Teaching business ethics in the global South: control, resistance, and phronesis

Abstract

We explore academic literature on business ethics education and critically compare the themes emerging from different contexts. Outlining guidelines for analysis based on Southern Theory, we conduct a content analysis on a selection of English, peer-reviewed articles and then critically compare emergent themes from across the 'Northern'-Southern' divide. The results suggest commonality but also substantive nuances. One key difference concerns a concerted effort from the South to decipher daily business experiences in relation to prevalent business ethics frameworks focused on the North. Furthermore, using notion of phronetic science, we critically discuss our findings to highlight inherent dynamics of control and resistance. The paper concludes by suggesting future directions for business ethics curriculum development that is more sensitive to these dynamics and by suggesting an adoption of notions related to practical wisdom.

Development of Business Schools in Emerging Markets: Learning through Adoption and Adaptation

“…This terminology not only reflects a geographical and income distribution divide, but also predominance in the cultural and educational domain, granting superiority to the ideas and practices from the North in detriment of those from the South. This bias towards the Global North in management education has already been identified, explicitly or implicitly, in previous works (see, for example, [3][4][5][6]) with very few having studied BS beyond the more traditional locations (see [7][8][9][10] for an illustration). This leaves an important gap in terms of geographical coverage, and also (and more importantly) in knowing and understanding how business education and/or BS have developed in EM.…”

Decolonizing Arab organizational Knowledge: “Fahlawa” as a Research Practice

“…With few exceptions (Ali, 1995;Yousfi, 2013;Kamla, 2007;Karam et al, 2015;Sidani, 2008;Zghal, 1994), management scholars interested in the Arab region, regardless of whether they are Westerners or natives, have produced studies about Arab management practices using Western perspectives rather than studies with and from Arab perspectives. Such scholars whether they have implicitly internalized the superiority of Western management paradigm or were motivated by the need to be recognized by the dominant establishment, have produced knowledge consistent with the expectations of the global management community and mainstream literature.…”

“…As a woman growing up in Tunisia, a country under an authoritarian regime whose main characteristic was to destroy any possibility of organized collective action, I have acquired a special sensitivity to the conditions that limit the emergence of alternative organizations able to meet the economic and political challenges in this region of the world. In addition, the particular attention paid in my work to the cultural question arose from an observation that I made very early in my studies in management of a gap between the so-called universal management courses provided in business schools and the daily reality of Tunisian business organizations (Karam et al, 2015;Mullin, 2017;Zghal, 1994). Given my French mindset, my awareness of the U.S. hegemony on Arab management academia and, to a certain extent, on the French management academia, when conducting field studies in Arab countries, I spent much time wondering on which side of the divide I would fall given all these influences.…”

Ensino-aprendizagem da Sabedoria Prática ( Phronesis ) em Administração: Uma Revisão Sistemática

“…The authors understand phronesis in two forms: as a type of reasoning and a type of knowledge. The work by Karam et al (2015) discusses business education and the curriculum of business ethics. The author considers phronesis as practical wisdom to reflect and judge values, interests, and power dynamics.…”

“…studies teaching the ethics of professions. Clegg et al (2013) examine the role of the business and ethics school, and the strategy based on phronesis; Karam et al (2015), studied meaningful learning, practical wisdom, and reflection. Finally, discuss habit, improvisation, and transformative learning.…”