Birmingham is a leader in the preparation of students to become responsible business leaders. Photo: Birmingham
Caroline Chapain believes in the ability of a business school to create world changers.
“If you don't think you can change the world, you will never change it,” she says.
It is a high vision. But it is also a philosophy in the culture and program of studies of the Birmingham Business School, where Chapain is an associate professor in the management department. Over the past decade, the business-based business school continued to train future business leaders by emphasizing work to a responsible future.
The push towards the training of responsible business leaders fled in 2017 when the Birmingham Business School became signatory to the United Nations Principles for the Management of Responsible Business (PRME). A year later, the school launched the Responsible business centerwhich is a collaboration between Lloyds Banking Group and Birmingham Business School. The aim of the center is to promote an interdisciplinary research environment examining what it means to be a responsible business.
“Over the past ten years, we have really put our values at the heart of who we are and what we do as a business school,” explains Chapain. “And about four or five years ago, we redesigned our MBA program, putting responsible affairs at the heart of it.”
A responsible solid company study basis
The one -year MBA program begins with the basic module, the determined leader. On the nine basic modules, these are the first students that are worth the most credits and the students devote the most time to it. Birmingham designed the course to explore students' leadership styles and career aspirations compared to their fundamental values. Students also take the global prospects for the basic module on responsible companies that Chapain helps to lead, which explores theories and practical means to manage a responsible business.
Although other modules are more typical commercial subjects, such as financing management, marketing and management of people and organizations, Chapain says they all have elements of social inclusiveness and broader business practices. “We are trying to cover and bring each discipline to their education while making them think about the type of student, professional and future MBA want to be,” explains Chapain. “What are your values?” Who are you? What does all this mean in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion? What does that mean in terms of environment? ”
Go beyond diversity and inclusion
In addition to a program of studies on equity, diversity, inclusion and environmental and social responsibility, Birmingham takes on a commercial training responsible at another level thanks to research, centers and activities. Chapain started in Birmingham Business School two decades ago and was part of the school's development in responsible affairs from the start. “I moved my career towards education and understand how we can create an environment in business schools which is more inclusive for the student, but also allow them to become the agent of change in the future of their organization.”
An important part of the creation of future responsible business leaders includes the emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2020, during the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, Chapain said that Birmingham made an effort to underline its inclusiveness and its diversity on another level. Part of this included the development and growth of Work research center. Like the Center for Responsible Business, the Work included Research Center is an interdisciplinary entity. Chapain represents the Department of Management of the Business School, promoting the development of the scholarship and the implementation of the teaching of inclusive management.
The works of research of the work included Research Center and were organized in five “workflows”. These are diversity and inclusiveness within organizations; employment relations and work regulations; Dialogue of trust and work; Inequalities in work, well-being and labor market; and teaching and learning, which Chapain leads.
Decolonize commercial education and business schools
A large part of the work of Chapain understands what Birmingham calls the decolonization of commercial education, because it is codirigent of the BBS decolonization project. The three -year project aims to identify how colonialism still exists in the academic structure of Birmingham Business School, then dismantling it for a more inclusive, fair and equal business school.
Although the term colonization can mean many different things for many different people, Birmingham Business School adopts a contextual approach. He recognizes how colonization and values confirmed by colonization continue to exist in many Western business schools. In addition to dismantling and restructuring colonization in its program and research, the BBS decolonization project organizes activities by examining the means to decolonize Western business schools.
“As we develop the project, I think it really corresponds to our business school culture,” explains Chapain. “I am not saying it's always easy, but I think it really resonates with many people, especially in business school, where half of our staff are not from the United Kingdom”
Commercial education with a side of nature
Of course, a large part of becoming a responsible business includes environmental aspects. “What has been interesting for me is that there is a certain overlap between denolonization and responsible affairs linked to this idea of how we relate to the planet and nature,” explains Chapain. “So we tried to bring students into nature, making a nature -based learning.”
Chapain says that the business school will take students to the Birmingham botanical garden so that they can think about their relationships with nature. “We ask them to do meditation and contemplation,” explains Chapain. “And it's really, really positive because it seems to resonate with them, and they are able to bring the experience back to the classroom.”
This is only one of the many aspects that are currently distinguishing Birmingham Business School outside others.
“We take equity, diversity and inclusion very seriously,” explains Chapain. “There are very few schools like us where you have a decolonization project. And we don't just look at the program. We examine research and operations. We have been quite advanced in our thought and practice. We live our values. “
And, in turn, to stick to these values creates responsible MBA graduates and to the spirit generally.
“We live in a world world and you have to interact with people of so many different places,” says Chapain. “When you do business – even if you are a small business – be able to interact in a responsible manner with others is a key skill you really need. And that is why we train our students. ”
