Can you imagine a world where business is guided by ethics rather than profit? A new generation of ethical organizations that provide goods and services offering social, environmental and commercial value for society rather than maximum shareholder profit?
Dr. Bruce Martin can.
In fact, this very idea of next generational ethical organizations is the highlight of Martin’s research. Martin, appointed a tripartite professor by Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in July 2021, shares his vision for future social enterprise at the Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to be part of this new lecture series,” Martin says. “It demonstrates TRU’s commitment to becoming a full-fledged research university.”
TRU and Kamloops communities are encouraged to attend the lecture, which is part of a series providing an opportunity to meet professors and gain an understanding of their scholarship, research and teaching.
Martin, a professor in TRU’s Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics, focuses his research on ethical organizing and organizations, ethical value creation and creation, design and scaling of social enterprises, among other areas. Most recently, his collaborative research has focused on social enterprise.
“Adopting social enterprise to fulfill our needs for goods and services will make dramatic improvements in social and environmental health,” Martin says. “While this idea may be seen as moving forward, it actually takes us back to very early human social development, when the advent of business actually helped us to become more ethical.”
His lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 7, is titled “Why every business should be a social enterprise: Bringing business back to society.” Martin shares some of his latest collaborative research on the fast-growing business model of social enterprise. He hypothesizes that social enterprise has the potential to transform the meaning of business, from maximizing shareholder profits, to producing the goods and services individuals need in a way that enhances life for everyone and everything.
In-person seating is limited at the lecture in the Scratch Café in the Culinary Arts Centre from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Please sign up by Thursday, Feb. 2 if you would like to attend.
