“Ethical leadership is knowing your core values and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common good.”
Centre for Ethical Leadership
In days gone by, one may have argued that business leaders were focused primarily on achieving commercial objectives. As a result, the rights and feelings of others, as well as an organisation's impact on society at large, were not always top priorities.
However, times have changed.
Today, great leaders need more than just business acumen. They need high levels of cultural and societal awareness, emotional intelligence and a drive to transform their organisation, and the world, for the better. To make a better world, more ethical and responsible business leaders are needed.
We've seen the reputation, and even legal, damage that can occur when senior managers make poor ethical decisions – Volkswagen’s emissions scandal and multiple Uber controversies are two examples which show why it’s important to equip business leaders with responsible management and sustainability skills.
Our Responsible Credentials
Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University is proud to be at the forefront in this area. Not only is responsible business one of our key research focuses, but we are also a signatory of the UN sponsored Principles of Responsible Management Education. As a school, we continue to demonstrate our expertise in responsibility, and are currently the 7th most productive business school in the UK for publications in business ethics, with over 40% of our publication outputs and 60% of our impact case studies assessed as internationally excellent or world leading (3* or above). Moreover, we have further distinguished our expertise in research and are the 8th most improved Business School in the recent 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) National Assessment.
Becoming a More Responsible Leader With Us
We’re committed to promoting responsible and sustainable entrepreneurship and business in all our teaching, consulting and research.
Responsibility, ethics and sustainability are themes running throughout our Business and Management BA and Business and Management BA Top Up distance learning courses.
Open to people with an existing qualification in a related subject, they allow professionals to fast track towards a full undergraduate degree, as well as arming themselves with the knowhow and skill set business leaders need to make a positive impact.
If you have a UK Level 4 qualification in a related subject – such as a Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher Apprenticeship, Certificate in Higher Education (CertHE) or equivalent – our Business and Management BA will see you studying nine modules, and a Professional Project, before completing your full BA degree. You will have the chance to study modules such as Managing People, where you will learn how to develop strategies for creating a positive work environment, which encourages the participation and engagement necessary for building trust and ethical and responsible behaviours.
Our BA Top Up programme is aimed at those with a Level 5 qualification – whether that’s a Foundation Degree, Higher National Diploma (HND), Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) or equivalent. You’ll complete six modules over 18 months, part time, before graduating with your full BA degree.
One of the modules offered on the Top Up, as well as on our BA (Hons), is International Finance and Responsible Financial Management. The unit has been designed to explore the issues responsible businesses face when implementing financial theories and teach students how to propose sustainable solutions to complex financial problems.
While on our Strategy module, also available on both programmes, you will develop your ability to critically evaluate strategic management and assess the impact the business environment has on organisations - with the concepts of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and the role of stakeholders in organisations being central throughout.
Our resources allow us to develop your knowledge and understanding of ethical business practices through a wide variety of contexts and methodologies. Our courses focus on the essential skills needed to prepare tomorrow’s leaders for a successful future in business, while demonstrating exemplary ethical standards and responsibility.
Discover more about the courses and each of the modules mentioned above on the course pages below:
