Since 2010, the Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (CBERN) – an innovative, collaborative, cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary think-tank based at York University in Toronto, Canada – has held an annual Winter Research Meeting for researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds whose doctoral studies and academic interests align with CBERN’s areas of inquiry, namely the ethics of resource extraction; socially responsible investment; business and human rights; business and spirituality; and governance, law, and public policy.
Administered through CBERN’s PhD Cluster, the forum brings together students, faculty, and stakeholders from the private sector, government, and non-profit organizations for a weekend of workshops and seminars. The conference opens on March 21st with a luncheon at the Albany Club in downtown Toronto, where guests will hear a keynote address by Dr. Amelia Clarke on ‘cross-sector social partnerships for local sustainability’. Students are then invited to attend a Professional Development Session at the Nadal Centre for Executive Education, after which a pub night at the Duke of Devon will allow for participants to take advantage of networking opportunities in a more relaxed environment.
Throughout the three days of professional development workshops, networking, and follow-up opportunities for research development, CBERN aims to promote collaboration between students, scholars, and practitioners who are involved with the field of business ethics. To this end, the 2014 PhD Winter Research Meeting is divided into one-hour sessions during which students present working papers on nodes of research in business ethics to a panel of senior faculty members and professional advisors from relevant sectors. Membership in the PhD Cluster is free for students and can be easily acquired by registering as a member of CBERN.
The presence of senior faculty advisors and industry insiders is an important highlight at all of CBERN’s annual PhD Winter Research Meetings. Since the papers presented at these yearly meetings are works-in-progress, students are afforded the opportunity to use the critical feedback that they receive from experienced academics and professionals to reshape and augment their research prior to submitting it for publication or utilization in their program. CBERN’s PhD Winter Research Meetings have been well attended by prominent academics and individuals from a variety of relevant sectors in the past, including leading figures in finance, industry, and government.
The 2014 CBERN PhD Winter Research Meeting will host a unique array of students, with this year’s PhD candidates drawn from eleven universities located in four different provinces. There is a significant level of academic diversity among the students, who represent a number of disciplines including environmental studies, management, sociology, business, political science, philosophy, engineering, and accounting. Given the structure of CBERN’s cross-sectoral research program, the scope of students from a wide range of scholarly backgrounds is essential for facilitating comprehensive knowledge mobilization covering the many issues within the field of business ethics.
Below is a line-up of the PhD students who will be present at the 2014 CBERN PhD Winter Research Meeting, listed in alphabetical order along with their academic affiliation and the topics of their working papers.
Emmanuel Acheta
University of Waterloo, Environment and Resource Studies
Project finance
Natalia Aguilar Delgado
McGill University, Strategy and Organization Research Centre
Global environmental regulation
Sofiane Baba
HEC Montréal, Business Administration
Local communities and institutions
Jan Boon
Carleton University, Sociology and Anthropology
Mineral exploration
Ruben Burga
University of Guelph, Business
Social entrepreneurship
Raymond Chiu
McMaster University, DeGroote School of Business
Human resource selection
W. R. Nadège Compaoré
Queen’s University, Political Studies
Transparency
Nolywé Delannon
HEC Montréal, Management
Corporate community involvement
Sara Elder
The University of British Columbia, Resource Management and Environmental Studies
Food security
Elizabeth Franco
HEC Montréal, Management
Corporate governance
Soonchul Hyun
University of Calgary, Accounting
Earnings
Garrett MacSweeney
York University, Philosophy
White-collar crime
Brenda Nguyen
University of Calgary, Haskayne School of Business
Ethical leadership
Hernan Ruiz
The University of British Columbia, Mining Engineering
Cultural corporate management
Angelique Slade Shantz
York University, Schulich School of Business
Corporate-community partnerships
Ariel Taylor
University of Victoria, Political Science
Strategic partnerships
Gokhan Turgut
HEC Montréal, Management
Board diversity
Linda Whittaker
University of Waterloo, Accounting
Performance measures
