December 10, 2021, by aczjb1

Are Human Rights the Business of Business?

To mark Human Rights Day 2021, Dr Lara Bianchi and Professor Rob Caruana ask: Are human rights the business of business?

Today the world celebrates Human Rights Day 2021. A few weeks ago, the Financial Times published an article on “Human Rights climb the business school curriculum”, citing NYU Stern and AMBS as pioneers on the matter. Here at Nottingham University Business School we acknowledge that a fundamental shift is taking place in the relationship between business and society. This change is materially impacting established business models on the one hand and our collective experience of human rights on the other.

One could argue that the study of human rights belongs in Schools of Law, not Schools of Business. Not anymore. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). This is one of the most significant developments in global governance in the past decades, assigning direct responsibility to companies to respect human rights. Coupled with the passing of the UK Modern Slavery Act – which has a specific clause for business reporting – this underlines the rising importance of Human Rights for business practitioners, scholars, and educators.

It might surprise many, but businesses are not always legally required to respect human rights, as they are not a direct subject of international HR law. The protection of human rights is commonly left to the discretion of managers to voluntarily adopt good management practices, especially when companies operate in countries with weak governance regimes. The implementation of the UNGPs consists of a ‘smart mix’ of legal compliance, ethical decision making and innovative management tools. Leaving the topic exclusively in the hands of legal scholars would be a mistake, as it would leave practitioners (our current students!) without a crucial business perspective: what works and what doesn’t in business management practice and how to avoid reputational, legal, financial risks, while contributing to the respect for people’s rights.

Business Schools, in the spirit of interdisciplinarity, add to the required ‘smart mix’ of ameliorating mechanisms with a rigorous and confident business perspective. And this is what the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR) at Nottingham University Business School is currently doing. Founded almost 20 years ago, Professor Jeremy Moon and colleagues highlighted the role that business play in global governance and our society. This tradition has continued, and research and teaching in the areas has flourished.

In the last three years, the Centre has been awarded two major Global Research Challenge Fund projects, focusing on meaningful engagement with fringe stakeholders. Dr Judy Muthuri led the Sustainable Artisanal and Small-scale Mining GCRF Project, and Dr Lara Bianchi led the MCAT – Women’s Rights in Fragile Contexts Project. Both projects put stakeholders’ rights at the centre of alternative business approaches to engagement. They promote sustainable development for all, through an innovative art-based methodology called “Cultural Animation” – developed by Professor Mihaela Kelemen.

The ICCSR has also been driving research on modern slavery, benefitting from internal networks including the Rights Lab, a University of Nottingham Beacon of Excellence. Professor Rob Caruana has sought to promote a more rigorous understanding of modern slavery, something urgently needed within business literature (Caruana et al., 2021). Most recently, Professor Caruana has been working alongside Dr Claire Ingram to understand how the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 has been shaped by organisations and what that means for business and society actors, including potential victims themselves.

If Business Schools are to contribute meaningfully to the Human Rights discourse, they must also allow their excellent research to percolate into the lecture theatres. Dr Bianchi convenes a popular module for Nottingham University Business School’s undergraduate students on Business, Human Rights and Sustainable Development. The module started with only a few students three years ago and has seen a steady year-on-year growth with over 90 students in the current cohort.

Human Rights are increasingly a business of business, and Nottingham University Business School is ready to take on the challenge.

Dr Lara Bianchi and Professor Rob Caruana

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