Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/55878
Brand & A by Tricia Bisoux business school can spend years establishing and reinforcing its brand. But a strong brand may not be enough. A school also needs a clear statement of purpose—a meaningful touchstone—to lead its com- munity in a single direction and lend new significance to its teach- ing, research, and overall mission. Several years ago, educators at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business in Indiana faced this dilemma. They understood that Mendoza was known for its emphases on ethics, corporate responsibility, and values-based business prac- tices, but they realized that they lacked consensus on how to translate, commu- nicate, and represent that identity on a daily basis. "We hadn't asked our- selves the question, 'What do we mean by ethics?' We had not yet determined our definitive point of view," says Caro- lyn Woo, Mendoza's dean. Without that set standard, different departments used different styles in their communications. Fac- ulty carried out research that, while often centered on ethics, did not share a common vision. 48 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2010 Deliver A business school's brand may say, "This is who we are," but not necessarily, "This is what we do." For the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, this realization sparked an effort to translate its ethics-based reputation into a concrete call to action.