Seven Pillars Institute

Last updated
Seven Pillars Institute
Established2010;13 years ago (2010)
FounderKara Tan Bhala
Type Non-profit think tank 501(c)(3)
FocusTo highlight and analyze issues of moral philosophy in global financial markets with a view to enhancing ethical practice and policy
HeadquartersSeven Pillars Institute, 31 W 31st St., Kansas City, Missouri 64108 United States
Location
Coordinates 39°04′15″N94°35′12″W / 39.0709°N 94.5868°W / 39.0709; -94.5868
President
Kara Tan Bhala
Website sevenpillarsinstitute.org

Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics (SPI) is a not-for-profit think tank based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 2010 by Kara Tan Bhala, the institute is authorized under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and is a nonsectarian and nonpartisan research and educational organization. A large part of the institute's work is to provide education on ethics and its application in every area of finance. [1]

Contents

History

Dr. Kara Tan Bhala founded Seven Pillars Institute [2] in Lawrence, Kansas in 2010. The institute is the first think tank in the world to focus on financial ethics. [1]

Dr. Tan Bhala serves as president of the institute. She has an MBA from Oxford University and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Kansas. She was previously a lecturer in finance at the University of Kansas, a visiting research fellow (2015 to 2017) and currently an honorary research fellow at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) at the School of Law of Queen Mary University of London. [3] [4]

Dr. Tan Bhala has also worked for twenty-three years in international finance, mostly on Wall Street, and nine as a managing director at Merrill Lynch. [5] Dr. Tan Bhala has published extensively and has lived and worked in London, Oxford, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

Work

Seven Pillars states its financial ethics services, primarily education-oriented, are geared towards the sectors of:

The institute has embarked on a number of collaborative efforts with other organizations and institutions.

One such collaboration is with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London where they work on ethics, law, and regulation in finance. [9] The collaboration aim is to foster a dialogue on important ethical policy issues affecting the financial services industry. [9] This dialogue is to be achieved primarily through Dr. Costanza Russo's designing of a postgraduate module in 'Ethics in Business and in Finance', and a comprehensive framework that includes collaboration on research, publications and other educational endeavors. [9] Dr. Tan Bhala also works closely with the Transparency Task Force, an advocacy group based in London, England, whose purpose is to increase transparency in financial services. [10]

The institute has also conducted interviews with prominent economists, professors and authors. Among them are Joris Luyendijk, L. Randall Wray, David Vines and Richard H. Thaler. [11] [12] [13] [14]

In addition to the direct work of the institute, its president and founder, Dr. Tan Bhala, has delivered numerous lectures and speeches around the world on topics related to the synthesis of ethics and finance, promoting the institute's mission and quest. [4] Among some are:

Publications

The primary publication of the institute is its biannual journal, Moral Cents: The Journal of Ethics in Finance, [20] which is the first journal of its kind to focus on financial ethics and attempts to follow the institute's mission. [21]

The institute also publishes a variety of ancillary resources to aid in its mission, including:

Real Clear Markets has featured a number of articles published by the institute and its associates in their research reports:

The institute is also currently in the middle of developing a financial ethics training video series titled, Ethics in Finance is Good!. [29] The series is intended to have twelve episodes, each about two to three minutes long, and each dedicated to a specific topic in financial ethics. The videos are largely in animated form and are an attempt to provide a more light-hearted, entertaining and punchy type of ethics training video as opposed to the supposed corporate run-of-the-mill videos. [29] As of January 2021, there are seven episodes. [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. These ethics originate from individuals, organizational statements or the legal system. These norms, values, ethical, and unethical practices are the principles that guide a business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate social responsibility</span> Form of corporate self-regulation aimed at contributing to social or charitable goals

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or supporting professional service volunteering through pro bono programs, community development, administering monetary grants to non-profit organizations for the public benefit, or to conduct ethically oriented business and investment practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy similar to what is now known today as Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG); that time has passed as various companies have pledged to go beyond that or have been mandated or incentivized by governments to have a better impact on the surrounding community. In addition national and international standards, laws, and business models have been developed to facilitate and incentivize this phenomenon. Various organizations have used their authority to push it beyond individual or even industry-wide initiatives. In contrast, it has been considered a form of corporate self-regulation for some time, over the last decade or so it has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at the level of individual organizations to mandatory schemes at regional, national, and international levels. Moreover, scholars and firms are using the term "creating shared value", an extension of corporate social responsibility, to explain ways of doing business in a socially responsible way while making profits.

The Government Pension Fund of Norway comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the government of Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bocconi University</span> Private university in Milan, Italy

Bocconi University is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and computer science. SDA Bocconi, the university's graduate business school, offers MBA, Executive MBA, and DBA programs.

Computer ethics is a part of practical philosophy concerned with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Institute of Management</span> Private college in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is a management school and research institution in Makati, the Philippines. Established in partnership with Harvard Business School, it is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Stephen H. Fuller of the Harvard Business School was its first president. It was described by Asiaweek magazine as the best in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of executive education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Institutes of Health Research</span> Canadian federal agency

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption Perceptions Index</span> Country ranking by public sector corruption

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entrusted power for private gain". The index is published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carroll School of Management</span> Business school of Boston College

The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management (CSOM) is the business school of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia was the professional accounting body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia before it merged with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to become Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socially responsible investing</span> Any investment strategy combining both financial performance and social/ethical impact.

Socially responsible investing (SRI), social investment, sustainable socially conscious, "green" or ethical investing, is any investment strategy which seeks to consider both financial return and social/environmental good to bring about social change regarded as positive by proponents. Socially responsible investments often constitute a small percentage of total funds invested by corporations and are riddled with obstacles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avinash Persaud</span>

Avinash D. Persaud is Emeritus Professor of Gresham College in the UK. He was Chairman of Intelligence Capital Ltd., a company specializing in analyzing, managing and creating financial liquidity in investment projects and portfolios. He was also the non-Executive Chairman of the London-based Elara Capital, an investment bank. Persaud was a Non-resident Senior Fellow of the Peterson Institute of International Economics, Executive Fellow of London Business School and Senior Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Research Institute and Head of its Barbados office.

Accounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics and is part of business ethics and human ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting was introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and independent companies. Ethics are taught in accounting courses at higher education institutions as well as by companies training accountants and auditors.

Taha Abdul-Basser was a Muslim Chaplain at Harvard University.

<i>Journal of Business Ethics</i> Academic journal

The Journal of Business Ethics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Springer. The Journal of Business Ethics is one of the journals used by the Financial Times for in compiling the Business Schools research rank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Golden</span> American academic

Jay S. Golden is an academic and researcher. Golden is the Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability & Finance at Syracuse University where he also directs the Dynamic Sustainability Lab. He is the author of the 2023 book, Dynamic Sustainability: Implications for Policy, Markets and National Security

The University College of Management Studies is a private university college in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The school is affiliated with the School of Business of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi and the University of Education Winneba, Kumasi Campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raj Bhala</span> American lawyer and academic (born 1962)

Rakesh "Raj" Kumar Bhala is an Indian-American author, lawyer and professor, prominent in the fields of International trade law, Islamic Law (Sharia), and law and literature. He is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Law where he is the inaugural Leo S. Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law. Previously he had served as the university's Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law (2011–2017). He is the author of leading textbooks in international trade law, among others, and has a periodic column on international law, titled "On Point," that has been published by BloombergQuint (India) since January 2017. In June 2020, Ingram's Magazine named him as one of “50 Kansans You Should Know.” He is a member of the U.S. State Department Speaker Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amitabh Rajan</span>

Amitabh Rajan is an Indian Administrative Service officer of Maharashtra cadre and the former Home Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. He headed the Reserve Bank of India Services Board as its Chairman from 2018-2022, and was also an Independent Director in the Board of the State Trading Corporation of India. He has made significant contributions to the fields of Sociology, Economics, and Jurisprudence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Institute of Finance</span>

References

  1. 1 2 "Global Financial Ethics in the Age of Trump". Auckland Law School. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. Pinsker, Joe (2014-12-18). "Would a Hippocratic Oath for Bankers Lead to Better Behavior?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  3. "Dr Kara Tan Bhala - Visiting Research Fellow January 2015 - January 2017". Centre for Commercial Law Studies | Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 "CCSL - Kara Tan Bhala". School of Law | Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  5. "Graduation stories: Financial background, philosophy doctorate could be perfect pairing". KU News. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. "Financial Ethics in Government". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  7. "Financial Ethics in Business". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  8. "Financial Ethics Research & Basics". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "Centre for Commercial Law Studies to collaborate with Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance". School of Law, Queen Mary University of London. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  10. "TTF Ambassadors". Transparency Task Force. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. Tan Bhala, Kara (8 October 2015). "Interview with Joris Luyendijk, Author of Swimming with Sharks". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  12. Strawn, Travis (17 December 2013). "Interview with L. Randall Wray: Modern Monetary Theory, Inequality". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  13. "Authors David Vines and Nicholas Morris on Capital Failure". Seven Pillars Institute. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  14. "Interview with Richard H. Thaler on Misbehaving". Seven Pillars Institute. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  15. Hicks, Kate (17 July 2013). "Ethics in Finance: A New Financial Theory for a Post-Financialized World". The Ethox Centre. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  16. "Oxford University Invites Seven Pillars Institute president to speak on global finance, ethics". KU | School of Business. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  17. "Financial ethics in the age of Trump". The University of Auckland Business School. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  18. "Boston 28th September 2017". Transparency Task Force. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  19. "GBES 2017 Agenda". Bentley University. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  20. "Journals Archive". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  21. "Finance professor publishes ethics journal, first of its kind". School of Business | The University of Kansas. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  22. "Glossary". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  23. "Case Studies". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  24. MacFarland, Kate (24 January 2017). "US: Financial Ethics Think Tank writes about Universal Basic Income". Basic Income News. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  25. "Ethics 101". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  26. "February 13, 2012 Archives | Research Reports". RealClearMarkets. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  27. "January 25, 2016 Archives | Research Reports". RealClearMarkets. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  28. "March 5, 2012 Archives | Research Reports". RealClearMarkets. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  29. 1 2 "Lecturer launches financial ethics training series". KU Today. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  30. "Videos". Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  31. "Ethics of ESG Investing 15 October 2020". YouTube.