Foreword

Citation

Cornuel, E. (2007), "Foreword", Management Decision, Vol. 45 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/md.2007.00145haa.002

Foreword

As the Director General of an international network of over 450 business schools and 100 large companies across 75 countries, I see first-hand the issues facing management and management education. It gives me great pleasure to add some words of introduction to this special issue of Management Decision – Alleviating Poverty Through Trade.

At EFMD we are working with the UN Global Compact to address “how do we best develop a new generation of business leaders who can successfully deal with global challenges” – the Global Responsibility Initiative. The interdependence between cultures, continents, regions, nations, governments, businesses and other organisations is becoming ever more apparent. The world is globalising. But many of us – both individually and organisationally – are ill equipped to deal with a truly global business environment. We believe that business leaders should embed global responsibility into their vision, goals and practice. “Global” because that is what our world, and the world in which business operates, increasingly is. “Responsible” because building a better world requires business leaders to commit to real engagement and take ownership of the consequence of their behaviour, not only economically, but socially and environmentally as well. It also requires a deep ethical commitment and a set of principles to guide leadership behaviour and actions.

The emerging generation needs guidance to maximise their potential as globally responsible leaders. This demands individual change and change within organisations across the globe to nurture and reward globally responsible leadership more effectively. It will necessitate a radical rethink within business schools and other centres for leadership learning to develop the research agendas, curricula and pedagogy required to create globally responsible leadership.

EFMD and Emerald have worked closely together for the last five years and have formed a strong and lasting bond that will continue long into the future, and I highly commend the work of Emerald with this journal and with the many others they produce, that raise these critical issues and provide valuable frameworks for reflecting on how to translate the vision of globally responsible leadership into reality. Only through dialogue, openness and long-term commitment with multiple stakeholders can we hope to help, address and influence future generations. The academic community has an important role to play and we will continue to support the work of Emerald and put the development of globally responsible leadership at the forefront of our actions.

Eric CornuelDirector General, European Foundation for Management Development