'Natural partnership'
Memorial’s business faculty has joined a global network of business schools and partners committed to responsible research practices that aim to create a better world.
The Faculty of Business Administration is the second business school in Canada to join the Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) network, which includes 64 schools and partners around the world.
Twenty-two members are located in North America with only two being in Canada; the other is the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montréal, Que.
‘Credible and useful’
The RRBM is dedicated to inspiring, encouraging and supporting credible and useful research in the business and management disciplines. It focuses on responsible science that produces credible knowledge useful for addressing problems important to business and society.
“It makes sense for us to join the RRBM network,” said Dr. Isabelle Dostaler, dean of the business faculty, noting that one of the faculty’s strategic priorities is to innovate through research and make research contributions that positively affect local, national and global communities.
“It’s a natural partnership that allows us to be part of a global community that seeks to make a difference and use business principles to do good in the world.”
Activities aligned
One of RRBM’s founding partners is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the most prestigious accrediting body for business schools around the world. Memorial’s business faculty has been AACSB accredited since 2002.
“Everything that we do aligns with RRBM’s principles, from innovative programming that develops business leaders who champion new ways of doing business to rigorous research practices that provide real-world solutions to today’s business challenges,” said Dr. Dostaler.
Memorial introduced Canada’s first master of business administration in social enterprise and entrepreneurship (MBA-SEE) in 2018.
It’s a unique program purposefully designed to prepare students to become a new kind of leader for a new way of doing business that’s based on the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet and profits.
“It indicates that we continue to be a leader, nationally and internationally, in the ever-growing world of business and management education.” — Dr. Isabelle Dostaler
In 2017 the business faculty, in partnership with the schools of Music and Social Work, launched the Centre for Social Enterprise, which acts as a catalyst to nurture social entrepreneurs and strengthen social enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The business faculty is also home to several researchers who have delved deep into the world of social enterprise, including a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Social Enterprise.
These faculty members work directly with social enterprises and entrepreneurs both locally and around the world.
Finally, the faculty created the Faculty of Business Administration Advisory Board Research Impact Award in 2018, which celebrates research that has a significant impact on teaching, business practice, public policy and the larger community.
With the winner being chosen by members of the faculty’s advisory board, it helps ensure that research output remains grounded in the real world of business practice.
‘Force for good’
RRBM recognizes research as the foundation of business education.
Its vision stipulates that business can be a “force for good when informed by knowledge from responsible research,” according to its website.
“This partnership supports our efforts to make a positive difference in society through our programming and research,” said Dr. Dostaler. “It indicates that we continue to be a leader, nationally and internationally, in the ever-growing world of business and management education.”