I received a telephone call this evening from the potential candidate who will be teaching Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the MBA level. Since I was the architect behind that course curriculum, he would like to hear from the horse’s mouth what was at the back of my mind when I crafted those programmes.

In a meeting with MQA at the Ministry of Higher Education more than two years ago, the discussion with the panel of professors from several universities asked the question, ‘When should a business student start learning about CSR?’ I put forward my point that it would depend on what would be the level of involvement of the student when he steps into the world of work. This discussion resulted inCSR being a compulsory subject for business studies at all three levels - degree, masters and doctorate in one local university college.

My learned friend argued that since Moral Studies is a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level, it would suffice in developing the foundation for the graduate to be a moral person when he steps out of the university. I replied that in real life work, it is not how much does a person know about moral studies, but how he would apply what he has learnt about morality and ethics to his work.

I once ticked off a Head of School for assigning a 24-year old to teach moral studies. And I was branded as being bias. But as time went on followed with a sequence of unpleasant events, the Head of School regretted for not heeding my caution.

Who should teach ethics? What else beyond tales of Enron and Parmalat? A professor of philosophy in the US once said that the best teachers of ethics are the sages. Since most university lecturers do not qualify, he suggested ‘...those who take the search to become sages seriously’would make good candidates. I would still think that was wishful thinking.

Then came the retort that he found the telephone call necessary after reading the manual given to him and he had referred to several book titles which he had used while doing his doctoral studies.

I told him the turn the tables around. Instead of examining the role of the lecturer of what to teach the students, ask what should the students should know in order to avoid events such as Enron’s or Parmalat.

A graduate’s quest into the world of work can be divided into three phases. First, when he receives his first degree to join a company as an executive, he should bring with him not only what he had just shed away from his university knapsack, but also what he had learned throughout his upbringing – those things which were not taught in colleges and could only be learnt from parents and family elders.

Such could be knowing what is wrong and yet doing it. An example would be using another’s personal name as your product mark. You know doing such would be misleading the public. You expect and could foresee disputes forth coming. Yet you did it.

Decision-making may not be in the hands of executives in a company. Common ethical problems at executive level would involve stealing others ideas to use as one’s own. Some years back, a graphic designer came out with a logo so appealing that the selection board approved it for official use. Driving home from Kuantan the following day, I saw the same logo with total resemblance on the back of a van. Back at office the next day, I had to deliver a lecture on plagiarism and copyright.

MBA holders are usually those with at least 7 years of working experience. They are usually the Level 1 strategists who produce business plans, prepare annual budgets, evaluate mergers and take-overs and drawing-up financial projections for new projects. In completing their tasks, they are often exposed to company secrets. Accountability and respect for confidentiality usually take center-stage.

Sometimes, they hold their bosses’ integrity and the organisation’s reputation at risk. MBA’ers should know where and when to look out for ethical issues. These responsibilities grow with globalisation and development of the networked economy. Financial performance is paramount. Precision should be the order of the day in managing projects. They should always place the organisation before self.

Social responsibility executed at decision-making levels such as consultants and board members are issues of moral value rather than ethics. Greater concerns should be given to external environment rather than internal ones. They should be aware of norms and what it takes to be a good citizen. What does the public look for when evaluating the business and industry from different angles?

I remember a financial analyst commenting on new investments being parked under new subsidiary of a company rather than being directly borne by the holding company. MBS’ers sometimes conduct meticulous scrutiny of documents to look at what goes on under the sugar icing.

CSR is the subject to be learnt just before a student embarks on his project work in the final year at undergraduate level and the writing of the Master’s Thesis at MBA level. Thus, the student is expected to apply CSR in all the subjects that he had learnt in the earlier semesters. A student’s ability to grasp issues of corporate social responsibility should be evaluated through case studies of real-life situations rather than written examinations. In so doing, it is expected that CSR is appropriately applied in the project work in the last semester.

The writer was formerly the director of the Graduate School of Business and the acting dean of Faculty of Business, Accountancy and Management of SEGi University College.