Sharing Information on Progress Report 2015 As part of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)

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Prof. Dr. Jacques Bischoff

With this year’s Sharing Information on Progress Report, I am pleased to renew our commitment to

the Principles for Responsible Management Education. A major undertaking of the HWZ for the year

2014 was the university’s assessment along the criteria of EFQM (European Federation for Quality

Management). This entailed a thorough self-evaluation of all organizational procedures and

standards and was followed up with an external assessment by a team of EFQM assessors. The HWZ

has subsequently been “EFQM recognized for excellence” and was awarded four out of five stars

possible, a score that only approximately the top 25% of applicants attain. Indeed, only one other

university of applied sciences in Switzerland has attained this distinction.

This recognition in turn bears directly upon our engagement with the Principles for Responsible

Management Education, since EFQM concepts such as “leading with vision, inspiration and integrity”

or “taking responsibility for a sustainable future” are stated objectives and directly evaluated

according to the EFQM criteria. It attests us being an organization with a vigorous capacity to learn

and evolve in a sustainable manner, qualities which we intend on making good use of in our pursuit

in implementing the PRME across the entire university. There is, of course, still much to do and I look

forward to being part of this effort and see our university also become a leader in the realm of the

PRME.

Sincerely,

Jacques Bischoff, President

University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich

President’s Renewal of Commitment to

Excellence and Responsibility

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Presentation of the University and Commitment to Excellence

The HWZ - Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich (University of Applied Sciences in Business

Administration Zurich) - is the largest business university in Switzerland that is exclusively targeted

to working professionals. All our B.S., M.S., M.B.A. and certificate programs are structured as part-

time and permit our students an optimal mix between theory and practice. A total of 2,200 students

are engaged in over thirty degree programs. While our department heads and full time professors

are involved in both research and teaching, the HWZ lecturing staff, numbering around 500, hails to a

large part from the Swiss service and industrial sectors, as also from NGOs and public institutions.

This integral connection with the larger business community on both lecturing staff and student body

makes the comprehensive PRME implementation process both a challenge and a formidable

opportunity to make a significant, real-world impact. In 2014 the university was recognized for

excellence by the EFQM (European Federation for Quality Management), which has provided a good

vehicle for bringing the PRME to the fore in various organizational directives.

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1. The Organizational Challenge

A good portion of the past two years has been dedicated to systematically ascertain where our

university currently stands pertaining to the PRME and what the best means are for implementing

them. Below we report on some of these results, opportunities and first initiatives.

EFQM Certification and PRME Integration

As previously elucidated, the HWZ has been engaged in a yearlong assessment procedure according

to the EFQM criteria. This provided us with a number of opportunities to incorporate the PRME into

this process. We worked closely with the in-house quality management team to lay the foundation

for making the PRME an integral part of the HWZ organizational DNA by its documentation in various

internal directives and statutes. An example of this is that our mission statement has been

augmented to explicitly include our commitment to the PRME:

“As a member of the PRME, the HWZ strives to take on a leading role amongst

business schools in order to connect the social and ecological challenges with

economic objectives in a responsible fashion.”

The role of the PRME is thereby not only visible at our executive level but also to our board of

directors, providing the internal legitimacy to initiate a systematic process of implementation.

The EFQM assessment ascertained as very positive that the university’s leadership cultivates a

culture of openness and trust that pervades the entire organization. This is an indication that the

principles of responsible management are in good measure being lived internally in terms of how

people are treated on a daily basis. Internal surveys corroborate this fact in that employees realize

themselves to be valued and empowered stakeholders.

This was brought into evidence through a series of internal employee workshops that were launched

under the designation of “HWZ Forum”. This forum provides employees a direct venue for providing

input into the university’s strategy development. A compendium of values was developed as to what

employees felt the HWZ stood for and what was being lived on a daily basis, and was – ideally – also

being transferred to students via the lecturers.

We are also currently engaged in acquiring a better understanding of what sustainability means to

employees at the HWZ and how it can be assessed and developed.

Despite this laudable debut, however, the EFQM assessment report also revealed that the university

is still very strongly characterized and driven by its financial goals. The next step for a systematic

implementation of the PRME will consequently have to be to complement these financial criteria

with social and ecological ones. In a next step, there will be both a systematic integration of all

stakeholders at the HWZ (HWZ Stakeholder Integration Concept) and the integration of sustainability

criteria into the quality management of the university and its various stakeholders.

The implementation of the stakeholder orientation will be carried out by making use of the indicators

of stakeholder ‘identification’, ‘interaction’ and ‘feedback’. These will be analyzed and aligned in a

matrix with respect to the university’s internal, external and socially relevant stakeholders. The

results of these matrices can then be utilized for the development of new courses of study. By

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promoting the taking into account of the full diversity of the university’s stakeholders in the creation

of new courses of study, it will ensure that it is not just the most direct and financially relevant ones

that have a say. This, in turn, will provide an excellent vehicle for sustainable value creation in

alignment with the PRME.

Development of New Courses of Study

The HWZ – unlike many PRME signatories presented in the two “Inspirational Guide for the

Implementation of PRME” booklets – has an exclusively part-time student body. The vast majority of

lecturers, moreover, is not part of the permanent HWZ staff, but comes directly from industry to

share their experience in the classroom. While this proximity to industry creates a timely and highly

relevant educational experience for our students, it also makes the comprehensive implementation

of the PRME across the entire university curricula challenging in terms of reaching and coordinating

all lecturers to review and revise their syllabi to reflect our commitment to the principles of

responsible management education.

An excellent opportunity for the systematic, organization-wide implementation of the PRME and for

expanding the singular focus on financial success can now however be leveraged in view of the fact

that our university is presently working towards gaining full institutional accreditation as a University

of Applied Sciences according to the new Swiss Higher Education Act of 2015. This legislation requires

a comprehensive review of all degree programs that Swiss universities offer and will be helpful to

improve the integration process in all our courses.

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PRME for Everybody – Reformulation of the Principles

In addition to presenting the PRME to all non-teaching employees at the HWZ, they were also subject

at our bi-annual “HWZ Forum” in view of gathering input as to how the principles might be

integrated into the university’s organization and what they mean for employees. One of the

outcomes of this has been an effort to make the PRME more tangible for everybody at the HWZ. This

has led to a reformulation of the principles in a series of statements and questions which invite

participation on part of all employees:

Principle 1 | Purpose: We want to develop our students so that they assume responsible

leadership with respect to firms, society and nature.

Principle 2 | Values: What example can I serve for our students and what values can I

impart?

Principle 3 | Method: How can I contribute so that this subject is conveyed in a palpable

manner and come to life in the classroom, so that it results in a responsible management?

Principle 4 | Research: How can I contribute so that research projects are taken up at the

HWZ which have a sustainable impact on our society, economy and nature?

Principle 5 | Partnership: Which people support me in my sustainable commitment?

Principle 6 | Dialogue: What can I contribute in order to actively promote the dialog

between the various stakeholders with respect to social responsibility and sustainability?

This reformulation of the principles will facilitate in making all HWZ employees take ownership of the

day to day implementation of the PRME in their own sphere of influence.

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2. The Teaching Challenge

In addition to the planned integration of socially relevant stakeholders in the development of new

courses of study, there have already been two initiatives to directly bring the PRME to the lecturers

and students.

First, by means of a new orientation program that we now offer to all our new lecturers, a brief

overview of the PRME is provided and an offer for a personal consultation pertaining to how the

PRME can be integrated into the syllabus is made. Furthermore, it is explored how further assistance

can be provided in accessing relevant case studies and the opportunity to network with other

lecturers who are already or simply interested in enhancing their syllabus with such a PRME

perspective.

Second, a systematic incorporation of the PRME into all our bachelor degree courses has been

initiated. Following a brief presentation of the PRME, there is an examination with the respective

classes of what implicit and explicit values are prevalent in our economy. In particular, there is an

exploration of where there fails to be an integration of the values we live privately and those we

practice in our professions, subject as the latter is to a large extent by a predominantly financial

directive. Furthermore, a consideration of the thesis that our economy functions according to a set of

natural laws along the lines of biological evolution, such as ‘survival of the fittest’, is undertaken. This

has resulted in some spirited discussions, revealing often quite disparate vantage points among the

students.

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3. The Research and the Knowledge Transfer Challenge

The research at the HWZ is in many facets oriented around PRME principles, as evidenced by the

singular orientation of the research done at the Institute for Strategic Management – Stakeholder

View (led by Prof. Dr. Sybille Sachs). However, also other areas of the HWZ are engaged in PRME

relevant realms, such as the Center for Human Resource Management & Leadership (lead by Mr.

Matthias Mölleney) and the Center for Accounting & Controlling (led by Prof. Dr. Thomas

Rautenstrauch).

Current Research Projects

A number of different research projects with a distinct social and sustainability orientation are

currently being pursued at the HWZ:

In cooperation with the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH) the preliminary study

design “Methodological Competency for the Flexibilization of the Offers for Leaders” has

been completed in December 2014, with the main study having commenced in March 2015.

The study focuses on lifelong learning in the context of sustainability. Four question clusters

are at the core of the study:

1. What could a sustainable leadership competence entail?

2. How can competency in sustainable leadership be promoted?

3. What were the most useful experiences in the biography of the leaders pertaining to the

acquisition of leadership competency?

4. How is the role of the universities ascertained within the framework of a sustainable

acquisition of leadership competency?

The Leadership Project: Mini Summits on Different Challenges in the Industries was

launched in July 2014. As part of the overarching leadership project “Towards a new

narrative of leadership”, it explores the leadership understanding of firms and stakeholders

in their creation of shared value in a knowledge-based and networked society. In addition to

the internal competence centers of the HWZ, an intensive exchange with other stakeholders

is aimed for. The goal is to invite leaders from different firms and organizations to

contribute to the development and elaboration of a new leadership understanding and

vision. With these Mini Summits, experts from diverse backgrounds will be acquired for the

new leadership understanding. All HWZ centers were then involved in this project and a

panel discussion at a ‘HWZ Arena’ in the fall of 2014, where the results from this study were

discussed and reflected upon.

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The Institute for Strategic Management: Stakeholder View and the internationally based

G.O.L.D.E.N. project engaged in collaboration with the aim of examining sustainable

principles and business models in the corporate world (find more information on the

general project here). In conjunction with this project there was held a research meeting in

Milan, Italy with Professor Mauricio Zollo at the Bocconi University and the G.O.L.D.E.N.

project team, as well as with BHP Brugger and Partner for the initiation of a research

cooperation.

A project with the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) aims at enabling the core stakeholders in

issue-based multi-stakeholder settings. The objective is to enable the management and the

involved employees of the BFS to build a comprehensively systemized Stakeholder

Management concerning issues and to implement it in a sustainable manner. The primary

focus of this project lies on the methodological and theoretical communication, the transfer

and the support through the contractors in phases, so that the greatest possible transfer of

know-how into the BFS can be made.

A joint research project of the Institute of Strategic Management: Stakeholder View, the

Center for Human Resource Management & Leadership and the Vetsuisse faculty at the

University of Zurich was launched under the header “Kids & Career”. The goal of this

external mandate is the accompaniment of the Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Zurich

in order to evaluate which needs are ascertained as the most important for the focus groups

“Faculty” and “Young Academics” in regard to compatibility of kids and career. Moreover,

possible solutions to support young academics in their reconciliation of the demands of both

family and work will be determined. Lastly, the promotion of a family-friendly faculty culture

and the creation of the necessary institutional structures are part of this project.

The Swiss Real Estate Institute at the HWZ is involved in numerous research studies which

also have a social and environmental dimension. One recent study looked at the effects of

climate change on the Swiss real estate market, while another modelled potential of denser

urban housing by adding 1 – 2 additional floors to already existing buildings in various

quarters of Swiss cities.

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Doctoral Students

The following three doctoral students at the HWZ have completed a dissertation during the past two

years with a sustainability and social stakeholder dimension:

Marc Moser: Who had completed his dissertation in 2013 “Commercial Investment and

Mission Drift in Microfinance: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Perceptions in

Switzerland", is currently employed at LGT Venture Philanthropy, which manages the

philanthropic engagement of the Liechtenstein family. He is thereby able to take account of

the credo that responsible management goes hand in hand with responsible wealth

utilization.

Claude Meier: Completed his dissertation in 2014 on the topic of “The effectiveness of multi-

stakeholder initiatives (MSI) in the light of Swiss corporations”. Study of the apparel industry

in view of ascertaining if the standard initiatives of “Business Social Compliance Initiative

(BSCI)” and the “Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)” are actually effective in improving the labor

law situation of the employees in the production countries.

Thomas Schneider: He has successfully completed his dissertation in 2015 with the title “E

Pluribus Unum: The Impact of Social Identities and Legitimacy on Cooperation in Issue-based

Stakeholder Networks” at the University of Bern. The conducted experimental studies

addressed the problem of how stakeholder groups of different legitimacy cooperate in a

multi-stakeholder setting to establish integrative solutions in the context of a shared socio-

economic issue.

And the following three doctoral students are currently working on a dissertation with a

sustainability and social stakeholder element:

Vanessa McSorley: Is working on her Ph.D. at the intersection of psychology and business by

applying a qualitative approach. She wrote a proposal for the purpose of an application to

the IABS conference 2015 with the title “Understanding value constructions in employees:

Towards a phenomenological approach.” She will study the qualities of experienced value in

everyday work situations of employees in blue collar jobs.

Christian Stutz: Was accepted as a postgraduate student by the University of Jyväskylä,

Finland in September 2014. His interdisciplinary research is settled at the nexus between

Business History and Management Studies. By taking into account the recent rapprochement

between History and Management Studies, he aims to contribute to the recent stream of

literature which is interested in Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholder Theory from

a historical perspective.

Daniel Laude: Has joined the Strategic Management Team in the latter part of 2014 and is

currently developing a research project in line with the stakeholder approach to strategic

management.

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Publications - Articles

Numerous articles which have an emphasis on sustainability and an expanded social responsibly of

the role of firms in society are published by our research departments and lecturing staff in peer-

reviewed management journals as well as local Swiss publications. A recent sample includes the

following:

Claude Meier published “Supply Chains in the Apparel Industry: Do Transnational Initiatives for

Social Sustainability improve Workers’ Situation?” in the International Journal of Management,

Knowledge and Learning (forthcoming).

Edwin Rühli, Sybille Sachs, Ruth Schmitt and Thomas Schneider published “Innovation in

Multistakeholder Settings: The Case of a Wicked Issue in Health Care” in the Journal of

Business Ethics, March 2015.

Thomas Schneider and Sybille Sachs submitted their paper “The impact of Stakeholder

Identities on Value creation in Issue-based Stakeholder Networks” to the Journal of Business

Ethics.

Thomas Schneider and Sybille Sachs submitted his paper „Stakeholder Identities, Trust and

Cooperation: A Social Identity Perspective on Organizational Value Creation” to the Journal

of Applied Behavioral Science.

Nathan Ganesh, a lecturer at the HWZ and professor at the Business School Lausanne,

published “Multi-stakeholder Deliberation for (Global) Justice: An Approach from Modern

Civic Republicanism”, in Rethinking the Future of Europe: A Challenge of Governance, S.

Schepers and A. Kakabadse (eds.), UK: Palgrave Macmillan, October 2014.

The following non-academic publications of more general interest were published and are indicative

of the HWZ commitment to dialog with the larger public:

Sybille Sachs was interviewed for the communication platform “KMU Rundschau”, which was

subsequently published under the title “Wenn der Chef das Lernen ernst nimmt” (“If the boss

takes learning seriously”), KMU-Rundschau, 3. Quartal 2014.

Sybille Sachs and Vanessa McSorley published the article “Gesunde Kundenbeziehungen”

(“Healthy customer relationships”), personalSCHWEIZ June 2015.

Sybille Sachs and Edwin Rühli published the article “Haben Managermodelle ausgedient?”

(Have management models been eclipsed in their utility?), Organisator, February 2015.

Sybille Sachs published the article “Ticken wir noch richtig?” (“Are we still in our right

mind?”), on models for flexible working hours, HR Today April 2014.

Sybille Sachs published “Werte der Generation Y: Attraktiv für den Führungsnachwuchs”

(“Values of the generation Y: Attractive for young leaders”), Personal Schweiz, October 2014.

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Matthias Mölleney, director of our Center of Human Resources, Management and

Leadership at the HWZ, was interviewed for the SKO magazine on the topic of “Nachhaltige

Führung” (“Sustainable Leadership”), SKO

Matthias Mölleney published “Im Netzwerk liegt die Zukunft“ (“In the network lies the

future“), in PersonalSCHWEIZ, December 2014.

Matthias Mölleney published „Ziele Erreichen = Erfolg Haben?“ (“Objectives reached =

Success Assured?”), Management Magazin für Architekten und Ingenieure 1/2015

Peter Ilg from the Swiss Real Estate Institute at the HWZ published “Innerstädtische Verdichtung: Erhebliches Potenzial im Bestand”, (Inner city densification: considerable potential with current availability), Immobilia, February 2013.

Urs Klingler published “Zur Gehaltsdiskriminierung von Frauen: Wir brauchen keine

Lohnpolizei“ (Pertaining the discrimination of women: we don’t need a wage police“, Blick, 3.

November 2014.

Markus Ulrich published “Gaming, the Language to Shape a Sustainable Future. A Journey from 1974 to 2054” in “Back to the Future of Gaming”. Edited by Richard D. Duke & Willy Kriz on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of «Gaming – The Future’s Language», by Richard D. Duke. W. Bertelsmann Verlag, 2014.

Publications - Books

Sybille Sachs and Edwin Rühli, “Strategisches Management – Eine neue Perspektive“

(Strategic Management – A New Perspective), a textbook that develops a stakeholder and

sustainability approach to strategy was published in 2013 in an e-book format.

Claude Meier published his doctoral thesis “The Effectiveness of Transnational Standard

Initiatives (TSI) in the Apparel Industry – An Empirical Examination of Two Cases” in the Swiss

Haupt Verlag (publisher).

Master Theses

The following is a selection of master theses written by our master students which have a

stakeholder/CSR/sustainability focus:

Urs Jäckli, “Stakeholder-Integration und ihre Implikationen für die

Wertgenerierung von touristischen Destinationen in der Schweiz” (Stakeholder Integration

and their implications for the generation of wealth in tourist destinations of Switzerland).

Elisabeth Egli, “Einfluss von Erwartungen und Wahrnehmungen der beteiligten Stakeholder

auf den Erfolg eines Produktenwicklungsprojektes aus einer neurobiologischen/

psychologischen Perspektive” (The influence of expectations and perceptions of the involved

stakeholders on the success of a product development project viewed from a

neurobiological/psychological perspective).

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Frank Näf, “Krisenkommunikation für börsenkotierte Unternehmen unter der Prüfung der

Stakeholder-Bedürfnisse am Beispiel der Burkhalter Holding AG“ (Crisis communication for

publically listed firms from an examination of the stakeholder needs, based on the example

of Burkhalter Holding AG).

Dominik Pfoster, “Nachhaltigkeitscontrolling bei Finanzanlagen klassischer Stiftungen”

(Sustainability controlling of financial investments by classical foundations).

Martin Schäfli, “Mehrwert durch wertorientierte Unternehmensführung: eine

Praxisanleitung am Beispiel eines international tätigen Energieunternehmens”, (Added value

through a value oriented firm leadershiop: a practical guide based on the example of an

internationally active energy firm).

René De Senarclens, “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) im Beschaffungswesen der

Stadtverwaltung Zürich” (Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the public procurement of

the city of Zurich).

Marcel Fischer, Jakob Frischknecht, “Bestandesaufnahme zur Umsetzung von Corporate

Social Responsibility im Rahmen des EFQM-Kriterium «Gesellschaftsbezogene Ergebnisse»

der Swiss Steel AG“ (Inventory of the implementation of corporate social responsability in

the framework of the EFQM criteria “socially related results” of the Swiss Steel AG).

People for People Blog

Our English language “People for People” blog has been complemented with a German version

starting January 2014, in order to more directly target the local Swiss and German speaking public so

as to better leverage networking and collaboration opportunities. The blog “People for People”

continued to engage a steady readership in both its English and German versions. As of March, 2015,

page views totaled over 50,000 for the English blog, and over 9,000 for the German. Team members

and guests continue to take turns to author blog posts that communicate stakeholder and PRME

related issues. Although our English blog has enjoyed considerable success since its launch 3 years

ago, it was nevertheless decided to suspend it in order to more directly engage our local Swiss

stakeholders. The English posts will, however, still be available in archive fashion. The newly updated

blog can be found here: http://www.peopleforpeople.ch/ whereas the archival English and German

blogs can be found here: http://stakeholder-peopleforpeople.blogspot.ch/.

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4. Events, Public Appearances and Initiatives

Conference Attendance and Presentations

As is evidenced by the below list, there is a strong participation at PRME related of conference

attendances and presentations:

For 2014, Sybille Sachs took over the position of Program Chair of the Stakeholder Strategy

Interest Group, an interest group of the Strategic Management Society. The Stakeholder

Strategy Interest Group (SSIG) promotes scholarship that embraces a multi-stakeholder

perspective of firm strategy, its antecedents, boundaries, roles, values, and its diverse forms

of impact and performance.

Sybille Sachs organized, together with partners, an All Academy Symposium at the Annual

Meeting of the Academy of Management 2014 in Philadelphia, USA, and contributed with a

presentation. The meeting was entitled “Leveraging the Power of Words in Governance

Systems” and Sybille Sachs provided a presentation on the topic “Governance System in the

Academic Discourse”.

Sybille Sachs further provided a lecture on “Ethical Innovation in Multistakeholder Settings”

at the symposium Ethics, Technology and Organizational Innovation which took place on

the 8th of January 2014 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

Sybille Sachs also held a presentation entitled “Managergeneration 3.0: Führungskompetenz

nachhaltig entwickeln” at the iafob Germany Convention in Hamburg in November 2014.

Iafob is the “Institute for Work Research and Organizational Consultancy” and was developed

out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

Thomas Schneider presented his paper “Stakeholder Legitimacy, Trust and Cooperation in

Multistakeholder Initiatives: An Experimental Approach” at the Annual Meeting of the

Academy of Management 2014 in Philadelphia, USA.

Thomas Schneider and Vanessa McSorely participated in the 13th Congress of the Swiss

Society for Psychology with the topic “Crossing Borders”. Thomas Schneider presented a

poster with the title “The impact of social identities and legitimacy on cooperation in issue-

based stakeholder networks”.

Christian Stutz took part in a workshop of the Association for Critical Business History for

Junior Researchers in November 2014 in Dortmund, Germany. There he presented the

proposal “Identity Orientation towards Stakeholders: Construction of Organizational

Narratives in Historical Context”.

Vanessa McSorley attended a congress in November 2014 by the Swiss Academy of

Humanities and Social Sciences with the title “Work in the Course of Life”.

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Manuel Dawson and Sybille Sachs attended the regional PRME DACH Conference at the

University of Applied Sciences in Chur, Switzerland. While attendees hailed from all over the

world, the conference focused on establishing and developing a network of universities in

the German speaking countries in view of integrating PRME principles into their curricula.

Manuel Dawson also participated at the 5th annual PRME Summit in Bled, Slovenia, in

September, which following the HWZ commitment to the PRME Principles provided valuable

impulses as well as a good networking opportunity.

Manuel Dawson also participated in the Gemeinwohl Ökonomie (GWÖ) Zukunftskonferenz

(Economy of the Common Good Future Conference) in Innsbruck, Austria, which explored

sustainable and stakeholder based economic models.

Matthias Mölleney participated at a podium with the topic of “Werte im Wandel – kein

Wandel ohne Werte!?” (Changing Values – no Change without Values!?) at the Kongress

Zukunft Personal (Congress of the Future of Personnel) in Cologne, Germany.

Peter Ilg „Auswirkungen der Klimaerwärmung auf den Schweizer Immobilienmarkt“ (The effects of climate change on the Swiss real estate market), Swiss Real Estate Podiumsgespräch, HWZ Zürich, 12. September 2013.

Memberships in PRME Relevant Organizations

Program Chair of the Stakeholder Strategy Interest Group of the Strategic Management

Society (SMS)

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Business and Society”

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Corporate Citizenship”

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Business and Professional Ethics”

Member of the Social Issues in Management (SIM) Division of the Academy of Management

(AoM)

Sybille Sachs is moreover a member of the Board of the NSW (Netzwerk für sozial-

verantwortliche Wirtschaft) – Network for a responsible economy.

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5. Alumni

It is always a pleasure to see that some of our alumni commit themselves to a social or ecological

professional career. Mr. Valentin Fisler, a recent HWZ graduate, co-founded a highly innovative

recycling service that collects the full spectrum of reusable manufactures in a single bag right at the

door of homes and companies. This saves customers the time and trouble to sort and then to

personally bring the recyclables to a recyclables collection site. More information can be found here:

http://www.mr-green.ch/

A challenge for the future would be to evaluate which resources could be tapped into at the HWZ so

as to promote, recognize and perhaps also reward such social and environmental entrepreneurship.

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6. International Initiatives

Bhutan Midlevel Management Hotel Program – Development Work and Humanitarian

Assistance

Prof. Dr. Urs Dürsteler

2. The integration of this educational curricula and degree program into the RITH university in

Bhutan (capacity building).

3. The promotion and introduction of the dual education system as it exists in Switzerland with

such success. This system integrates a theoretical, lecture based part with actual work

experience in a hotel, in the case of this course at the Hotel Belvédère in Scoul, Switzerland.

The project is funded in part by the HWZ, the Kanton of Zurich, the Swiss Agency for Development

and Cooperation and the Hotel Belvédère. Above and beyond the direct cross-cultural stakeholder

exchange and knowledge transfer, the course study includes such PRME related modules as strategic

stakeholder management, human resource management and awareness of cross cultural issues.

The program continues to be led by Dr. Urs Dürsteler of the HWZ. A recent picture of the current

Bhutanese students is included below:

In our last PRME SIP Report we reported on the HWZ project with the

Bhutan Midlevel Management Hotel Program. This is a joint program

between the HWZ and the RITH Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality

in Thumphu, Bhutan. The objective of this program is three-fold:

1. The education of 25 Bhutanese students over the course of two years

both in Bhutan and Switzerland in view of the Diploma of Advanced

Studies in Hospitality Management from the HWZ (education).

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7. Energy Conservation, Recycling and Environmental

Initiatives

The internal operations at the HWZ: Walking the talk at the HWZ of the UN Global Compact

principles underlying the PRME.

The following initiatives contributed to improving the energy conservation and recycling at the HWZ.

In order to promote employees and students to come to the University by bicycle, new bike racks

were installed. In order to lower our paper consumption, the electronic platforms that lecturers and

students use have been expanded. There has been a simplification as to how copy orders are

processed by our copy center. A monitoring system has been installed with the goal of decreasing the

number of copies that are made. All room assignments and plans are published solely electronically.

In order to avoid the use of towels or papers in restrooms, air-hand dryers were installed. Lastly,

numerous energy-technological ameliorations were undertaken as pertains to the university building.

This includes installation of glass walls by the bistro in order to reduce cold air draft and an intelligent

air conditioning system.

8. Summary of Key Objectives for 2016/2017

Key new initiatives for the next 24-month period with regard to the implementation of the Principles

can thus be summarized as follows:

1. An assessment of sustainability and organizational values as it is lived at the university will be

carried out amongst employees, lecturers and students.

2. There will be a systematic integration of stakeholders into the strategic processes of the

university. This will include social and ecological indicators besides financial concerning the

sustainable value creation of HWZ.

3. The new lecturer orientation program “HWZ Kompakt” will be further developed with

respect to the support that can be offered in line with the PRME.

4. The systematic presentation of PRME in all courses of study. This includes an examination

with the respective classes of what implicit and explicit values are prevalent in our economy

and how they diverge from personal values.

5. The development of a new teaching module with the aim of providing students with

improved skills to bring their personal values and the values expected from them in a

professional context into alignment.

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Contact Information:

HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich Sihlhof / Lagerstrasse 5 CH-8021 Zürich Tel.: +41 (0)43 322 26 00 Fax: +41 (0)43 322 26 01 http://www.fh-hwz.ch/en sekretariat@fh-hwz.ch

PRME related inquiries can be addressed directly to Mr. Manuel Dawson:

Manuel.Dawson@fh-hwz.ch

Tel.: +41 (0)43 322 26 92