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Trinitytoday 24 Trinitytoday 24 Philanthropy ‘The vision for the Professorship is to inspire best practice and raise awareness of business ethical issues among students, business people, government and leaders in Australia.’ ‘Conversation’ critical to responsible business ethics Professor Robert Phillips, Professor of Management and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law at the E Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond, Virginia, took up his second residency at 91ÖÆƬ³§¹ú²úAV in May 2017 as the Visiting Professor of Business Ethics. Professor Phillips is internationally recognised as one of the leading thinkers in stakeholder theory and organisational ethics. During his stay at Trinity, Professor Phillips facilitated workshops with students at Trinity and the University of Melbourne, spoke at a number of functions, including with leading business people around Melbourne, and worked with the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR). At the beginning of his residency, Professor Phillips delivered his Gourlay Public Lecture, ‘Organisation and Responsibility’, to a diverse audience at Trinity’s new Gateway building. His lecture explored how today, when innovations in economic activities have caused profound changes, our ability to assess and motivate responsible business practices has lagged behind. He said in the process this has created in many cases a ‘rule of no one’ when it came to assessing the accompanying ethical challenges. He presented his ideas on how to better understand responsibility in a world of complex value chains and diffuse corporate responsibility. Jono Gourlay (TC 1991) introduced Professor Phillips to more than 130 business leaders and members of the 91ÖÆƬ³§¹ú²úAV community at the Gourlay Business Breakfast at the Melbourne Athenaeum Club on 16 May. Jono, on behalf of the Gourlay family, outlined the reason for the establishment in 2005 of the Gourlay Visiting Professor of Ethics in Business at Trinity. ‘The vision for the Professorship is to inspire best practice and raise awareness of business ethical issues among students, business people, government and leaders in Australia,’ Mr Gourlay said. Presenting his keynote address, Professor Phillips reflected on how organisations are increasingly being held responsible for activities ‘up and down their value chains’. He said business ethics and corporate responsibility continued to be contested, and ‘by talking about these things is precisely how we come to some level of agreement, even if it is contingent, even if it is temporary’. He added that authenticity and consistency are pivotal for businesses to act ethically. In 2004, John and Louise Gourlay provided a $2.5 million endowment to establish the Gourlay Visiting Professorship of Ethics in Business. Under the Professorship, an internationally distinguished lecturer resides at 91ÖÆƬ³§¹ú²úAV each year to teach ethics in business to students at the College. The Professorship exposes students from many disciplines to the world’s best minds in applied ethics and to critically important principles, values and decision-making frameworks. Professor Phillips delivers the keynote address at the Gourlay Business Breakfast. BY TIM FLICKER