Detailed Schedule
The schedule will change and be amended as we go along.
Module 1. New Business Models: Doing Well and Doing Good
1. January 21. Introduction. Doing well and doing good.
The big question we will debate is: how can business do both well and good in their core business?
Please read the following readings and come prepared to discuss this exciting question.
i). GreenerPrinter case. Here is a company that is trying to create a viable printing business that is environmentally responsible. Printing is a tough business with low margins, so any added costs from being green will likely doom the company. Do you think they have succeeded in doing well and doing good? What is their business model that allows them to do this? The case ends with a serious of issues–what should they do now?
ii). Creating shared value. This January Prof. Michael Porter at Harvard published a thouht-provoking article in Harvard Business Review titled “Creating Shared Value.” Please read the article and also listen to the video interview. What is needed for companies to move in this direction?
Article: http://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value/ar/1
Video interview: http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2011/01/rethinking-capitalism.html
iii). Lets apply the idea from Porter’s article to one industry. One of the industries that is under increasing pressure to be more responsible is the food industry, incl. fast-food restaurants like McDonalds.
Question for debate: what can McDonalds do to remain equally profitable today and properly address healthy eating?
iv). Pick one industry/business/profession you care about. Imagine you had a blank sheet of paper and could design how this business should operate–how it could earn good money AND be socially and environmentally responsible/active. How would this look like? Start with a few ideas. (I will ask you to keep at this during the semester).
v). We will use a research project as basis for many discussions in this course. To familiarize yourself with this research, please read the HBR article “The Best CEOs in the World.” It lists the best-performing companies based on financial performance. Since then, we have also screened on social/environmental performance.
(no class January 28)
2. February 4. Doing well and doing good, continued.
Please read the following cases/articles:
– HydroPoint case (I school case). What is their business model for doing well and doing good?
– Danone (articles). Danone is one of the leading food companies in the world. They are also seen as one of the most socially responsible. How have they done this?
Other readings for Danone case:
– Reckitt Benckiser (articles). RB is one of the best-performing companies in the world. They sell household items and cleaning products. How well do you think they have address environmental challenges? See Carbon Disclosure Project report where RB scores the highest in its sector.
Another reading for Reckitt Benckiser:
– Here is a video link where the CEO is explaining their carbon footprint approach.
– The team designations are here. Please organize with your team to meet and complete the assignment.
- List. Your team needs to complete the list that was handed out in class on January 21 (industry, key social/environmental challenges/possible solutions). Due in class February 4.
- Taxonomy. In the team, please list 5 ways companies can create a business model for doing well and doing good in their core business (some ways were discussed in class on January 21; others are listed in cases for this week; also use the Internet to look around for ideas). Due in class February 4.
- As a team, you need to think of one very cool company that has done an excellent job in doing well and doing good (e.g., Zipcar). You need to do a bit of research on this, and present in 1-3 powerpoint slides to the class what they are doing, how they are making money and how they are doing good. Due February 11 in class.
3. February 11. Doing well and doing good, continued
We will do 3 things in class:
- Discuss Reckitt Benckiser (so remember what they did)
- Go through your case studies (bulk of time, we will do this in depth)
- Draw some conclusion (I will prepare a set of slides summarizing our discussions, and we will go through those)
As a class, we should aim to;
- Complete the list of industry challenges
- Create a list of compelling ways companies can do well and do good.
Your team will present your company profile (from #3 from February 4).
Module 2. Workplace Innovations. Putting Meaning Back Into Work
4. February 18. Social media and the new workplace
How does social media transform the workplace?
From physical to virtual. From hierarchical to horizontal. From internal to external.
New generations entering companies. The rise of the “collaborative workspace.”
Everyone,
We will start on the second module of the course, workplace innovations.
Today, we discuss the Cisco case in some depth. Cisco has spent the last decade transforming themselves from a “command and control” organization to a collaborative, horizontal, virtual, social media oriented one.
Please read the case (esp page 9 onwards) and the Fast Company article (link).
Some questions to consider;
– what are the benefits for Cisco in re-organizing this way?
– what might be some of the challenges?
– what role can social media play in this setup?
Also, please start thinking about the paper for this course. What company and/or topic would you like to write a paper on?
(no class February 25)
5. March 4. The networked organization.
How does a dynamic networked organization look like?
“The business value of social business”
“The rise of the networked enterprise – Web 2.0 finds its payday”
In this class, you will present your findings from having analyzed the impact of social software on transformation (see assignment).
6. March 11. Work and Meaning; Work/life balance
How does work give people meaning in their lives? How can work and life be balanced?
- How to measure the impact of social software on business. Please revisit the two reports/surveys I assigned for last week (uploaded for that week)–Jive and McKinsey. I will talk about some of the methods problems.
- Video discussion with two Cisco managers. We will connect with two managers who have been working on the concepts of the Dynamic Network Organization and Collaborative Workspace.
- Work/Life Balance. Consider the two propositions:
- social software makes it possible to achieve a better balance (flexibility, multi-tasking, less travel etc)
- social software makes it more difficult to achieve a balance (work never stops, always on, 7/24/365)
What do you think?
Module 3. New leadership styles. Leading in a different world
7. March 18. Social media and leadership
How does social media transform the role of the leader and the notion of leadership?
Is “command and control” dead?
In this session we will debate two items:
1) Work/life balance & new technology tools. We began by discussing how these tools may have positive or negative effects (see attached photo of board). We quickly began to realize that many of these tools can have both positive and negative consequences for work/life (e.g., work from home or always on). Thus they key question we need to debate is:
– under what conditions do these tools turn to a POSITIVE impact on work/life (positive outweighs the negative, or the negative goes away)?
2) LEADERSHIP. What are the consequences of workplace innovations (including new technology tools) for LEADERSHIP? How is leading in a modern firm adopting these innovations different from leading in the corporation of 20 years ago?
Please read the attached article draft (which we just submitted to HBR).
Prepare the following:
a) How is the workplace changing in ways that requires leaders to change their style of leadership?
b) What kind of leader won’t work in companies that adopt the new management paradigm we have been talking about (both doing well/doing good and workplace innovations)?
c) The article outlines 4 factors of collaborative leadership. Have you seen or worked for anyone who had these traits, or had the opposite? How did that feel? Do you have examples of leaders who exhibit any of these four traits?
8. March 25.
Spring break. No class!
Module 4. Topic paper presentations and discussions
9. April 1. Paper presentations
First batch of students will present.
10. April 8. Paper presentations and summary
Second batch of students will present.
Summary: what have we learned?