Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57462
Socially The by Tricia Bisoux social impact of its practices may pay dearly in terms of lost reputation, tarnished brand, higher employee turnover, and diminished consumer loyalty. As part of the new "green" deal, the importance of the "triple bottom line"—profits, planet, and people—has grown exponentially. It is more important than CResponsible T urriculum here was a time when many CEOs believed that socially responsible business practices were too expensive to imple- ment, but today the opposite may be true. At a time when every action is subject to scrutiny, a company that ignores the ever for business schools to help students and organ- iza tions understand—and quantify—the business case for sustainability, says Nico- la Acutt, director of cur- riculum development at the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco, California. Institutions ranging from Goldman Sachs to McKinsey & Company have issued reports on the strategic pragmatism of corporate social responsibility, she says. "Five years ago, we had to search for numbers that made the business case for sustainability. Now, the numbers are flying fast," Acutt adds. "We don't have to make the case anymore. It's now accepted that it makes business sense." Many business schools have made it their mission to teach students the advantages of social responsibility and entrepreneurship via com- munity service projects, corporate consulting, interdisciplinary teams, and full-scale student enterprises. In this way, they are working with business to provide graduates with the training, knowledge, talent, and drive to solve global problems in innovative ways. 22 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2008 Curricula that emphasize socially responsible business practices aim to make triple impact on the world's triple bottom line.