Balancing Profit and People: Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Education

Abstract

This qualitative study's purpose was to evaluate how undergraduate business students' perspectives, skills, and behaviors evolved through corporate social responsibility (CSR) education taught with a focus on critical thinking and sustainable problem solving. Business schools are struggling to incorporate CSR into their curriculum despite interest from students and pressure from accreditation agencies. This article primarily contributes practical tools for business schools teaching students to apply critical thinking skills and concepts gained through their business education to develop solutions to economic, social, and environmental problems. Instructors taught the following topics: definitions of CSR, the triple bottom line, stakeholder theory, exposure to social problems, businesses' roles in exacerbating or mitigating social problems, specific sustainable solutions companies and nonprofit organizations have implemented, and analysis of public companies' sustainability reports. Topics were taught using critical thinking tools, such as a decision-making model, a funneling exercise, a root problems activity, and reflection and metareflection. The instruction followed a specific teaching model to promote critical thinking skills development, which can be implemented by other faculty. We found CSR concepts motivated students by giving them the tools and confidence in their abilities to solve meaningful problems and learning outcomes for both CSR and critical thinking were achieved.

Classroom Learning and the Perception of Social Responsibility Amongst Graduate Students of Management Accounting

“…Table 6 shows what the main disadvantages would be for companies pursuing SR objectives. Twenty-nine percent estimated that the time and effort devoted to carrying out this type of responsible action is very important [34,59], followed by the need for training in 22% of cases [16,24,34,59] and the investment required to implement these actions in 10% of cases [34]. However, on this last issue, 54% of respondents considered it to be relevant.…”

“…Here we do see differences, as the economic profitability of SR was not considered as the least relevant advantage by those students who were familiar with SR. Table 9 shows the perceived disadvantages for companies pursuing SR objectives. Thirty-one percent considered that the need for training in the field of SR in the company itself was very relevant [16,24,34,59], followed by the time and effort required (24%) [34,59]. The least relevant disadvantage was the money that such actions would cost (10%) [34].…”

“…Finally, the analytical perspective focuses on if, and the extent to which, SR training changes the attitudes and perceptions of students. Following Deer and Zarestky [16], business education would benefit from better, more effective methods to address SR education, although they must achieve a change in attitudes, which is why we combine prescriptive and analytical lines in what follows.…”

The Role of Students’ Personal Values and Ethical Ideologies in Increasing the Importance of Perceptions of Social Responsibility for Business Students: A PRME Directive

“…The balancing of profit and people continues to be of critical concern in business education (Deer & Zarestky, 2017). On the surface, this new worldview appears to have gained a firm foothold within business, with the recent Business Roundtable of top companies redefining the purpose of a corporation to include benefiting not only shareholders but all stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and communities (Business Roundtable, 2019).…”

The Menace of Misinformation: Faculty Misstatements in Management Education and Their Consequences

“…Such expansive thinking requires asking students what kind of world they want to live in and courageously advancing that agenda. To help achieve this, Deer and Zarestky (2017) present critical thinking tools that allow students to develop a deeper understanding of the connection between business and social responsibility. For some students, it may mean “piercing the bubble,” they live in to make them more empathetic to those who are less fortunate (Rosenbloom & Cortes, 2008).…”