Robert Strand

Offered By

Sustainable Vikings: Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility in Scandinavia

Copenhagen Business School

About this Course

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This course gives you immediate access to the world leading sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.  Scandinavian firms dominate the major sustainability and CSR performance indicators including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).  In this course we explore the concepts of sustainability and CSR and focus attention on how Scandinavian firms, like Novo Nordisk, have achieved superior sustainability and CSR performances.  We consider what lessons can be drawn by managers and firms irrespective of where they may be located in the world.
Through this course, participants will:
• Gain appreciation of the concepts of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and be able to situate these concepts within the broader debates about the role of business in society
• Understand the sustainability and CSR approaches by leading Scandinavian companies
• Describe how partnerships between companies, NGOs, and government are fundamental to the sustainability and CSR by Scandinavian companies
• Be able to describe the characterization of the “Scandinavian management” and the role Scandinavian management plays in sustainability and CSR approaches by Scandinavian firms
• Become familiarized with concept of “Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage” and understand how it challenges the dominant view of strategic management.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Flexible deadlines

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Beginner Level

Approx. 13 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.71/5 (8 Ratings)

Robert Strand

Assistant Professor, Ph.D

Department of Intercultural Communication and Management

3,852 Learners

1 Course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 13 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Offered by

Copenhagen Business School

Centrally located in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen Business School (CBS) is one of the largest business schools in Europe with close to 23,000 students. CBS offers world-class research-based degree programs at undergraduate, graduate, and PhD levels as well as executive and other post experience programs.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

4 hours to complete

Introduction to Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

4 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 55 min), 6 readings, 3 quizzes

8 videos

1.1) Course Overview5m

1.2) What is the purpose of business? From Adam Smith to Milton Friedman to Michael Porter.10m

1.3a) What is sustainability? What is corporate social responsibility (CSR)?6m

1.3b) Why do we need sustainability & CSR?8m

1.3c) Interview with Professor Mette Morsing, Copenhagen Business School15m

1.3d) Interview with Mads Øvlisen, former CEO Novo Nordisk & “Father of CSR in Denmark4m

1.3e) Interview with Professor Ed Freeman, University of Virginia Darden & oft-cited as “Father of Stakeholder Theory”1m

1.4) Reflections with Robert Strand2m

6 readings

"The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” by Milton Friedman10m

Watch the Harvard Business Review video “Porter’s 5 Forces”10m

Watch “What is Stakeholder Theory” with Professor Ed Freeman10m

Read “The Origins of ‘the World’s Dumbest Idea’: Milton Friedman”10m

Read the executive summary of “Creating Shared Value” by Michael Porter & Mark Kramer10m

Watch the Daniel Pink video “Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates us”10m

3 practice exercises

1.2)30m

1.3)30m

1.4)30m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Scandinavia: An Introduction

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 47 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

6 videos

2.1) What is Scandinavia?4m

2.2) Exploring sustainability & CSR in Scandinavia: My personal journey6m

2.3) Why explore sustainability & CSR in Scandinavia?12m

2.4) Scandinavian Creating Shared Value7m

2.5a) What is Scandinavian culture?9m

2.5b) Interview with Mads Øvlisen, former CEO Novo Nordisk & “Father of CSR in Denmark7m

3 readings

Read "Strategic Management in the Era of Cooperation: Toward a Theory of Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage" by Robert Strand10m

Read Financial Times article "Scandinavia can be an inspiration for creating shared value" by Robert Strand10m

Watch "Swedishness"10m

1 practice exercise

2.1-2.5)30m

Week

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Scandinavian Leadership & Management

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 41 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

4 videos

3.1) What does Scandinavian leadership & management look like?2m

Conversation with Mads Øvlisen Part A10m

Conversation with Mads Øvlisen Part B10m

Conversation with Mads Øvlisen Part C16m

1 reading

Scandinavian Creating Shared Value10m

2 practice exercises

Quiz 3.1)30m

Quiz 3.2-3.3)30m

Week

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Case study of a Scandinavian sustainability leader: Novo Nordisk

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 29 min)

3 videos

4.1) Introduction to a global sustainability leader: Novo Nordisk1m

Conversation with Susanne Stormer Part A18m

Conversation with Susanne Stormer Part B8m

1 practice exercise

4.1-4.3)30m

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Sustainable Vikings: Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility in Scandinavia

Sustainable Vikings: Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility in Scandinavia