EXTERNAL BLOGS

Covid-19 And Business Education

Invited guest blogger for Aspen Institute: Faculty Spotlight, 4-part series, April 2020

  • Part 1: In just a few weeks the state of globalization has changed dramatically; what lasting effects if any do you think this will have on business and the interconnectedness of our global economy? April 1st 2020 - “We will emerge on the other side of this with a greater sense of what it is to be a global citizen in a fight against an enemy that doesn’t discriminate on nationality or recognize borders.” Available Here

  • Part 2: While few predicted the situation that we find ourselves in today, what elements from your teaching do you hope best prepare students for the leadership necessary during such times of crisis? April 8th 2020 - “I teach my students that there are rarely ‘right answers’. This is what makes critical thinking so important. Because if there is no ‘right’ answer, all we can do is develop a logically reasoned argument based on strong evidence.” Available Here

  • Part 3: What are your top three predictions for how this crisis will impact the business education landscape? April 15th 2020 - “The role of business as a contributor to society will be re-examined. In debate ‘what is an essential service’?” Available Here

  • Part 4: What do you want other educators to know about what you’ve learned so far during this crisis? April 22nd 2020 - “Cal Newport’s book Deep Work demonstrates the importance of dedicated uninterrupted time for thought and learning, which contribute to us achieving our greatest intellectual potential.” Available Here

What Is Sustainability Anyway?

University of Edinburgh, Teaching Matters blog, 7th April 2020 - “As a researcher and lecturer focused on sustainability issues I often hear: ‘We know we should include more sustainability in the curriculum. But should we offer a course on sustainability, or should we include sustainability in existing courses?’ To me, this question misses the point. It categorises sustainability as a ‘topic’. Imagine the law school asking: should we offer a course on justice, or should we include issues of justice in existing courses? Or the med school asking: should we offer a course on patient care, or should we include issues of patient care in existing courses? Sustainability – as with justice and patient care – are not ‘topics’, they are lens through which we understand the world around us, our role in it, and impact on it.” Available: Here

What Is Essential?

Invited contributor to Responsible Research in Business & Management Covid-19 Insights from Business Sustainability Scholars, 31st March 2020 - “This is a question my family and I have asked many times in recent weeks, as Covid-19 forces us to reconsider both the meaning of that word, and the values that drive different people’s answers. Collectively, as a society, asking this question has led to us facing some fairly uncomfortable truths about human nature.” Available: Here

A New Foundation For Business Education

Aspen Institute ‘Ideas Worth Teaching’ blog, 4th March 2020 - “I simply want my students to remember that all humans matter, and everyone – even in a business context – can be treated with respect and compassion. That even in complex arguments, and with outcomes in which one group won’t get want they want, we can still act with integrity. More than that – given a university education is not available to everyone in the world – we have a responsibility to use that education in a way which advances society, in a way which respects humans but also our environment. I’m not sure this is something you can directly teach. It certainly isn’t something that you can say in a lecture and assume is ingrained. As Jim Henson said: “Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” I – and my whole tutor team – try to be intellectual, critical thinkers who also display compassion, understanding and respect for each individual we engage with and for the individuals we discuss during seminars. My greatest hope is that all of my students take that sense of humanity with them throughout their careers.” Available: Here

You Can Teach All The Students Some Of The Time...

University of Edinburgh, Teaching Matters blog, 10th October 2019 - “At university there is an unwritten contract between lecturer and student: ‘I will teach you well – You will commit to do the things you need to, in order to learn well.’ This post looks more deeply at this simplistic characterisation, and to what happens when the contract fails.” Available: Here

Wherefore Art Thou...Undergraduate Education?

University of Edinburgh, Teaching Matters blog, 11th October 2018 - “If you ask academics ‘what is the purpose of undergraduate education?’, you’d get as many answers as academics you approach. Yet it was this question that informed my thinking in relation to the overhaul of our first-year compulsory undergraduate course. Now, each September, I stand in front of 350 new university students who are full of enthusiasm and anticipation, and I hope that my answer is right, and that my course Global Challenges for Business provides them with what they need.” Available: Here