spirituality and leadership. The follow-on conference in Santa Clara is scheduled for July 2019.