Semester:
- Professor: Ethan Rouen
- Term: Spring
- School: Harvard Business School
- Course ID: 1524
Growing income inequality, poor or declining educational systems, unequal access to affordable health care and the fear of continuing economic distress are putting stress on political systems worldwide and challenging the credibility of business. At the same time rates of environmental degradation are increasing, sea levels are rising and unchecked emissions of greenhouse gases threaten to destabilize the climate. Robust political responses based on strong social support are crucial to meeting these challenges, but action by the private sector will also be critically important.
This course is designed for students who want to explore the idea that at least some of these "big" problems can be effectively addressed by high performing private firms. Historically these kinds of problems have often been considered to be the responsibility of the state. We'll look at why private firms might be able to play a major role in solving them in today's world, and we will explore the ways in which accomplishing this may require both changes in how firms and leaders consider their obligations and engage with the issues, as well as changes in the "rules of the game" by which capitalism is structured.
The course differs from a number of excellent offerings that explore related issues in at least three respects. First, we explicitly challenge the boundaries of the current system, asking whether there is a different way to run firms and/or a different way to think about and/or shape the system/institutions in which they are embedded (e.g., the notion that shareholder value comes at the expense of stakeholder satisfaction). Second, we explore the degree to which leaders that root their actions in their most deeply held values can act as change agents within the larger system, and we examine how and why your own career might help to accelerate change. Finally, we will rely more on readings than on cases, and more on discussion in small groups than on classical case discussions. Approximately half of the sessions are held in the Hives and there are lots of opportunity to practice using the ideas we discuss.