ABSTRACT

After decades of work, the UN Global Compact was launched in 2000, building from the work of many within the peace and human rights movement who recognized the invaluable contributions of corporations and nongovernmental organizations in the pursuit of peace and justice. The UN Global Compact quickly became the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, bringing together labour, civil society, and governments with business organizations to advance the ten universal principles in the area of human rights, labour, environment, and anticorruption. The premise is that every organization, whether commercial, civic, or government, needs to design strategies to address society's needs within the context of a thriving physical and social and economic environment, especially as rapid urbanization spreads throughout the world. A healthy economy is only possible if it is part of a healthy society. And that is the simple, but profound logic behind the history of how the UN came to focus on management education.