Dr. John Bishop

Professor, Business Administration
Trent University

When Trent University went searching for a business ethicist to join the faculty of the Business Administration program in the early 90s, Dr. John Bishop eagerly answered the call. Sixteen years later, Prof. Bishop remains at Trent, contributing to a growing program that has been recognized nationally and internationally for its ethical approaches to teaching business.

“Most undergraduate business programs just teach students how to do business, here we teach them about business,” says Prof. Bishop. “Our students are not just inside doing business; they are outside looking in at it and making value judgements.”

According to Prof. Bishop, this unique approach has contributed to Trent’s Business Administration program’s repeated top ranking by Corporate Knights, Canada’s magazine for responsible business. In a survey of 46 schools, Trent’s program was recognized in the top spot in 2005 and 2007 for infusing social and environmental impact management into the curricula. This infusion of ethics into the undergraduate curriculum is an important component of any program, says Prof. Bishop, who believes a broader understanding of thinking helps contribute to more well-rounded graduates.

For Prof. Bishop, who holds an M.A. in Philosophy, an M.B.A. from McMaster, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Edinburgh University in Scotland, his interest in ethics stems “back to my teen years” when he became interested “in the history of ideas and how ethical ideas have unfolded throughout history.”

This philosophical approach to thinking translates well into Prof. Bishop’s teaching style, as he strives to not only teach his students the facts but also teaches them to question how and why to do something. As a result, Prof. Bishop’s classes are interactive and dedicated to encouraging discussion among the students. “The Trent environment is absolutely vital to this approach,” says Prof. Bishop, citing the University’s small tutorial class sizes. “It gives the students the opportunity to do what they should be doing – arguing, convincing, discussing – the classroom experience should be all about them.” Graduates of Trent’s Business Administration program are therefore entering the work world with a unique perspective and a broader understanding of business and its relationship to society. “They see the bigger picture,” says Prof. Bishop. “And that translates into an immense career advantage.”

Outside of the classroom, Prof. Bishop’s interest in the ethical approaches to business continues. As a researcher, his primary area of study surrounds the philosophical arguments that underlie the rights of for-profit corporations. It is an area that Prof. Bishop feels is gaining more attention today due to the increasing number of corporate scandals being reported in the media and the fact that, in the modern world, the power of corporations is greatly increasing.

Prof. Bishop has also penned many articles and papers on business ethics, several of which have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, for which Prof. Bishop is the current corporate governance section editor. He also edited the book Ethics and Capitalism: A Guide to the Issues, which he compiled from papers presented during the BMO speaker series at Trent University in 2000.

Looking to the future, Prof. Bishop predicts that the importance of ethics will only increase as issues such as population increases, climate change and oil shortages continue. According to Prof. Bishop, these issues will lead to “more pressure on social institutions and more need for ethical discussion.”