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research Focus on Faculty: Collaborating for Peace The University of Stellenbosch's Brian Ganson stresses that cooperation across disciplines is crucial for the world—and in the classroom. THE MORE THAT multinationals embrace cross- disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration, the more peaceful and economically stable the world will be. That's a central message of Brian Ganson's research. Ganson is senior researcher with the Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement at the University of Stellenbosch Business School in Bell- ville, Cape Town, South Africa. He is especially interested in the role large- scale global collaboration can play to end violence and prevent conflict in the world's most war-torn regions. Given his background, Ganson work with other divisions or departments … than it is to work with stakeholders outside the organization." These problems are compounded when multinationals enter into developing regions. Companies that make collaboration a priority, how- Brian Ganson admits that he may be unduly biased toward interdis- ciplinary collaboration. In addition to his post at USB, Ganson is a senior fellow with the Center for Emerging Market Enterprises at the Fletcher School, a cross-disci- plinary graduate school of international affairs at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He also holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master of arts in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School. "The Fletcher School has great success with 'and' courses—law and development, conflict resolution and human rights," says Ganson. "There needs to be more of these 'and' courses built around business fields of study." Ganson sees a special need for cross-fertilization across multinational businesses, peace-building agencies such as the United Nations, and NGOs dedicated to economic development. Such interaction could help bring a quicker end to the conflicts still active in many countries. He focuses on this topic in his recent paper, "Business and Conflict Prevention: Towards a Framework for Action." For the paper, Ganson conducted interviews with 50 leaders from multinationals, many of whom reported that their organizations struggle internally with "inter- group bias, group territoriality, and poor negotia- tions." In some companies, he writes, "it is harder to 48 March/April 2012 BizEd ever, may have more than a competitive advantage in global markets—they may be true peacemakers in the marketplace, says Ganson. He argues that when busi- nesses, foundations, government agencies, and NGOs cre- ate partnerships and consolidate energies, they can make a quicker and more positive impact on a country's eco- nomic stability than any group can do alone. As example, he cites a recent collaboration between the Rwandan government and the private sector to help the country transform its coffee industry. In just one year, Rwandan coffee exports increased dramatically—to US$47 million in 2008 from $35 million in 2007. Rwandan farmers are benefiting from not only higher standards of living, but also more frequent interactions with others in the indus- try, which has reduced ethnic conflict. "As employment, incomes, and interactions across previous divides increase, there is evidence of … greater levels of trust and conditional forgiveness, and more positive attitudes toward reconciliation" in Rwanda, Ganson writes. ROBERT HARDING/GLOW IMAGES