Abstract
CHANGING THE WORLD ONCE AGAIN THROUGH JESUIT-INSPIRED
EDUCATION AND BUSINESS PRACTICE
CONTEXT
This proposed session builds on last year’s CJBE conference at Lemoyne. In that conference, a business meeting conversation focused on how transforming Jesuit business education could transform all of global business practice into ways that would contribute to a more sustainable world. The transformation of business education and global business practices would be consistent with Catholic Social Teaching, Laudato Si, The vocation of the business leader, and the values and beliefs of all religious and spiritual traditions.
THE PROPOSED SESSION WILL
(1) report on initial efforts to design and fund a way to transform global business practice by transforming Jesuit business education,
(2) report next steps in moving the design, concepts, and ideas forward, and
(3) explore ways those current concepts about transforming Jesuit business education to change the world can be enriched and strengthened by including ideas from Jesuit-inspired business practices.
INITIAL EFFORTS
Following the CJBE annual meeting, a resolution was passed unanimously at the July 2016 IAJBS World Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, to submit an application to transform Jesuit business education (and the world) to the MacArthur Foundation’s 100 million dollar 100&change competition.
That application was submitted to the MacArthur Foundation on October 3, 2016. It was not awarded the $100 million.
The 2016 100&change application proposed initially funding 20 Jesuit business schools to transform their curriculums to contribute to global sustainability (and then 20 more business schools).
The design involves creating global change immediately by creating global visibility and provocative conversations about the need for such a transformation and the very transparently reported day-today experiences of the schools as they work to transform their individual curriculums.
The design of the process emphasizes creating change immediately not 20 or 30 years later when graduates of the new business curriculums might reach influential positions in business and government.
NEXT STEPS
Planned actions for 2017-2018:
1. The 2016 application will be used as a first working draft in developing a second 100@change “application” for a possible 2021 second-round of hundred million dollar MacArthur Foundation awards.
2. However, the intent would not be to wait until 2021 to start transforming Jesuit business education, but to use the “application” drafting process to enroll 20 Jesuit business schools that would start transforming their curriculums and research immediately – with 2.3 million dollars or without.
3. The first step in enrolling the 20 schools will be to enroll the first Jesuit business school and to use that school’s public commitment and actions to encourage/inspire other schools to make the same commitment.
4. To support the transformations, funding would be sought in $2.3 million bites and also 100 million dollars all at one time.
5. After 20 Jesuit business schools have been enrolled, another 20 business schools would join the process.
EXPLORING JESUIT-INSPIRED BUSINESS PRACTICES’ POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
After the 2016 application has been described, participants of the session will explore a series of questions listed in the proposal.