MBA Concentration in Socially Responsible Business
The MBA subfield of Socially Responsible Business addresses how to evaluate and enhance the impact that businesses enterprises have on society and the environment. Because at IBS, we address these issues in a global context, we refer to this concentration as the Global Green MBA. Career paths for students in this concentration will vary, as the field itself is just emerging. The Global Green MBA is intended for students who want to delve into issues such as the following:
How can managers achieve success with a "triple bottom line"?
How can entrepreneurs create new businesses that help the environment?
How can business address the "base of the pyramid" in developing countries?
How do social and environmental regulations and policies shape business decisions?
The crux of these questions is that they aim to address the tradeoffs between social goals, private economic goals, and environmental goals. The Global Green MBA at Brandeis takes a broad perspective on these issues – it is not just about what corporations do to or for society, but also about how their businesses can be managed to address a broader purpose. "Green" for us means more than "environmental," as indeed it has come to mean for many – it also means the social impact, sustainability, and stake-holder relations of a business. Students in this concentration will learn the workings of business, develop analytical skills in economics and finance, and gain exposure and experience in one or more aspects of the emerging "green" economy.
The following courses will prove useful to students in this concentration:
BUS 261a MANAGING TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
BUS 266f NON-MARKET STRATEGY: RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOVERNMENTS
BUS 268f NON-MARKET STRATEGY: RELATIONSHIPS WITH ACTIVISTS, MEDIA AND NGOs
BUS 264f BUSINESS & THE ENVIRONMENT (not offered in 2011-2012)
BUS 269f BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES
BUS 276a BUSINESS DYNAMICS
BUS 278f CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FROM COLOSSAL FAILURES TO BEST PRACTICES
BUS 279f CORPORATE FRAUD: DETECTION AND PREVENTION
ECON 270a ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
ECON 277f PUBLIC POLICY, BUSINESS LEADERSHIP AND WORLD AFFAIRS: AN INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE
FIN 235a INVESTING IN ENERGY
BUS 291g EUROPE, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT (special offering 2011)
In addition to courses, students in the Global Green MBA are strongly encouraged to pursue field projects or internships that will give them hands-on exposure to the field. Upon discussion with the instructors, appropriate "green" projects can be done in field-based courses such as these:
