BA 8100/Law 7339: Managing Corporate Integrity

Today’s U.S. and international corporations must make business decisions in an increasingly complex global environment with greatly enhanced expectations and demands for ethical behavior and accountability. This course exposes business and law students to fundamental issues and current best practices in managing legal/ethical compliance, corporate social responsibility and business ethics issues. The class is structured to move the students from situations where the law may provide some guidance to where the law is less clear and the ethical dimensions of decision making become more important and more difficult. Special attention is given to preparing law and management students to understand and manage the demands on U.S and international corporations making complex business decisions in the face of increasing expectations for transparency and accountability and to understand the roles of business managers and lawyers working together on these issues.

Course Description
Course topics cover both domestic and international business issues, including anti-corruption, environmental crimes/compliance, child labor, employment discrimination, crisis management, whistleblowing, retaliation, fraud, privacy, sustainability and social enterprise. The class is open to 2L and 3L law students and MBA students and is designed to enhance the students’ understanding of how legal and business issues interact and how consideration of both is essential to making sound business decisions in light of the legal and ethical considerations. Structured around real-world cases that simulate the challenges of today’s domestic and global markets, the course equips students to manage and integrate the differing perspectives of lawyers and managers. Guest executives enhance the learning experience through the application of real-life, current business challenges.

Course Objectives

1. Knowledge of, and practical skills for dealing with, the legal, management and ethical issues based more specifically on compliance requirements, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption tools; and environmental statutes and management challenges
2. Knowledge of, and practical skills for dealing with, the legal, management, and ethical challenges based more specifically on ethical decision making, where the legal requirements are present but become less clear, including international child labor practices; managing the effects of large discrimination cases on the corporate environment; retaliation; financial fraud; and privacy
3. Knowledge of, and practical skills for dealing with, the legal, management, and ethical issues regarding ethics hotlines and whistleblower protection
4. Knowledge of international anti-corporate campaign tactics and counter-tactics
5. Knowledge of corporate sustainability strategies and social enterprise as emerging business imperatives
6. Knowledge of the management competencies required for international managers and legal counsel through an understanding of their differing roles and responsibilities and how they should each contribute to sound decision making and ethical outcomes

Instructors
This course will be taught by Dr. Steve Olson, director of the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility, and Linda DiSantis, JD, an executive-in-residence at the center.

BA 8200: Corporate Environmental Sustainability

One of the greatest challenges facing corporations now and into the 21^st Century centers on the sustainable development and the environmental sustainability of commerce. How do we meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?

This course presents the latest research, classic case studies and the current best practices of the world's leading corporations. Corporate Environmental Sustainability is highly participatory and includes guest lectures and site visits, and uses the leading simulations for teaching sustainability to corporate managers at companies like GE and S.C. Johnson. The course culminates in students managing their own, simulated companies as they move them toward environmental sustainability.

BA 8200 Course Description
This introduction to the "greening" of corporate strategy and operations uses a variety of methods, including case-studies, business simulations, and individual and group reflection to teach the key concepts and corporate best practices. Emphasis is placed on applying scientific concepts of environmental sustainability to corporate functions and operations, and on developing managerial competencies that drive sustainable enterprises.

BA 8200 Course Objectives
The problem-based, experiential learning approach of this course introduces students to the key concepts and current best practices in corporate environmental sustainability. Students will learn the key competencies that comprise responsible corporate management and leadership for environmental sustainability. Specifically, students will:

1. Assess, identify, and build upon their learning style, as measured by the Learning Style Inventory and reflection papers.
2. Understand and apply the four systems conditions for environmental sustainability, as measured by reflection papers and written homework assignments.
3. Demonstrate a working understanding of corporate sustainability and stakeholder management, as measured by conceptual testing, role-and-company performance on simulations, case-study write-ups, and reflection papers.
4. Learn and apply strategic leadership for environmental sustainability, as measured by business simulation performance and reflection papers.

Instructors
This course will be taught by Dr. Steve Olson, director of the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility, with assistance provided by Jonathan Tescher, a Junior Fellow with the center.

BA 8300: Social Enterprise - Networks and Strategies

One of the most exciting developments in corporate responsibility is taking place in "social enterprises," for-profit corporations with social, non-profit missions. Come learn about social enterprises and the entrepreneurial strategies that drive them. The course features visits by leading Atlanta social entrepreneurs and hands-on experience in the "iconic entrepreneurship" model.

BA 8300 Course Description
Social enterprise is becoming a watchword in both nonprofit and business communities as a way of coupling the resources generated by market activities with the social ambitions of nonprofit organizations. This course will examine social enterprise from both the nonprofit and business perspectives to provide students with a broad overview of its purposes, forms, management approaches and impact. During the course, students will have the opportunity to assess a local social enterprise, visit several social enterprises in the Atlanta area and hear leading social entrepreneurs talk about their organizations.

Instructors
This course will be team taught by instructors from the Robinson College of Business (Udaiyan Jatar, Steve Olson) and the Andew Young School of Policy Studies Public Management and Policy department (Janelle Kerlin).