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The first-place graduate team from Dalhousie: (L to R) Jordan Yanover, Michèle Megannety, Martin Owusu, Logan Stewart. They are flanked by (L) Dean of Management Sylvain Charlebois and (R) Dan Shaw, MBA Director

It was an exciting weekend in the Faculty of Management for Canadian students who gathered to discuss their dedication to ethical business. For a student team from Dalhousie’s MBA program, it was made even more exciting by a first-place win in the international Ethics in Action case competition.

Ethics in Action began in 2013 and includes panel discussions, an undergraduate and a graduate case competition, video and essay competitions, and the presentation of the Scotiabank Ethical Leadership Award. This annual flagship event for the Faculty of Management receives title sponsorship from Scotiabank as well as sponsorship from Dalhousie. The events hosts speakers and students from across the country and into the United States.

Mallory Mills is the director of communications for Ethics in Action, and a second-year student in the MBA (Corporate Residency) program. Explaining her reasons for helping to organize the conference, Mills notes, “I think it’s important that we start thinking now about the ethical dilemmas that we might find ourselves in, and develop our values while we’re still in school so that we’re prepared when we enter the workforce.” She worked with four other second-year MBA students on this year’s event, who all helped out in more minor capacities last year.

“Ethics in Action brings together students from across Canada who can share their ideas and beliefs,” says Mills, who was impressed with the visiting students’ “professionalism and enthusiasm.” In addition to discussing ethical issues with each other, this year’s students heard from several leaders on the subject. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, dean of the Faculty of Management, moderated a panel including Dr. Cedric Dawkins, associate professor of management in the Rowe School, and distinguished speakers from outside the university, both of whom spoke individually to the crowd as well: Jessica Vorsteveld, Associate Director of the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, and Joanne Young Evans, Executive Director of Family Counselling and Support Services for Guelph-Wellington. “They shared their insights and situations they have found themselves in that tested their ethical values,” says Mills.

Michèle Megannety, a first-year MBA student, was particularly inspired by Vorsteveld’s presentation. “Her views on social enterprise, and how it will evolve and impact our future, were thought-provoking and empowering,” she notes. Megannety described the presentation as the best part of the weekend—which speaks volumes about the inspiring lecture, considering she was part of the winning case competition team.

Grateful to the other teams for “contributing to a challenging and rewarding competition,” Megannety reflected on the reason Dalhousie’s team placed first, citing their combination of strategic and ethical concerns. “We made a point of developing strategies that aimed to not only solve each company’s ethical dilemmas, but also address management and financial issues simultaneously,” she explains. “This allowed the team to put forth strategies that are both unique and practical.” The graduate team beat out four others from across Canada. The undergraduate competition saw ten teams compete.

Aside from the competitions, workshops and panel discussions, a major part of the weekend is the presentation of the Scotiabank Ethical Leadership Award. This award is presented annually to a Canadian who has shown adherence to ethical principles; this year’s recipient was Anna Tudela, Vice-President, Diversity, Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Secretary of Goldcorp Inc. Tudela was unable to be present, says Mills, “but the award was accepted by her colleague Zara Gray, who spoke of Anna’s dedication to equal opportunity for women in the mining industry.” Past recipients of the award are Irwin Cotler, Richard Pound, Sir Graham Day and Chief Phil Fontaine.

While the organizers worked long and hard to make Ethics in Action possible—besides Mills, there are Laura Brothers, Mary Crosbie, Marcia Peters and Shivani Seth—Mills also credits others for the event. “The success of the weekend really came from the support we received from Dalhousie, Scotiabank, our wonderful volunteers who gave up their time during a very busy time of the semester, and the immense support from the Faculty of Management,” she says. In particular, their faculty advisor, Dr. Jim Barker, and Rowe gift manager Ben Goldberg provided essential help, she says.

Mills says that the team was “blown away” by the support they received throughout the planning process and the weekend, and while she and her classmates will be graduating in May, they will follow the progress of Ethics in Action in the future. “We look forward to seeing how the event grows in the years to come,” she concludes, “and are happy to have been able to bring the topic of ethical values and actions to our future leaders.”

The winners of the weekend competitions were as follows:

Video contest:
Liana Di Iorio, Heather Doran, Russell Goulet, and Eduardo Lafleur from Concordia University

Essay contest:
Patrick Brousseau from Dalhousie

Undergraduate case competition:
1st Place: University of Guelph
2nd Place: University of Prince Edward Island
3rd Place: Concordia University

Graduate case competition:
1st Place: Dalhousie University
2nd Place: McMaster University
3rd Place: Ryerson University