Man­aging Sus­tain­able Cor­por­a­tions

Course content

This course explores how managers can show leadership and contribute to the development of more sustainable business practices. It explores the individual, organizational and communicative aspects of responsibility along with the regulatory and political context affecting, shaping and constraining business mindsets and decisions. While the course has a strong emphasis on the practical/operational aspects of CSR and sustainability (through the use of cases and empirical examples), it also allows participants to familiarize themselves with cutting edge research in the field and how theoretical models and concepts can contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying recent developments. In order to give participants a strong sense of the richness, diversity and complexity of the field, the course is presented by an international team of academic experts and practitioners. 

The course is divided into four main parts. The first, Framing the Debate: Levels of Responsibility, focuses on the different ways in which we can, fundamentally, approach discussions around responsibility and sustainability. The second part more explicitly addresses Managing Responsible Business Practices. We look at a variety of empirical “issues”, such as taxation, labor rights and corruption, which firms need to address in their day-to-day business whenever they manage for CSR and sustainability. The key aim is to understand (a) what makes these issues relevant for businesses (e.g. in how far do they represent risks), (b) how existing legal and non-legal frameworks influence firms’ responsibilities vis-à-vis these issues, and (c) what firms can do to manage their responsibilities in these areas. The third part, Communicating Responsible Behavior, discusses how firms can communicate with different stakeholders when it comes to corporate responsibility and sustainability. The third part, Final Reflections and Looking Ahead, includes the final session during which we will wrap up the class by discussing the distinction between compliance and integrity. We will also discuss the final group assignment and the individual oral exam.