Our Vision and Purpose

The Center for Integrity in Business is called to confront crises in our world of work, including such questions as:

  • Do I matter? Many business people see little correlation between their efforts and the mission of their organizations. Only one in five people understand how their work contributes to overarching goals. (Based on a recent survey.)
  • Is business a noble calling? Widespread ethical breaches and questionable business practices have produced devastating outcomes in the lives of people and communities worldwide. Many in younger generations wonder, “Is a career in business is even worth pursuing?”
  • Who does business serve? Profit-only practices and short-term market expectations have overshadowed ambitions for business to serve social ends that can lead to true economic flourishing.

Meaning and Integrity

Integrity is a word the denotes full-scale transformational change. It is all-encompassing, yet a process. No one person or organization ever fully arrives. People and organizations pursuing integrity recognize that they are still learning, growing, and developing into their full potential.

Understanding this reality, they celebrate progress but can imagine a day when they will more fully and consistently reflect values that lead to human flourishing. This vision for self-improvement and a better tomorrow invites their ongoing work and creativity.

Tools and Conversations

Our vision is big: a healthy, transformed, integrity-seeking business community working for a more just and sustainable world. To this end, we work to equip business practitioners with tools; scholars with opportunities to develop thought leadership; and both groups with conversations that join the theory and practice of business into an influential mix.

Despite the highly publicized moral and ethical scandals in business and finance over the past decade, few business schools have risen to the challenge of re-orienting their educational approach and curriculum. ... SPU's Center for Integrity in Business is doing just that. Beginning with the purpose of business, they help future leaders think through the way business serves society and ways they as leaders can shape an organizational culture to bring out the best in their people."

Katherine Leary Alsdorf
Executive Director
Center for Faith & Work
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York