IIM Lucknow today announced a three day programme on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Business Sustainability from the 18th to the 20th of December 2008 at its Lucknow campus. The programme is designed for middle and senior level managers/professionals in corporate and non-corporate sectors who are connected in any way with managing their organizations on a sustainable basis. The programme will also appeal to consultants and non-governmental organizations.
CSR has become increasingly significant in the current business scenario. Businesses, all across the globe, have started facing a business environment, which comprises not only traditional stakeholders, but also large numbers of non-traditional stakeholders – institutionalised community groups, environmental NGOs, minority groups, media and the society at large. Businesses, in order to perform in a sustainable manner, have to be responsive to the needs, demands and expectations of all these stakeholders.
In past two decades, business climate has radically changed and consequently, the rules of the competitive race are being rewritten. In order to gain competitive edge, firms need to adopt socially responsible strategies and deepen relationships with stakeholders. This training will sensitize corporate managers to various issues of CSR and expose them to international developments in sustainable business management.
“In India, till very recently the focus was on charity, which is not really CSR. Sustainable CSR programmes mean a cohesive mix of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic tenets. In today’s changed business scenario, there is an increased focus ongiving back to society and creating a model which works long term and is sustainable and it is imperative that the best practices for inclusive growth are shared with the stakeholders”, says ProfSushil Kumar, Programme Director.
Countless social and ethical issues frame relationship between business and various stakeholders including government and society. Recent rash of scandals involving major corporate giants throughout the world have brought to the attention of public and academia the need to analyze these issues. As corporate India struggles to finds its social and ethical identity in national and global business environment that grows increasingly complex, managers are confronted with exceedingly difficult challenges in balancing their economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities to the variety of stakeholder groups with which they interact.
The programme will dwell on the following modules to ensure that the participants will be exposed to the current international and domestic CSR initiatives and the need thereof: In addition, the course will focus on:
- Institutional environment and business
- Concept of sustainability: the new broad agenda
- Dimensions of sustainability
- Social dimension
- Environmental dimension
- Economic dimension
- Concept of corporate social responsibility
- Performance: Efficiency and effectiveness
- Inclusive organizations
- Engaging with stakeholders
- Business ethics
- Public private partnership
- Business success models, measurement and reporting
- Indexing/ranking of businesses
- Global level initiatives in CSR
This course will address these challenges from individual, organizational, managerial, and societal perspectives. The material covered in this course will enable participants to deal more effectively with pressures and demands companies experience from a range of stakeholders in their external business environment, such as local communities, governments, pressure groups, suppliers, and the media to name only a few.