Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58916
From the Editors Work and Peace I live in a quiet suburb where people walk their dogs, decorate homes for the holidays, and post signs for political candidates. When the war in Iraq started, several homeowners posted anti-war signs; others put up signs supporting the troops. Within a few days, all the anti-war signs had been snatched out of people's yards. New signs went up; new signs disappeared. Clearly, passion was running high in favor of the war—or in favor of sons and daughters at risk in Iraq. At the same time, a nearby church used a chain link fence and red plastic cups to spell out a simple message: PRAY FOR PEACE. That sign, I noticed, never got torn down. It seemed that, no mat- ter how people felt about war, they could unite in hoping for peace. But even once we agree to seek peace, we don't always agree on how to achieve it. I recently heard an ad for a symposium studying "peace through science." The thought was that science can help eradicate illness, poverty, and the technological divide. I suspect that's true, though I also suspect science will need a helping hand. Perhaps that helping hand will be extended by management PETER SAMUELS/GETTY IMAGES educators. While the primary goal of business schools is to prepare students to be management leaders, a growing number of b-schools are considering how business skills can be used to address those same ills of disease, poverty and inequity. Many of these schools are participating in AACSB's Peace Through Commerce initiative. They're also partnering with corporations, commu- nities, and other universities on projects aimed at bringing peace to the world. It's a complex goal, because peace can be defined at several levels, says Bijan Fazlollahi, a professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta. "Peace" can mean the absence of war between nations, friendly relations between individuals, or the pros- perity of communities, he notes. The common denominator most often is commerce. Certainly at the highest level—peace between nations—business plays a key role. "In order to have trade, nations have to cooperate," Fazlollahi says. But it's also criti- cal at more personal levels—for instance, when an understanding of business allows women to hold jobs and attain gender equity. "Because these women are empowered, they do not have to take abuse from their husbands," he says. "If people are econom- ically dependent at the individual level, it is not really peace; it is exploitation." Fazlollahi has promoted peace at the regional level by helping bring manage- ment education to former Russian provinces. In the article "The Dimensions of Peace," other professors and deans describe how they have funded charities, worked in war-torn communities, and provided IT support to small enterprises as they attempt to improve the world. "Pray for peace" might not be the answer, after all. "Work for peace" doesn't have quite the same alliteration—but in the end, the effect could be even more powerful. ■ z 6 BizEd MAY/JUNE 2006 BILL BASCOM