Vision
Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility
Selected ideas and examples
Jakub Kronenberg
Department of International Economics
University of Lodz
Baltic University Conference, Lodz 21.05.2007
‘If we are to truly change the global management paradigm
to one of sustainability and integrated strategic CSR, one
critical and rudimentary step in this process is to build this
management mentality into our core management training:
we must educate future management leaders in the critical
theory, frameworks, and practice of integrated strategic
CSR, just as we educate them in traditional areas of
finance, marketing, and accounting.’
Kellie A. McElhaney
Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business, University of California
Where are we now?
CSR TEACHING METER
Some programmes integrate CSR into all subjects taught,
often in cooperation with business
Some offer separate courses on CSR
Some offer optional courses on CSR
Some neglect CSR at all
At others, may some faculty members have not even heard
of CSR so far?
Stanford
ESADE
York (Schulich)
ITESM (EGADE)
Notre Dame (Mendoza)
George Washington
Michigan (Ross)
North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
Cornell (Johnson)
Wake Forest (Babcock)
26 University of Jyväskylä
USA
Spain
Canada
Mexico
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Finland
Source: Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2005.
Teaching CSR – core ideas
1. Teach students to adopt a broader perspective
– companies do not operate in a vacuum!
Broader perspective
Natural
(N)
Social
(S)
2. Search for linkages with other areas
– demonstrate applicability of CSR to all issues we teach
3. Demonstrate that CSR pays
4. Involve!
– case studies; ‘what would you do?’; evaluate reports
5. Start at your own backyard
– behave in a socially responsible way; provide an example
(E)
Economic
1
Broader perspective
Investing in a sustainable way
Negative selection process
– what activities do we exclude from our portfolio?
Positive screening, or best-in-class, approach
– e.g. Dow Jones Sustainability Index
– difficult to know what's happening in those businesses
Integrating sustainability into fundamental equity analysis
– Generation Investment Management approach
– sustainability issues are integral to business strategy
Linkages
CSR
Examples of linkages
Foreign direct investment
Marketing
Role of corporations in economic transformation
Strategic management
Prahalad C.K., Hammond A.,
‘Serving the World’s Poor, Profitably’,
Harvard Business Review, 1.09.2002, pp. 48-57
International economics
Processes of globalisation
Economy-environment interactions
Prahalad C.K. (2004), Fortune at the Bottom of the
Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits,
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.
Difficult to find an area not related to CSR nowadays
Examples of linkages
International economics – stakeholders
Global corporations – their advantages and
disadvantages – CSR as an opportunity!
International finance
Transfer pricing
Speculative investment – hot money
International aid
(RED) initiative – sharing profits with the poor
2
Examples of linkages
Economy-environment interactions
To what extent should it be covered with standards or
government policy?
To require companies to behave in responsible way or
not to require?
Involve!
How many companies will behave in a responsible way
without being forced to it?
In your opinion, what does it mean to be
a responsible company?
Can we trust the corporate responsible image?
Warn about abuses – greenwash, fake commitments…
Be vigilant!
How would you act as
a responsible manager?
Long-term approach
Broad perspective
Behave! Both yourself and university
In a given situation (crisis, emergency) how would you
behave in a responsible way?
Organise seminars with business representatives
Encourage students to undertake internships
Teaching CSR – core ideas
Do not let students cheat, be honest yourself
1. Teach students to adopt a broader perspective
Same standards for everybody; be demanding
2. Search for linkages with other areas
Show that profit is not the only motive in life
3. Demonstrate that CSR pays
Cooperate with NGOs; share your knowledge
Sometimes, there is a need to explain and motivate these
– why not refer to CSR then?
Contribute to building socially responsible elites
4. Involve
5. Start at your own backyard – behave
Vision: ‘build this management mentality
into our core management training’