Part 3: Strategic approch to CSR

Welcome to the third part of our course on Corporate Social Responsibility. In this part, we will dig more deeply into how we can create a CSR strategy. It should take you ca. 6.5 hours to complete all the assignments from this part.

We will start with Introduction to strategic planning, and only then move to the section on Developing a CSR strategy. 

/ca. 20 minutes/

When you finish: Developing each strategy, including a CSR strategy, requires understanding the context in which we operate. What is important to understand first before we sit down and work on a strategy? Let's read more in the section: Context for developing a CSR strategy.

/1h 40 minutes/

When you finish: Understanding how organizational and cultural contexts influence CSR is crucial for designing a succesful CSR strategy. Let's check it - we will discuss it in Task 8: Different CSR contexts in practice.

/30 minutes/

When you finish: Ok, now we are ready to explore CSR strategy development. First, we will find out about the core steps in developing a CSR strategy.

/1h 30 minutes/

When you finish: Now we know the steps in developing a CSR strategy.  In the next tasks, you will get familiar with the core sustainability challanges in different business operations. We will start with the following question: How can we perceive CSR as a driver for market development?

/25 minutes/

When you finish: Yes, CSR can lead to innovative solutions and market development. However, as we are talking about business, there is are always questions like: Can we reach customers with this product or service?  Will they be willing to pay for it? How can we approach promoting CSR products/services among customers? Let's check it in Task 10: CSR in the Marketplace.

/30 minutes/

When you finish: Well, if customers' responses towards CSR are so diverse, what about employees? Does CSR play a role in attracting potential employees? Or does it play a role in improving internal employer branding among current employees? What do firms do in the field of CSR to strenghten their employer image? Let's discuss these issues in Task 11: CSR in the Workplace.

/30 minutes/

When you finish: Uff. We are almost done with this part. Let's sum up:

• we know that CSR can help to develop new markets and products;
• we know that today many customers are interested in sustainability and cause-labeled products and services, yet CSR marketing is different for mainstream and niche products;
• we know also that CSR is used to attract talents as well as to improve the working conditons of workers in the developing countries.

Let's dive more deeply into the last aspect. Would you say that firms in the developed countries are responsible only towards inhouse workers? Or should companies also take responsibility for assuring rights for employees who work for their suppliers?

CSR is a very comprehensive topic. The best way to understand it is to look at the global supply chains. Let's discuss it in Task 12: CSR in the Supply Chain. 

/ca. 1 hour/