Spring 2018: Lit From Within

Our mission at the Hankamer School of Business is to cultivate principled leaders and serve the global marketplace through transformational learning and impactful scholarship in a culture of innovation guided by Christian values.

At Baylor Business, abiding by our Christian values is part of the mission we work to fulfill each and every day. Our 10 values, defined long ago, are emblazoned on columns at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation to remind us of our purpose as a top Christian research university. This issue of the Baylor Business Review magazine concentrates on ethics in business as Baylor Business faculty, staff, students, friends and alumni work to embody and share this mission at work, home and around the world.

Recently, a group of faculty and staff met to discuss and define our 10 values using God’s word. The committee, led by Department of Management Chair Blaine McCormick, defined the words using the following verses:

LEADERSHIP: We seek to influence others so that they might flourish. (Hebrews 10:24)

LEARNING: We commit to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. (Proverbs 4:7)

IMPACT: We drive lasting change that improves lives for students, faculty, staff, and the world at large. (Philippians 4:13)

INNOVATION: We foster an environment that anticipates change and encourages experimentation to develop novel solutions for the future. (Mark 2:21-22)

INTEGRITY: We advocate the development of whole, virtuous persons. (Philippians 4:8)

TEAMWORK: We build on one another’s gifts, acknowledging that we are one body and that the whole is always stronger than the separate parts. (I Corinthians 12:12)

TRANSFORMATION: We embrace renewing minds and lives. (Romans 12:2)

EXCELLENCE: We pursue what is good, affirming the standards to which Christians are called, and doing such things to honor the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)

EXPLORATION: We seek new opportunities for discovery with a firm grounding in Christ. (John 14:6)

SERVICE: We strive to fulfill the needs of others through stewardship of God’s gifts. (I Peter 4:10)

Terry S. Maness
Dean
Hankamer School of Business

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018

By Eric Krell

One of today’s most influential principles concerning technology ethics was penned by a novelist more than 75 years ago: “A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, cause a human being to come to harm.” This rule is the first of the “Three Laws of Robotics” Isaac Asimov invented for one of his stories back in 1942.

While it’s discouraging that a fictional line from the World War II era qualifies as an ethical guidepost for 21st Century technology use by businesses, it spotlights the troubling absence of modern ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence (AI), robotics process automation, data analytics, the internet of things (IOT), programming and other emerging technologies.

There are sound reasons for this gap. A wide range of advanced technologies has burrowed deeply into organizational processes during the past decade, and most of these advancements pose unique risks and ethical dilemmas. Big data, analytics and the proliferation of IOT sensors, can pose serious threats to consumer privacy and financial security, as the Experian hack and similar incidents have demonstrated. Industrial robotics on the shop floor and robotic process automation (RPA) in the back office can put human workers out of jobs, raising questions about organizations’ responsibilities to retrain displaced employees.

The above risks largely stem from the mismanagement of those technologies. AI and machine learning pose different risks and ethical quandaries because these technologies turn over varying amounts of human decision-making to software programs. This exciting but daunting capability has some business and academic leaders sounding warnings. Last summer, thousands of global AI academics and business leaders, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, signed an open letter regarding AI military applications that called for a ban on “offensive autonomous weapons” that operated “beyond meaningful human control.”

In the business realm, there exists substantial wiggle room between what current laws and regulations prohibit regarding technology usage and what companies can do with that technology. That’s why the Data & Marketing Association sends a crystal clear directive to its members: “Do not do just what is legal, but do what is right.” Zeroing in on what is right via effective technology ethics guidelines requires business leaders to address the following challenges:

• Mature business ethics programs are not yet standard. Ideally, ethical issues related to emerging technology risks would be addressed by existing business ethics frameworks; gaps that failed to account for brand new risks would be closed by updating these frameworks. In practice, however, ethics capabilities within many organizations tend to receive injections of attention, money and improvement only after major ethical lapses occur. This is why housing-crisis-era (or Enron-era or savings-and-loan-crisis-era) headlines, such as “The next big corporate trend? Actually having ethics” (from a July 2017 recode article), still appear today.
• Technology advances quickly. “Technology,” according to a 2017 The Atlantic article calling for a code of ethics to govern IOT applications, “is evolving faster than the legal and moral frameworks needed to manage it.” While true, this dynamic does not excuse companies from examining how to bake ethical considerations into business processes related to the conception, development and use of new technologies.
• Advanced technology encompasses much more than AI. In case you’ve haven’t heard, Frankenstein is celebrating a big birthday this year. Experts warning about AI’s threats delight in drawing parallels to the monster author Mary Shelley introduced to the world in 1818. While AI’s impacts warrant fierce debates, these issues should not deflect attention from less wow-inducing technologies that require similarly rigorous ethical considerations. A decade ago, I conducted a series of interviews with a data-savvy marketing executive who loved to brag about the amazing accuracy with which his analytics could predict a consumer’s lifetime spend (at his hospitality company’s properties), average daily spend and (too) much more with the customer’s ZIP code, pet ownership status and one other piece of personal data. The notion of “doing what’s right” never crossed his lips nor, it seemed, his mind.
• The bottom line can be high hurdle. In the recode article mentioned earlier, Convercent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Patrick Quinlan asserts that the first step toward the “ethical transformation” companies need to embrace (as they pursue digital transformation) includes “acknowledging ethics and values as important, and making the decision to prioritize it above the bottom line.” That’s no small task, especially in instances where an organizational value (e.g., transparency) conflicts with a strategic objective (e.g., make customers happy). In his book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, author Nir Eyal cites a product design expert who asserts that it is acceptable to deceive customers if doing so is in the customer’s best interest. Eyal helpfully offers a simple, but valuable, decision-support tool entrepreneurs can use to help them decide if they “should”-not “can,” as Eyal emphasizes-attempt to develop habit-forming products. The tool, a matrix, asks two crucial questions: Does the product materially improve the user’s life (or not)? And, would I use the product (or not)? These questions, which can be applied to technology development and usage, are not designed to produce definitive answers (though, they sometimes could), but to get product developers to think early and often about the purpose and far-ranging implications of their creations.

Despite these hurdles, technology ethics awareness, discussions and frameworks are advancing in business-and within universities grooming future leaders. University of Notre Dame’s John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values publishes an annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology. The annual Baylor University Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum has examined a wide range of ethical issues, including technology, for the past dozen years.

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, is undertaking a massive effort to establish a framework for ethical considerations for technology developers and product designers. More of these efforts, and progress, is needed if real ethical guidelines are to be consistently applied to the science fiction-esque technologies most companies are implementing.

In a column published in a 1981 issue of Compute! magazine, Asimov acknowledged that his fictional “Three Laws of Robotics” were routinely cited, “quite seriously,” in non-fiction publications as a model of conduct that technology developers should follow. Although he protested that his three laws were obvious, Asimov confirmed they were highly applicable to real-life technology activities. He emphasized that his laws were “the only way in which rational human beings can deal with robots.” He concluded with a sober warning that also remains valid today: “…I always remember (sadly) that human beings are not always rational.”

Happily, business leaders and other human beings are more apt to behave rationally and ethically when the right guidelines are in place. Getting them there does not require technological wizardry but good, old-fashioned character, commitment and collaboration.

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018

By Eleanor Hunt

Magdalena Gonzalez-Galvan never anticipated her career would lead into the ethics office for multinational oil and gas company BP. But with a solid education starting at Baylor and strong work principles, it was a natural transition for her.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Entrepreneurship from Baylor in 2008, she was hired by Lockheed Martin. In this role, she advised NASA on how to comply with government regulations for exporting equipment to launch sites abroad. The equipment was ultimately destined for the International Space Station. Simultaneously, she worked toward her MBA in global business management at the University of Houston.

In 2013, Gonzalez-Galvan joined BP’s International Trade Regulations team within the Ethics and Compliance (E&C) function to assist BP units with navigating complex export controls, trade sanctions and anti-boycott regulations.

Currently, she is the liaison to BP’s ethics monitor and government agreements analyst. In this position, Gonzalez-Galvan fosters a positive working relationship between BP and its government-appointed ethics monitor, who is overseeing BP’s ethics and compliance progress following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident. She ensures the ethics monitor stays informed about BP’s E&C program through site visits, meetings with select employees and reviewing processes and documents.

“At BP, we are committed to doing the right thing. In Ethics & Compliance we collaborate with our businesses to integrate our values and continually work to advance BP’s ethical culture by developing, promoting and continually improving the E&C program,” Gonzalez-Galvan says.

‘Nothing puts us at risk more than failure to do what is right’

She believes adherence to internal policies and external regulations is the foundation for ethics at work. Additionally, ethics transcend written requirements and reflect what one should do, even when no one is watching.

“Ethics rest with the individual, which is why it is so important for corporations to set a clear culture and to indoctrinate employees into the company culture and code of conduct. A strong, ethical culture gives employees the courage to speak up when something doesn’t seem right. Nothing is more important to BP than making sure we do what is right, and nothing puts us at risk more than failure to do so,” she says.

The challenge for ethics champions like Gonzalez-Galvan is to ensure ethical standards are represented across all parts of the business. This can be especially challenging in a large corporation spanning numerous countries and impacting tens of thousands employees.

Reflecting on ethics in her Baylor courses, Gonzalez-Galvan recalls the topic being integrated into lectures, projects and reading assignments. She believes this is the optimal approach to teach ethics in the workplace, because personal and corporate ethics influence how one approaches daily decisions.

“You carry your ethics in all you do. It drives your actions and is truly fundamental to any work environment. I would encourage Baylor alumni and future graduates to seek out ethics and compliance roles because they are great learning experiences and help develop strong leadership capabilities,” she concludes.

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018

Fostering a Culture of Ethics at Baylor University

By Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President, Baylor University

Baylor University’s trustees adopted “Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana” (For Church, For Texas) as the institution’s motto on June 18, 1851, at the suggestion of then-Baylor President Rufus Burleson. This motto defined the dual emphases-upon Baylor’s role as a Christian institution and its role as an institution of higher education serving society-that have served as pillars of Baylor’s identity and practices over the decades.

Our distinctive approach to higher education, one dedicated whole-heartedly to service, is animated by a culture of strong ethics. In dedicating ourselves to serve others, whether institutions or individuals, we are inspired by the ethics embodied in and preached by Jesus Christ. Like all others, however, we fall short of that perfect standard. And that is why we must be diligent in guiding our ethical walk as a university and purposeful in institutionalizing our ethical principles through the creation and support of internal programs that deter unethical behavior and reward positive actions.

Of course, the primary people we serve are our students. At the heart of Baylor’s mission is an unwavering dedication to providing students with a transformational education. We strive to prepare students to make a difference in our world as citizens and leaders who have the faith and integrity to do what is right in the face of competing pressures and to have a passion to apply their knowledge to ends that transcend mere self-interest.

The importance of ethical decision-making permeates Baylor’s curriculum, both undergraduate and graduate, across all 12 of our nationally recognized academic divisions and Baylor’s extensive student life programming. In addition to this global emphasis, there are a number of programs on campus specifically devoted to ethics, ranging from the Medical Ethics Seminar sponsored by the Institute for Faith and Learning and the Dyer Ethics Workshop in the Garland School of Social Work to the Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum in the Hankamer School of Business.

We also strive to practice what we preach. The University itself is founded on the principles of honesty and ethical practices. A number of offices and protocols are in place to ensure Baylor does not deviate from this path. In particular, we are supported in this commitment by the Tax and Compliance Office and the Office of Internal Audit and Management Analysis, which promotes integrity and compliance in all University operations and includes a Risk Management team.

Every day as I walk across our beautiful campus, I am reminded of the loving care that so many people have given to this remarkable institution over the decades. Baylor has been blessed, during its more than 170 years, with leaders who have served the University with great distinction and, at times, with significant sacrifice to themselves. The names of past presidents, including Rev. Burleson, adorn several prominent building on campus in a fitting honor to their legacies as ethical and innovative educators.

I consider it a deep honor and privilege to serve as Baylor’s 15th president. It is a position to which I bring expertise as a scholar in organizational behavior and experience as a seasoned academic administrator, having previously served 15 years as the dean of The George Washington University School of Business and the dean of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.

In an article on cultivating leadership integrity that I contributed a few years ago to the book Business and Corporate Integrity: Sustaining Organizational Compliance, Ethics and Trust, I noted there are three particularly fruitful opportunities for business schools to develop students’ ethics, values and practices, and these opportunities also are applicable to universities as a whole:

• Strengthen business curriculum to more fully emphasize and integrate issues of social, environmental and ethical responsibility throughout coursework and programs.
• Encourage and support, with appropriate resources, faculty research and the development of communities of scholars focusing on the cultivation of leadership integrity and on responsible business practice.
• Engage more fully with the business community to ensure that research is relevant to the ethical issues facing business and to more effectively embed in student learning experiences the opportunity to apply knowledge acquired in formal learning experiences to real-time business situations.

The Baylor story is one of transforming lives and changing the world for the glory of God. As we pursue our goal to be a tier-one research university that is unambiguously Christian, we are building upon the noble vision of our founders to write the next chapter of excellence in higher education and service to the surrounding world. A strong ethical foundation and ongoing ethical decision-making are of paramount importance to that endeavor, both in our practices as an institution and in how we prepare our students for worldwide leadership and service.

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018

A Part of Something Bigger

By Becca Broaddus

Mark Borchgardt strives toward one very simple rule: God and family first. Raised in Brenham, Texas, before moving to a small town outside of Waco as a teenager, Borchgardt’s parents instilled the importance of those two things… in addition to a few others.

“I also learned at a very young age the value of doing something right the first time,” he said. “That transcends both my work and personal lives. It may take longer and be more work, but it’s been a principle in my life. My parents helped develop it in me as a child and as a teenager.”

They’re principles he’s instilling in his own teenagers today.

“Spending time with my family is important to me,” Borchgardt said. “My wife and I want to raise hardworking and generous children, particularly in today’s culture. We’re trying to teach them to be appreciative of what we have and how blessed we are. We’re preparing them to be successful and to approach life in a way that is reflected in the world.”

He’s working to help build future corporate leaders at work as well. At GuideStone Financial Resources, a leading provider of Christian-based employee benefit plans and mutual funds, Borchgardt manages the operational customer service, product management, human resources and talent management teams.

“I’ve never thought that much about reaching a certain level or certain position,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to be able to feel like I’ve made a difference, and I’ve helped people I work with to grow. I’d say that’s my passion: Helping people develop and meet their full potential.”

He has watched his colleagues grow just as he has grown in his own 21-year career at GuideStone. He started at the organization in accounting and financial reporting positions and moved into increasingly responsible positions. In 2010, he completed the Baylor Executive MBA program in Dallas, further propelling his career forward. Now, he is on the GuideStone executive team. Prior to his time at the financial firm, and immediately after completing his undergraduate career at Baylor, he worked at an accounting firm and then a bank-making his parents wonder (and worry) if his entire career was at stake.

“My dad worked for the same company for 45 years. They had a very different perspective on how long you stay at a job,” he chuckled. “They were alarmed that I was already on my third job by my third year out of school, but I wanted to land somewhere where I could find the right environment.”

He found the right environment. In his office, a physical reminder sits on his desk, a keepsake with the organization’s mission and core values emblazoned on the sides.

“We have a very clearly articulated mission that’s much more than just the bottom line,” he said. “It feels like you’re part of something bigger than yourself-part of a bigger goal. We want to honor the Lord by being a partner with the people we’re serving to help them enhance their financial security.”

He’s thankful for the chain of events that began unfolding at a young age-when he decided to attend Baylor.

“I do not think that I would be the person I am today if I hadn’t made that decision to go to Baylor,” he admitted. “I met my wife there. I met lifelong friends there that I still keep up with. A lot of the things that I am blessed with today, stemmed from Baylor.”

Perhaps his kids will follow in his and his wife’s footsteps and attend Baylor too. Maybe not. To Borchgardt it’s more important they learn one simple rule: God and family first.

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018

By Becca Broaddus

Integrity (n.): 1) firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, 2) an unimpaired condition, 3) the quality or state of being complete or undivided.
(Definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

“What does it mean to have integrity? Most of my students say it’s when you do what you say you’re going to do. But I add to that, it should have some kind of moral good too,” Chavanne Chair of Christian Ethics in Business Mitch Neubert said. “To have integrity is to be the same person Monday as you are Sunday. And yet, a lot of people live separate lives. Some of my research explores how people integrate their faith in the workplace, and what happens when they do.”

Work and worship are often compartmentalized into secular and spiritual spheres for Christians. According to the Baylor Religion Survey (BRS), a national study of beliefs and values in the United States administered by Gallup, less than half of employed adults who attend religious services regularly indicated they often or always see connections between faith and work. Essentially, half of those who regularly attend church don’t see significant connections between their work and spiritual life.

“Business schools don’t teach about faith at work, but most churches don’t either,” Neubert said. “Many churches focus on being a good steward of the money you make at work, but overlook how you can be a light with your ethics and how your work can honor God and bless other people.”

Director of the Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative David Miller created a framework on faith integration at work. According to the framework, when someone brings their faith to work, it manifests in one of four ways:

1. Ethics—Faith motiving ethical behavior and excellence within the workplace. This could manifest itself as individual or collective ethics.
2. Experience—Faith offering meaning to work as a place to live out one’s calling and a context for utilizing one’s unique gifts and talents in serving others.
3. Enrichment—Faith assisting in work by providing strength, guidance and the capability to cope with difficulties or suffering.
4. Expression—Faith being shared in word and deed as an example or witness to others.

Sixty-three percent of working adults who attend church regularly agreed or strongly agreed that their congregation promoted the ethical manifestation of “considering what is morally right when facing a tough decision at work,” according to the BRS. The ethical framework is the most common form of faith integration at work, and it’s particularly important for those people of faith who lead and shape the ethical culture of their organizations.

In fact, according to the Ethics Resource Center’s 2013 National Business Ethics Survey of the U.S. Workforce, only 20 percent of workers reported seeing misconduct in companies where the ethical culture was perceived as “strong,” as compared with 88 percent of workers who witnessed wrongdoing in ethically weak work environments.

In addition to the moral and faith-based benefits, an ethical workplace pays off. The Society for Human Resource Management suggested that organizations with positive, virtuous ethical cultures enjoy bottom-line and top-line benefits, including: higher employee job satisfaction, increased legal compliance and rule following, increased organizational commitment, increased cooperation, increased change management success, increased attraction of high-potential talent, lower turnover, lower healthcare costs and lower legal risk.

“You’ve got a resource to bring to bear in the workplace,” Neubert said. “It’s your deepest values, and in most cases, it’s rooted in your faith.”

Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018