Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/201447
Teaching This Class If you're interested in launching a class on the intersection of business and social development at your school, I can offer several tips on the way I structure my course. Syllabus I divide the course into four units: corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investment, microfinance, and impact investing. This provides something of a timeline as well, since earlier thinking on the role of business in solving social problems paved the way for microfinance and impact investing. Course Materials I have not yet found one comprehensive textbook for this class, so I use a combination of book chapters, articles, websites, and case studies. Some good resources include the following: DAN I E L G R I LL/G LOW I MAG ES Books: I The HIP Investor by R. Paul Herman I More Than Good Intentions by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel I Banker to the Poor by Muhammed Yunus Harvard Business School case studies: I Good Capital and Better World Books (a study on socially responsible investing) I Patagonia (a somewhat extreme example of corporate social responsibility) I Genzyme's CSR Dilemma (an excellent insight into the difficulties of doing good and doing well) I ACCION International (a good overview of microfinance at its outset, and how the industry has evolved) I Banco Compartamos: Life After the IPO (about a microfinance bank that has gone through an IPO and is immensely profitable but faces numerous challenges) I Starbucks and Conservation International (a case that shows how the best of intentions can still become mired in complexity) Other resources: I Websites such as www.thegiin.org, www.csrwire.com, and www.microfinancegateway.org I "Small Fortunes" and "The Micro-Debt," two DVDs that present diametrically opposed views on microfinance Guest Speakers In the past, I have invited speakers from microfinance institutions and impact investing firms, and sustainability officers from multinational corporations. Deliverables and Grading I base my final grades on case study analysis papers, midterm exams, class participation, and final projects. All students write a case study analysis paper for each class. The essay-based midterm gives students the opportunity to reflect on cases or readings that we have discussed in class. Class participation reflects both the quantity and quality of students' contributions to class discussions. For the final project, I require student teams to create business plans for impact investment projects; they present their plans to the class and a group of judges drawn from the academic and business communities. BizEd November/December 2013 45