Corporate Social Responsibility

Strategies to Create Business and Social Value

Facing the challenges of a deepening global recession and limited financial resources, many companies are charting a new course. As business leaders navigate this evolving terrain, they must satisfy the demands of customers, employees, investors, and governments—and develop new strategies that address the economic, social, and environmental impact of their business practices. Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategies to Create Business and Social Value provides the strategic clarity you need to align corporate social responsibility (CSR) with business strategy and manage successfully through the downturn.

What You Can Expect
Corporate Social Responsibility explores the challenges and opportunities of current CSR models, as well as the next generation of issues that business practitioners will face. By consolidating efforts around key priorities and integrating social responsibility strategies into daily business operations, the program provides the frameworks needed to position your firm and brand to succeed—and endure—over time.

Your Course of Study
This intensive program provides the practical knowledge, tools, and frameworks needed to improve decision making, leverage partnerships, manage risk, measure performance, and create social value. Immersed in this leadership training program, you will acquire the tools and skills to protect and enhance the long-term social value created by your organization—through the downturn and beyond.

Who Is Right for the Program
The program is specifically designed for senior executives who direct corporate social responsibility programs or oversee departments such as public affairs, philanthropy, environmental health and safety, or community affairs. Senior officers with profit-and-loss responsibilities related to corporate social responsibility also will benefit from attending.

Dates and Fees

What You Can Expect

The core concepts of the program are designed to help executives develop and implement an overarching CSR strategy that not only reinforces core business practices, but also produces cost-effective, measurable results—in any economic environment. While evaluating your company's initiatives, you will explore new ways to:

• Present the business case for continuing CSR initiatives during a challenging economy
• Assess risks and rewards before making capital investments or other business decisions
• Understand how CSR directly impacts current and future regulatory practices
• Align CSR strategies with organizational goals
• Drive CSR throughout the organization
• Foster successful interaction with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and key stakeholders

How Will My Organization Benefit?

Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School are a significant investment for both you and your organization. Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, each leadership development program provides applicable lessons in the classroom that can be implemented successfully within your organization. You will acquire a fresh perspective on global business from our groundbreaking curriculum, world-renowned faculty, and an accomplished group of elite peers from around the world.

"This program provided the intellectual tools I need to take the lead in championing CSR across my company. The networking and sharing of best practices through the business case discussions were enlightening and extremely interesting. I was able to reflect on how other companies are integrating CSR in their business strategy—and how to leverage our CSR approach for business value."
Helene V. Gagnon [Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications and Corporate Responsibility], Bombardier Aerospace, Canada

Your Course of Study

Through recent case studies, lectures, and small group discussions, you will examine how successful businesses manage corporate social responsibility in both good and difficult times. In addition, you will have numerous opportunities to learn from the diverse experiences and global perspectives of your peers. Core topics include:

Integrating Social and Organizational Values

• Making the business case for social responsibility by calculating costs and benefits
• Recognizing the links between the welfare of society and the success of the organization
• Examining opportunities designed to benefit the organization as well as the community
• Integrating corporate social responsibility best practices into key business areas
• Identifying and managing the positive and negative impacts of business activities on society

Driving Social Responsibility Throughout the Organization

• Aligning social responsibility strategies and goals with organizational objectives
• Embedding CSR within the business culture to sustain the strategy over the long-term
• Integrating social responsibility metrics into general performance management systems
• Disseminating information on CSR policies throughout the organization
• Demonstrating how CSR practices continue to affect individuals and departments
• Communicating the impact of social responsibility to capital markets, shareholders, and other stakeholders

Managing Risk and Decision Making

• Evaluating complex environments and potential impacts before investing capital or making business decisions
• Interacting successfully with governments, NGOs, and stakeholders
• Decentralizing CSR to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach across the organization
• Identifying current vulnerabilities and predicting future pitfalls related to business practices
• Developing preparation and prevention processes for handling crisis scenarios
• Integrating CSR initiatives in vendor and supplier agreements

"I wanted to get acquainted with the North American model of corporate social responsibility, which is quite different from the European one. The program helped me to see the importance of networking and partnering with organizations—not only with NGOs, but also with consumer organizations, unions, and others. I now have a deeper understanding of what defines real leadership. The program was truly 'mind opening.' "
Esther Trujillo [CSR Manager], Telefonica, Spain

Who Is Right for the Program

This program is designed for senior executives who direct CSR programs or oversee departments such as public affairs, philanthropy, environmental health and safety, or community affairs. Senior officers with profit-and-loss responsibilities related to CSR also will benefit from attending. Participants represent a variety of industries and organizations of all sizes. Given the program's corporate perspective, a limited number of senior nonprofit executives who supervise large-scale strategic corporate partnerships will be considered for admission, ideally as part of a corporate nonprofit team. Typical participant titles may include, but are not limited to:

This program is not targeted to management support organizations or consulting firms.

• CEO/Executive director
• Senior vice president
• Vice president of corporate and community relations
• Vice president of corporate social responsibility
• Vice president of development
• Vice president of environmental health and safety
• Director of corporate social responsibility
• Director of corporate/community relations

Visit the admissions section for details about our application process.

Past Participants Represented:

Industries			Nationalities
2%		Chem/Pharm/Bio	5%		Africa
3%		Communications	6%		Asia
14%		Consumer Products	2%		Australia/NZ
14%		Financial	27%		Europe
1%		High Technology	14%		Latin America
10%		Manufacturing	2%		Middle East
10%		Nonprofit Services	42%		North America
4%		Other	2%		Other
6%		Other Services
8%		Professional Services
12%		Raw Materials/Energy
3%		Real Estate/Construction
3%		Retail Services
10%		Utilities/Telecommunications

"Corporate social responsibility is my area of expertise, so I was interested to hear the different perspectives of other professionals from developed as well as developing countries. Besides benefiting from the Harvard Business School learning experience, which is known for its pedagogy and faculty, I found the case method approach very useful. The case discussions, in particular, yielded great insight, as they helped me view my company's work through the program frameworks."
Pearl Tiwari [Vice President-CSR], Ambuja Cements Limited, India

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Corporate Social Responsibility is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.

Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

"This program provided a lifetime's worth of experience in one week. The case studies were priceless. The faculty demonstrated cutting-edge thinking and practical experience each day. I left with a wider perspective than I came with and a better understanding of the strategic framework necessary to succeed in this key dimension of corporate performance."
Richard Woods [Senior Vice President], Capital One Financial Corporation, U.S.