Oxford Saïd Hosts Lively Debate On Corporate Responsibility
As part of its annual MBA Launch program, Oxford University’s Saïd Business School recently hosted a debate between faculty members that addressed whether corporations are responsible for practicing social responsibility as part of their business models.
Oxford alumni accompanied debaters Oren Sussman, Reader in Finance, and Richard Barker, Professor of Accounting in the discussion. Sussman’s assertion was that corporations should use their resources to focus on making money rather than filter them into working toward change in areas such as the climate crisis and social inequality. Barker’s team held the opposing opinion that while corporations should obviously function for profit, responsibility toward such societal issues can and should be integrated into their practices to achieve a greater goal.
Barker used the examples of big tobacco, the soft drink and fast food industries, and the overconsumption of fossil fuels to assert that when corporations fail to recognize interests other than profit, the consequences are destructive. This team noted that innovation in a changing world is vital to the success of any business, and that consciousness of issues affecting the planet only benefit the health of a corporation.
Leo Johnson, a specialist in sustainability and climate change, remarked during the debate, “‘Do you invest in staff and train them in new technologies, or do you innovate out of the problem? … [Do] you falsify papers, or cut corners, or do you slip stuff out of the pipe into the river?”
The debate ended with a student vote, in which a large majority agreed that corporations are responsible for taking part in global sustainability.
MBA Launch initiated new students to lifetime membership in The Oxford Union, the University’s debate society, founded in 1823.
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
