Sustainable Business Development| Maastricht School of Management

Contribute to economic and social development

This program demonstrates how external issues such as globalization, climate change, environmental pollution and the social media can be successfully managed through a cooperative development approach transcending the traditional boundaries between the public and private sectors.

This program consists of two main blocks of one week each. During the first week of the program we address issues regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In a globalized world, companies are increasingly confronted with ethical norms and values that differ across countries. This provides a challenge to them, as differing moral standards come with differing expectations on the economic, social and environmental responsibility that companies have to assume. In the industrialized societies of today, companies are expected by their stakeholders – such as customers, suppliers, employees, the public, and the media – to do more than simply following the law. In developing countries, where legal standards typically are weak, the question on basic responsibilities, such as protecting human rights of workers or paying living salaries, arise.

During this week we will study the interplay between businesses and society in a globalized world and exploure how comapnies can meet stakeholder expectations in a manner that balances social, environmental and economic goals. We will link theory with practice by playing a simulation game on stakeholder management and visiting a frontunner company to learn first-hand what are the drivers and barriers of CSR. At the end we finalize the first week with presentations of the individual assignment. Particpants may study and critically appraise a CSR strategy of a company of their choice to develop the strategy for their own organization.

The second week will address issues related to the value chain. Over the past decades, the processes that bring along our (agro) industrial products and services have been segmented and moved to dispersed locations around the globe. The global or regional value chains that resulted from this process offer national economies the opportunity to specialize on individual stages. However, the extent to which participation in global value chains positively contributes to domestic development goals depends on the conditions under which domestic industry and farming can participate in these chains. The institutional context (such as government regulation) is crucial to led value chains offer domestic companies opportunities for upgrading, acquiring advanced technology, for creating new jobs, with learning opportunities, more inclusiveness and sustainability in production.

During this second week we will focus on how developing economies can benefit from global and regional value chains. You will understand the nature of Global Value Chains (GVC) and the importance of governance and upgrading in such value chains. You will also learn how to use GVCs for policy-making and SME strategizing and how to design upgrading strategies for industry sectors and individual SMEs.