Section outline

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    General

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    Welcome to our course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

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    Introduction

    • Never heard about CSR? Don't worry - in this course we will guide you through a jungle of definitions and concepts that are basically aimed at improving and sustaining the competitive advantage of businesses. 

      You already know the concept of CSR? Great! This course will deepen your understanding of how to translate the CSR concept into particular business functions. You will also have the opportunity to share your own views and examples with other course participants and to receive feedback. This will help us all grow and develop our notions of sustainable business. 


      Do you want to know more?       Visit the section on below.

    • Aims and scope of the course and how to navigate through it. Page
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    Part 1: Business ethics and Sustainability

    • Welcome to the first part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) course. It should take you approximately 3 hours to complete all the assignments from this part. The estimated time you will need to complete each task is indicated next to the name of each resource or task.

      Before we skip to the core topic, let us introduce you to the very basic concepts in business and ethics. This will enable you to understand the foundations of the CSR concept.

      Let's start with the the following question: "What actually is business about?" 


      Let's check it in the section below.


    • Task 1: What is business about? Forum
      Students must
      View
      Post replies: 1
      Make forum posts: 2

    • /ca. 45 minutes/

      When you finish: Now we know that CSR rests upon business ethics, as many business decisions are also moral in nature. Therefore, the way of reasoning we choose to follow while taking business decisions determines our ability to implement CSR in practice. 

      Let us here remind you the basic concepts of ethical reasoning in business by answering the question: "How do we take ethical decisions?"


    • How do we take ethical decisions? Book

      /30 minutes/

      Not available unless: The activity Task 1: What is business about? is marked complete
    • Task 2: Ethical reasoning Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity Task 1: What is business about? is marked complete

    • /ca. 25 minutes/

      When you finish: Business is about purpose - this is what we've learned from Edward R. Freeman. It is easy to say, yet, not everybody accepts this notion, sometimes even rejecting the idea of CSR. Currently, businesses are facing lot of challenges resulting from the complex nature of the social, environmental and economic aspects of business activities. In fact, there is a heated debate around the question to what extent businesses should undertake social reponsibilities. Let's try to understand the core critiques raising arguments against CSR so as to be able to become more sensitive to good and bad practices in this field. Let's check Task 3: Business Ethics in Practice. 

    • Task 3: Business Ethics in Practice Forum
      Not available unless: The activity Task 2: Ethical reasoning is marked complete

    • /ca. 20 minutes/

      When you finish: Ok, now we know that business ethics might be tricky and that different ways of reasoning may lead us to different assumptions. In business, the main assumption people often make is that "the business of business is business", as Milton Friedman states in his writings. By simply translating this assumption into practical guidelines, we start to think that "business is aimed at generating profit". However, what if we changed this common understanding of business activity and asked once again how we understand profit? Check out the section below and take part in the discussion.

    • Task 4: Sustainability as a key goal for business Forum
      Not available unless: The activity Task 3: Business Ethics in Practice is marked complete

    • /ca. 1 hour/

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    Part 2: Corporate Social Responsibility

    • Welcome to the second part of the course on CSR. In this section, you will get familiar with the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and we will dig more deeply into its particular aspects to understand how differently it can be perceived and managed. It should take you ca. 2.5 hours to complete all the assignments from this part.

      Why is it important? Because it is crucial for understanding the variety of different approaches that firms use to show their CSR.


    • What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Page

    • /ca. 10 minutes/

      When you finish: In the previous section, we learned some CSR definitons. The changing approaches show us that CSR can be differently understood and perceived. As a result, it can also often be misunderstood and create consternations. In this part, we invite you to take part in a game on definitions that clarifies what we need to take into account while defining CSR. Let's stert with the task below.

    • Task 5: Definition game - Part 1 Forum
      Not available unless: The activity What is Corporate Social Responsibility? is marked complete

    • /ca. 10 minutes/

      When you finish: Are you ready with the first part of the game? You are free to start the next task. Good luck!

    • Task 6: Definition game - Part 2 (H5P) Lesson
      Not available unless: The activity Task 5: Definition game - Part 1 is marked complete

    • /1 hour/

      When you finish: Well done! One more step before you to finish the game. Go to the next section.

    • Task 7: Definition game - Part 3 Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity Task 6: Definition game - Part 2 is marked complete

    • /40 minutes/

      When you finish: Congratulations! You have finished the definition game and now you are ready to explore the Core characteristics of CSR.

    • Core characteristics of CSR Book

      /30 minutes/

      Not available unless: The activity Task 7: Definition game - Part 3 is marked complete
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    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. 

    • Introduction to strategic planning Page
      Not available unless: The activity Core characteristics of CSR is marked complete

    • /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.

    • Context for developing a CSR strategy Book
      Not available unless: The activity Core characteristics of CSR is marked complete

    • /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.

    • Task 8: Different CSR contexts in practice Forum
      Not available unless: The activity Context for developing a CSR strategy is marked complete

    • /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.

    • Developing a CSR strategy Book
      Not available unless: The activity Task 8: Different CSR contexts in practice is marked complete

    • /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?

    • Task 9: CSR as a driver for market development Forum
      Not available unless: The activity Task 8: Different CSR contexts in practice is marked complete

    • /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.

    • Task 10: CSR in the Marketplace Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity Task 9: CSR as a driver for market development is marked complete

    • /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.

    • Task 11: CSR in the Workplace Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity Task 10: CSR in the Marketplace is marked complete

    • /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. 

    • Task 12: CSR in the Supply Chain Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity Task 11: CSR in the Workplace is marked complete

    • /ca. 1 hour/

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    Part 4: Evaluating CSR impact

    • Good work! Now we invite you to take part in the last part of the online course on CSR - the evaluation of CSR impact. It should take you ca. 3 hours to complete all the assignments from this part.

      How can we evaluate CSR impact? Maybe we can look at a company’s philanthropic giving, employees’ donations and employee volunteer hours, or maybe we should rather look at what the CO2 footprint of its business operations is?

      There is a variety of methods, approaches and indicators for evaluating CSR. Still, we will concentrate on impact assessment in terms of evaluating environmental, social and economic impact. 


    • CSR Impact Book
      Not available unless: The activity Task 12: CSR in the Supply Chain is marked complete

    • /1h 30 minutes/

      When you finish: You are ready with the theory of CSR impact ? Then practice your knowledge in the GRI report section. 

    • Task 13: Sustainable reporting Assignment
      Not available unless: The activity CSR Impact is marked complete

    • /1 hour/

      When you finish: We are are almost ready with the online course on Corporate Social Responsibility. We invite you to take part in the final discussion on the future of CSR in the section: CSR (course) goes to an end? What's next?

    • Task 14: CSR (course) goes to an end? What's next? Forum
      Not available unless: The activity Task 13: Sustainable reporting is marked complete

    • /15 minutes/

      When you finish: Thank you for completing the course on Corporate Social Responsibility with us. We hope that you enjoyed it and got interested in the topic. We wish you good luck with your future sustainability and CSR experience. Please remember that you can give us the feedback in the Feedback on the Course section. We will appreciate it a lot. 


      Thank you and good luck!