Objetivos de aprendizaje de la asignatura
This course is designed as a continuation of the course Responsible Business. The departure point is that all companies need to manage their non-market issues and understand that there is a close and systemic connection between these issues and key business factors, where firms need to integrate both in their strategies. In other words, business practitioners have to learn to manage their impacts in society and the world; and more importantly to find ways in which these issues can become opportunities. From a purely pragmatic point of view all managers, regardless of their position, will have to deal with larger business in society issues; and from a strategic perspective integrating them in business strategy can be a source of competitiveness for the firm. Thus, the central objective of this course is to present students with tools to understand and manage social and environmental issues produced by business activities, and to turn these into opportunities to increase firm competitiveness. The central premise of the course is that sustainability and firm competitiveness are connected through innovation. To learn how to interpret and manage these issues, the course is designed as a funnel that mirrors the process companies must follow to understand, frame and integrate these issues in their operations: (1) understand the impacts generated by the company and its industry; (2) prioritize impacts in collaboration with key stakeholders; (3) producing sustainable innovation solutions that can help the firm increase its competitiveness. In sum, this course is designed to help participants learn how to generate sustainable innovation projects for their own companies.
Contenidos
1. Session 1 Participants will be given access to a short video that gives a brief general context on how a sustainability project is designed to help them start their projects, which we call issue mapping. Their task before session 1 will be to prepare a sustainability analysis of their company and industry. In class we will work in groups so that students can share their work and give feedback to each other. We will then have a plenary discussion to discuss some general takeaways. Finally, we will discuss the tools necessary for the next step: materiality analysis |
2. Session 2 Participants will present two things before the start of session. First, improved issue maps incorporating the feedback received, the takeaways as well as learnings for their materiality assessment process. Second, their materiality assessments, based on analyzing demands and expectations of key stakeholders and comparing these with the company¿s own model and interests. In class we will discuss these in groups, and then in plenary. At the end of the session we will discuss the tools necessary for the last step: ideation and project design. |
3. Session 3 In this session each participant will present a draft version of her/his project, and the rest will give feedback and grade the project. Finally, we will discuss some general takeaways in terms of how to better manage a sustainability innovation project with a clear and measurable impact. |
Metodología
The main task of this course is to design individual projects for specific companies. However, the idea is to use the design process as a tool to foster critical thinking, dialogue, reflection, connect ideas and manage complexity. There are three basic working units in the class: plenary, groups and individuals. In plenary we will have in depth dialogue. In teams we will share our progress in our projects, helping each other to create viable solutions. Individually, we will design projects for our most immediate day to day reality. The three working units are designed to reinforce each other as to offer a multiplier effect, by which the final learning will not be the sum of the activities at the three working units. Furthermore, this will also help us work on some of the key skills necessary for sustainable innovation, which are dialogical thinking, active listening, creativity and collaboration.
The methodology will always be the same: individual preparation work before the session, teamwork and plenary discussion during the session; and finally individual reflection, improvement of the work and advancing toward the next step. In other words, the process will always be individual-team-plenary-individual.
Course contents and main output:
As the course is practical in nature, the course aims to mirror the process that a company should follow in order to design a sustainable innovation project. The course will have three sessions, and for each session we will ask students to individually prepare part of their individual project, we will then discuss their work in teams, and then we will discuss them in plenary sharing some main takeaways. On top of that, for each session we will also include some additional lecture/discussion to help guide the process, as well as provide some resources to help participants. However, there will be no mandatory readings for each class. The sole task we will work on throughout the process is the project:
Session 1: Participants will be given access to a short video that gives a brief general context on how a sustainability project is designed to help them start their projects, which we call issue mapping. Their task before session 1 will be to prepare a sustainability analysis of their company and industry. In class we will work in groups so that students can share their work and give feedback to each other. We will then have a plenary discussion to discuss some general takeaways. Finally, we will discuss the tools necessary for the next step: materiality analysis
Session 2: Participants will present two things before the start of session. First, improved issue maps incorporating the feedback received, the takeaways as well as learnings for their materiality assessment process. Second, their materiality assessments, based on analyzing demands and expectations of key stakeholders and comparing these with the company's own model and interests. In class we will discuss these in groups, and then in plenary. At the end of the session we will discuss the tools necessary for the last step: ideation and project design.
Session 3: In this session each participant will present a draft version of her/his project, and the rest will give feedback and grade the project. Finally, we will discuss some general takeaways in terms of how to better manage a sustainability innovation project with a clear and measurable impact.
Final work after session 3: students will have 4 weeks after session 3 to improve their final projects based on the feedback received from classmates and professors.
