Request for Projects: Fall 2008 Course
Strategic Corporate Responsibility (CSR)
Undergraduate Projects Course
UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
September-December 2008
The
UC Berkeley Haas School
of Business takes a unique approach to educating students
in the area of corporate responsibility (CSR). Through
the Center
for Responsible Business, we bridge practice and theory
by getting students out of the classroom and into real business
situations where they can immediately apply their knowledge,
newly learned theories, and frameworks of CSR to live projects.
This Spring, the Center is offering Undergraduate students a 3-unit version of our popular Strategic CSR & Projects Course, which will be taught by Haas alum and Ernst & Young Corporate Responsibility Integration Leader, Jo Mackness. We are currently accepting project proposals from interested companies for this course.
With more than 120 successful projects with sixty different companies "under our belts", we are pleased to offer companies the opportunity to work with Haas Undergraduate students from September-December on a strategic corporate responsibility project of their choice. The project will be embedded in the three-unit, full-semester theory- and case-based course in corporate strategy and social / environmental responsibility. This is a great opportunity to benefit from our CSR strength, and our students' energy, talent, and passion for CSR.
Company Benefits
- Action-oriented, experiential CSR learning for your company and the student team
- Assessment by an outside, objective team of students immersed in CSR learning as part of their business curriculum
- Cutting-edge research, recommendations, and written and oral presentation to company liaison(s)
- Close look at Haas business undergraduates as potential hires
- Stronger relationship between your company and the Haas School of Business
- Reputaional lift associated with providing educational support of future business leaders
Project Profile
The most fruitful projects, from both a student and company standpoint, are those that incorporate the following elements:
- An issue, problem, and decision that is central to your company’s corporate social responsibility strategy and related issues therein
- Opportunity for execution that includes scoping, research, analysis, benchmarking, strategy development, recommendations, and final written and oral report components
- A client liaison who is engaged and available throughout the project
Potential projects may include:
| CSR as corporate strategy | Environmental responsibility |
| Cause related marketing | Supplier relations |
| Socially responsible investing | Community involvement |
| Industry CSR benchmarking | Employee rights |
| Social entrepreneurship | Stakeholder engagement |
| CSR reporting | Human rights |
| Social auditing |
Project Deliverables
You can expect the following deliverables from your Undergraduate student team:
- Written report (can be in detailed slide deck format) with data, benchmarking and recommendations
- Oral presentation and slides with data, benchmarking and recommendations
- Many companies will also bring their student team on-site for broader management team presentations and discussions.
Student Team Profile
Each team will have the following:
- Two to three UC Berkeley/Haas Undergraduate students who are enrolled in this CSR theory/framework/ best practices course
- Supervision and evaluation by Jo Mackness, Lecturer at the Center for Responsible Business and CSR Integration Leader at Ernst & Young, with other faculty subject matter experts also available
- Support from an experienced MBA coach/Graduate Student Instructor who brings significant CSR content and consulting expertise
Liaison Responsibilities
Successful projects hinge on the following liaison responsibilities:
- Provide initial project descriptions and participate in project scope refinement
- Serve as primary company contact to students
- Provide students with access to data/contacts within company
- Provide students with periodic structured project check-ins and guidance
- Provide feedback on written reports/detailed slide decks of final analysis and recommendations
Project Submission
We hope you will take this opportunity to develop a strategic, challenging, high impact project for our talented Undergraduate students and help support our work. This course has been oversubscribed for five years running.
The Center will give preference and priority to projects from our Corporate Partners for 2008. For non-corporate partners, we offer a fee-for-service model of $2,000 per staffed project. All funding goes directly to support Center programs and activities.
Complete and return the 2008 CSR Projects Submission Form (Microsoft Word format) by September 5, 2008 to Jo Mackness at mackness@haas.berkeley.edu. Projects will be staffed by September 15.
Additional questions or for more information about becoming a Center Corporate Partner, contact:
Katharine Brewer
e. kbrewer@haas.berkeley.edu
p. 510.642.5581
