Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/55957
On the technology side, the IU CIBER will develop CIBER Share, an online crowdsourcing portal where faculty, K-12 instructors, and government personnel can share and comment on instructional multime- dia. In addition, the center is creat- ing World Bazaar, an e-game that will teach students of all ages about global business culture. Revving up research. The CIBER at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in Durham, North Carolina, is putting a special focus on international research. It will allot a portion of its funding to increasing Fuqua's Offshoring Research Network, a database with information on the globalization and innovation efforts of 2,000 firms. It also will use part of the grant to fund the InterCultural Edge (ICE), a research initiative focused on effec- tive cross-cultural communications. The CIBER plans to certify ICE trainers across the U.S. to instruct students, faculty, and businesspeople on cross-cultural communications. Focusing on sustainable cit- ies. The CIBERs at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles and UCLA's Anderson School of Management will work with the Association of Pacific Rim Universi- ties' World Institute to launch the Pacific Cities Sustainability Initia- tive. The initiative will be dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of urban cities as they grow. The DOE plans to publish sum- maries of the proposed activities of all 33 CIBERs. To read these summaries when they are posted or learn about the CIBER network, visit ciberweb.msu.edu/. before the spill with its "Beyond Petroleum " ad campaign. "If people come to view a company as 'green,' there will be a high price to pay if they discover they have been duped—especially if the public suf- fers from ruined ecologies, job losses, and other economic problems," says Maxwell. In their research, Maxwell and Aware Managers Don't 'Greenwash' BP's current environmental and public rela- tions nightmare over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico possibly could have been avoided—or at least mitigated—if its leaders had adopted an environmental awareness system (EMS). This premise is the subject of recent research by Thomas P. Lyon, a professor of business eco- nomics and natural resources at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, and John Maxwell, professor of busi- ness economics and public policy at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Bloomington. Instead, Lyon and Maxwell say that BP's leaders engaged in "greenwashing"—that is, they dis- closed positive aspects of the com- pany's environmental activities, but downplayed the negative aspects. Even companies that disclose their activities more fully can face accusa- tions of greenwashing from activists, the authors write. For that reason, they may be less likely to disclose their environmental policies. Greenwashing is especially dan- gerous for companies that promote themselves as "green," as BP did Lyon conduct an economic analy- sis of greenwashing. They argue that companies that understand the impact of their environmental and social performance are more likely to be transparent about those activities. Activists could better achieve their goals if they stop angrily demand- ing companies be more transparent, and instead encourage companies to adopt an EMS, the authors write. An EMS puts in place administrative procedures to help organizations inte- grate environmental concerns into their business practices. In that way, manag- ers are aware of the impact of their com- panies' actions. With an EMS, managers could dis- close with confidence, Tom Lyon rather than hide behind ignorance and uncertainty, says Maxwell. That might be the best way, he adds, to protect society and the environment from a company's bad judgment. "Greenwash: Corporate Envi- ronmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit" is forthcoming in the Journal of Economics and Manage- ment Strategy. BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 59 John Maxwell