Corporate Social Responsibility (in English)

http://icampus.uclouvain.be/claroline/course/index.php?cid=LSMS2099

The following themes are examples of what will be addressed in this course:

• Definitions and origins of the CSR concept
• Stakeholder management and dialogue
• Global responsible leadership
• Coping with ethical dilemmas
• CSR strategy design and implementation
• CSR/sustainability reporting.

Having regard to the LO of the programme, this activity contributes to the development and acquisition of the following LO:

• 1. Corporate citizenship
• 1.1.Demonstrate independent reasoning, look critically
• 1.2.Decide and act by incorporating ethical and humanistic values
• 1.3. Decide and act responsibly
• 2. Knowledge and reasoning
• 2.2. Master  highly specific  knowledge
• 2.3. Articulate the acquired knowledge  from different areas
• 2.4. Activate and apply the acquired knowledge
• 3. A scientific and systematif approach
• 3.1. Conduct a clear,  structured, analytical  reasoning
• 3.2. Collect, select  and  analyze  relevant  information
• 3.3.Consider  problems using  a  systemic and  holistic  approach
• 3.4. Perceptively  synthesize demonstrating a certain  conceptual distance
• 3.5.Produce, through  analysis  and  diagnosis, implementable solutions
• 4. Innovation and entrepreneurship
• 4.1. Identify new opportunities, propose creative  and  useful  ideas
• 4.2. Initiate,  develop  and  implement ideas  around a new product, service,  process
• 4.3.collaborate and  actively drive forward collective  ac- tions for change
• 4.4.Reflect  on  and  improve  .... professional practices.
• 5. Work effectively in an international and multicultural environment
• 5.1.Understand the  inner  workings  of an  organization
• 5.2.Position ... the functioning  of an organization, in its ...socio-economic dimensions
• 5.3.Understand and  establish their own role and  scope for action
• 6. Teamwork and leadership
• 6.1. Work in a team...
• 7. Project management
• 7.1.Analyse a project within its environment and define the expected outcomes
• 7.2. Organize, manage and control the process
• 7.3.Make decisions and  take responsibility  for them  in an uncertain world
• 8. Communication and interpersonal skills
• 8.1. Express a clear and structured message
• 8.2. Interact  and  discuss effectively
• 9. Personal and professional development
• 9.1. Independent self-starter
• 9.2. Self-awareness and  self-control
• 9.3. Self-motivation
• 9.4. Quick study, lifelong learner

General course objectives:  The course is designed to develop competent and responsible practitioners. The course aims at providing tools enabling the students to elicit critical thinking on ethical, social and environmental issues raised by contemporary organizations. Moreover, the specificity of the firms impact on economic life will be addressed by analyzing the principles and practices covered by the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR will be studied as a reflector of the modern firms self-awareness process in terms of social responsibility and as a source of innovation in the face of today's challenges of competitiveness, sustainable development and world governance. Specific learning goals:

At the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Understand the background of CSR and the local, European and global contexts in which CSR is currently developing
2. Elicit critical thinking on ethical, social and environmental issues raised by contemporary organizations.
3. Apply CSR theories and frameworks to analyse organizational challenges to evaluate different scenarios in practice, with a view to propose recommendations for the organization.
4. Co-create your CSR/sustainability projects with practitioners and get a feel for complex stakeholder dialogue in developing responsible and sustainable solutions.
5. Know your personal ethical values which can help you in the future to make better choices and give meaning to your private and professional life.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

The evaluation or assessment methods in this course are linked to the course objectives and focus on both group and individual performance. The assessment of your performance will be composed of the following elements:

Group project report and delivery of results in a LSI style (60%)

A group of 6 students will be preparing this work during the semester and it will be presented in a 10-15-pages report (see Appendix 1 for further details). The group will present their project during the closing session in a world café style. During the semester, your written report will undergo a peer review process. Your peer review of three other student CSR projects will be graded.

Individual participation and paper (personal manifesto) (40%)

Your individual participation will be graded, e.g. upload of assignments on iCampus and your active participation in the course and LSI's. The individual paper is a 3-pages individual note in which you will explain your aspirations and values (see Appendix 2 for further details).

Different teaching methods will be used such as

• Theoretical courses completed by personal readings of academic literature
• Key focus on practical company CSR projects and peer review
• Two Large Scale Interventions (LSI) simulating stakeholder dialogue and co-creation
• Direct contacts with practitioners sharing their experiences
• Personal note/manifesto

The world is facing a strong socio-economic uncertainty and societal distrust, while the acceleration of climate and demographic changes are hurrying for a political, cultural and technological (r)evolution. Time has come for business, investors, governments, civil society, academia, media, artistic and spiritual communities to engage in innovating and sometimes unconventional partnerships.

To be at the forefront of such a cultural shift, the Louvain School of Management has created the foundations of a network on Corporate Social Responsibility The Louvain CSR Network*with this course on CSR as a crucial element.

Our ambition is clear : supporting young women and men as well as business practitioners eager to place responsible leadership, sustainable production and consumption at the heart of their vision, learning and attitudes. This course is based on the idea that CSR activities are the responsibility of all managers in an organization.

The specificity of the firms impact on economic life will be addressed by analyzing the principles and practices covered by the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR will be studied as a reflector of the modern firms self-awareness process in terms of social responsibility and as a source of innovation in the face of today's challenges of competitiveness, sustainable development and world governance. This course is based on research and insights from diverse fields, including strategic management, organization theory, organizational behaviour, marketing, finance and business ethics.