OVERVIEW

The need for sustainable development models is agreed on a global scale and asks companies to adopt responsible conducts from an economic, social and environmental perspective. The course aims to explore corporate social responsibility in the wider framework of business ethics, showing how CSR may be not a constraint but an innovative way to create value for all the stakeholders.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to explore the relationship between ethics and business, with specific reference to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Firms, indeed, are not only producers of goods and services for the market, but also actors in a network of internal and external relationships; as a consequence, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a way both to understand the firm's nature and to manage it in a perspective of common good and sustainability. The main topics of the course are the relationship between ethics and business; sustainable development; stakeholder management and engagement; the dimensions of CSR and its strategic role; the social reporting instruments; the ethical behaviour of entrepreneurs and managers.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning outcomes

• Knowledge and understanding Students will know the ethical foundations needed to understand companies’ behavior in terms of corporate social responsibility.
• Applied knowledge and understanding Students must be able to apply the acquired knowledge to the processes through which companies make explicit their reference values, develop the ethical code, relate to their stakeholders and engage them in creating value, report the achievement of their economic, social and environmental goals.
• Judgement skills Students must acquire independent judgment and critical spirit in order to be able to reconcile – when acting as a manager – the interests of the people working in the company, the company as a whole, the stakeholders and society.
• Communication skills Students must acquire a transdisciplinary language capable of bringing specific business issues into the wider context of ethical, political, cultural and social dimensions.
• Learning capabilities The ability to learn is be aimed at grasping, with reference to the problems investigated, the connection both between macro and micro aspects and between economic aspects and social aspects of business choices with particular attention to the their effects on society.

PREREQUISITES

Previous knowledge

Students are expected to be familiar with concepts such as:

• The evolution of firms in history
• Firm theory and market theories
• The firm purpouses and the creation of value
• The relationships between firms and environment. Mission, vision and strategie. Competitive strategies and value chain.
• Corporate governance, role of stakeholders and juridical systems
• People in the organizations: personality, values, tasks

TEACHING METHODS

ATTENTION: The course is taught in Italian

Lectures, case studies, seminars by professionals, individual & group works.

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory; students can choose to study the syllabus for attending or not-attending students (see below).

Furthermore, a special syllabus – fully in English and for non-attending students only – is available to incoming foreign students on request.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Serena Scotto (scotto@economia.unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part 1: Ethics and economics

Part 2: Stakeholder theory, stakeholder management & engagement, Corporate Social Responsibility

Part 3: Methodologies, tools and applications for CSR reporting

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending student should study

• Sciarelli S, Sciarelli M. (2018), Il governo etico d'impresa, Wolters Kluver, Milano
  • chapters to study will be reported after each class
• further readings available on Aulaweb
• Power Point handouts (available on Aulaweb) and students' notes

Not-attending students should study

• Sciarelli S, Sciarelli M. (2018), Il governo etico d'impresa, Wolters Kluver, Milano
  • chapt. 1, 2, 7, 7 appendix, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
  • Appendixes to chapt. 8 and 11 are suggested but not compulsory readings
• further readings available on Aulaweb

Incoming foreign students studying the English programme (non-attending only): available on request

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CLARA BENEVOLO (President)

RICCARDO SPINELLI (President)

LORENZO CASELLI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course is taught in the second semeter, following the calendar and schedule defined by the Department of Economics.

Schedule and classrooms are available at the easyacademy link.

Class schedule

BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

In case of exam failure, students cannot take the exam on the following call (appello) and need to skip a date. The can take the exam on the following call if that call belongs to another exam session.

If students do not accept a positive grade (18 or more), they can retry the exam on the following call.

Incoming mobility students do not have to skip a call in case of failure.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam assesses the level of knowledge and understanding of the course contents, together with the student’s capability of developing independent thinking on the course topics. For students attending the classes, the evaluation of individual and group activities will be also considered.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

The lecturer analyzed the results of the teaching evaluation questionnaires relating to the previous academic year and took them into account in the planning of this edition, with a continuous improvement approach.