Professor Christine Gichure, Dean School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) at Strathmore University is privileged to have her second article on ‘Business Ethics in Africa’ published in the 3rd Edition of Wiley Encyclopedia of Management (WEOM) under the entry of Business Ethics. Having her work published in this reputable encyclopedia is prestigious but most importantly, it shows diligence, hardwork and excellence in the work she does as a professor.

 

This article is a revision and an update of her first entry which was published by Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management (2005) and edited by Prof. Patricia Werhane and Edward Freeman, world renowned scholars and authors in the area of Business Ethics.  The request for the first entry came after the editors had identified with the work Prof. Gichure had been doing in promoting the study of business ethics.  The request to review and update the entry for the WEOM 3^rd edition came in 2011 and was published in 2014; it is available online.

Highlights stated in the article

In the article Prof. Gichure outlines the importance of Business Ethics and the need to have the course included in all entrepreneurial courses across the globe, but much more in Africa. Her entry emphasizes on the importance of this subject, pointing out that an advanced degree in the absence of a moral conscience easily paves the way for ‘clever’ unethical practices like the ones we read about in the dailys such as: Anglo-leasing, Enron, Goldenberg, ‘Chicken eating’, ‘land grabbing’, ‘drug and human trafficking’ etc.  Fraud in Africa is rampant and many entrepreneurs and even the society at large need to learn the importance of ethics and even personalize ethics in their daily work.

 

Sensitizing on the importance of Business Ethics, Prof. Gichure expresses a concern in the content of literature used in business ethics and corporate governance courses. She states that the content is written and addressed to a readership very different from Africa and its problems of development. For a successful development of business ethics in Africa, the professor advises that Africans should consider a philosophy of management that truly works for them in order to improve business ethics effectively. Factors to consider during this process would include; the distinction between modernity and African cultures, identifying what is really culture and what is purely ethical malpractice such as rampant greed.  She notes that the issue of modernity and African cultures is often either confused or misused. At one time some actions that are glaring ethical malpractices may be attributed to African communalistic cultures, (for our people), while with the same breath other ethical malpractices are identified with Western individualism (each one for themselves).

 

Following up from her previous article in the Blackwell 2^nd edition 2, Prof. Gichure identifies strides that have been made in 10 years since its publishing. Among them the incorporation of business ethics in the curriculums of some universities, especially in South Africa. In Kenya among the universities that have taken ethics seriously is Strathmore where business ethics or professional ethics as the case, may be taught to all students at the different levels including masters programs

Funding

Due to the fact that writing for the encyclopedia is an honour, no writer is funded for the research work they do. However, Prof. Gichure had an advantage because her work involved assessing work written by other publishers as well as online information that is out there.

Challenges of writing for the encyclopedia

The one major challenge prof. Gichure experiences with regard to research work is time. Due to her current position as dean of SHSS the volume of work on a daily basis leaves her with little time for what she most loves to do: in-depth reading and research work in philosophy, applied ethics and leadership studies.

 

To read Prof. Gichure’s article click here.

 

Congratulations on your achievement Prof. Gichure.