TEACH
Inclusive Economy
Our mission is to contribute to building a more inclusive economy by training future and current leaders.
We are striving to help shape a more inclusive economy through training future and current directors. We are working to foster an understanding of the major challenges facing our society and establish a stance whereby only companies which help to build an inclusive (and environmentally-friendly) economy are seen as desirable from now on. As a result, they must know how to implement these models. This means that we are aiming to provide them with the key skills (revolving around knowledge, expertise and interpersonal skills) that a 21st-century manager must master in order to play their part in this.
Since 2009, we have provided education and training on the inclusive economy to thousands of students and company managers, via a range of programmes (see below)
Going forward, we are working to include social and environmental perspectives in the core courses taught to HEC students, such as finance, marketing, strategy, supply chain management and more.
Innovative teaching is also at the heart of our approach: we explore a range of complementary, theoretical and practical approaches via case studies, online programmes, simulations, immersions, experiential learning and more.
In our eyes, a sense of perspective and the process of learning by doing complement each other, as they help us to aim our teaching at the different dimensions of students’ personalities, such as the intellectual and the emotional.
During these times where elites are often being challenged, we give future and current directors the chance to relate better to workers on the ground, to the worries and the real-life circumstances faced by people and, in particular, by the most vulnerable, which could be an invaluable learning experience for them.
A large variety of courses
The S&O Institute has developed several programs on inclusive and social business:
The course Ethics and Sustainability is among the core courses of the year.
The aim of the Inclusive & Social Business Certificate is to train a new generation of managers, aware of societal challenges and aspiring to be part of the solution, regardless of their professional activity.
FACT Impact (France or Planet) proposes to support and accompany a social entrepreneur or an entrepreneur coming from an underprivileged area in his project
FACT programs are offered to students in first and second year of the Grande Ecole Master in Management program during the second semester. These programs allow students to confront their theoretical learnings with a real-experience on the field.
This module critically investigates the set of reasons that prompt firms to contribute to poverty alleviation and analyzes the innovative inclusive and social business models that they develop. It explores how firms transform themselves when seeking to become more inclusive. More fundamentally, this module also challenges participants to question their roles as managers and future executives.
This intensive week allows students to work on these issues through case studies and lectures taught by a team of HEC professors and consultants and through visits to corporate and social partners like ARES, a work integration social enterprise.
What are CEMS Block Seminars?
Block Seminars are intensive one-week seminars on an innovative Management topic, run prior to or at the start of the MIM Term 1. Students from all CEMS institutions gather for the Block Seminars that are usually led by teams of teachers from different disciplines of Management studies.
The intensive academic and cultural experience is an ideal starter for students to the MIM program.
What is CEMS?
Founded in Europe in 1988, CEMS is a global alliance of academic and corporate institutions dedicated to educating and preparing future generations of international business leaders.
The alliance now comprises 30 member schools across 5 continents, delivering the joint CEMS Master's in International Management (MIM) around the world, and 69 CEMS corporate partners among whom L’Oréal. Since 2010, CEMS has also integrated non-profit organizations as Social Partners to positively influence all members of the CEMS alliance.
Since its creation, CEMS has worked alongside industry representatives and academics in providing expertise, insight and vision for all aspects of program development, implementation and support.
The HEC Paris MBA curriculum combines academically-challenging courses with leadership development and experiential learning.
Among its core courses, the ETHICS and SUSTAINABILITY course considers the ethical responsibilities of managers and corporations.
Among its electives classes, an off-campus seminar in the monastery of Sereys (Haute Loire) proposes to reflect on ETHICS and PERFORMANCE. In this seminar, the participants become more conscious of the ethical stakes of their business practices and learn how to assess their responsibilities as managers. In the specific context of the monastery, they experiment a distant point of view to think and exchange about the signification of management practices and their impact.
Experiential learning is at the very heart of the MBA program. Fieldwork projects allow students to apply classroom-taught knowledge in a real world setting.
This specialization is aimed at executives and senior managers who want to become the next generation of socially aware business leaders in the rapidly changing and emerging world economy.
The demand and need for sustainable business models is stronger than ever, and you will learn to build and transform socially responsible businesses, whilst maintaining and growing profitability through new value chains.
Please find here more information on the Executive MBA.
Over the past few years, a growing number of corporations have started to explore inclusive business models as a way of expanding their traditional markets. If you want to find out what Inclusive Business can bring to your organization, then this could be the program for you. Our goal is to to enable you to discover new ways of developing business that have real social impact:
- In both emerging and developed countries
- For multinationals, entrepreneurs and SMEs.
Please find here more information on the dedicated webpage.
This program concentrates on the key areas of leadership, general management and running a company, while at the same time paying close attention to the specific nature of the African continent.
The focus on the stakes and challenges of a continent in transition and key sustainable development issues such as managing resources, carbon footprint and social inclusion will enable participants to acquire a greater understanding of new high performing business models that are more sustainable and inclusive.
Please find more information on the dedicated website.
Innovation and entrepreneurship play a crucial role in creating value and ensuring the success and sustainability of companies throughout the world. This is why HEC Paris has designed this online degree program to meet the specific needs of current and future business leaders in charge of innovation or business development, as well as experienced or aspiring entrepreneurs.
"Social Entrepreneurship and Change-making" is among the 10 fundamental courses. Through this course, participants will gain a brief overview of different types of entrepreneurs who create value for society and focus primarily on action-based learning; work on their own entrepreneurial project, gaining hands-on experience in transforming an idea into a sustainable business model with measurable positive impact on society and the environment; pitch to “sell your idea” to a wider public; and be inspired, equipped, and convinced that you can take action to tackle the world’s most pressing problems in an entrepreneurial manner.
More information HERE.
The economic, social and societal impact of the crisis we are all living through has made it more crucial than ever before for companies to rethink their business model and their relationship with society and the environment.
Driving the transition to sustainable development and responsible management makes more than ever, real business sense. It enables organizations to think in terms of proactive risk management, drive innovation, reinvent their business models, and create new forms of competitive advantage. Everyone, at every level of the organization, has an important role to play.
The aim of the ‘Sustainable Transition Management’ (STM) program is, therefore, to develop mindful, responsible managers and leaders who can inspire and drive transformation and, help companies to strike the right balance between positive social and environmental impact, and economic performance, and even transform today’s environmental and social challenges into business opportunities.
It has been carefully crafted to offer the greatest flexibility to build a consistent and effective approach to the strategic and functional challenges in order to design and operate the sustainable transition.
We believe that the clock is ticking and innovation is required to affect real change. Firms, small and large, play a powerful role in this transformation process, and the winners of tomorrow’s economy will be those who develop “innovation with purpose”.
As part of the summer program which addresses societal challenges, students will discover how forward-looking firms can develop creative market based solutions to alleviate poverty, at times in partnership with civil society and public authorities. Students will be exposed to social enterprises with innovative business models, as well as established firms who have realized it is in their interest to develop inclusive business models.
Students will work in teams in coordination with leading corporate partners executives to formulate an inclusive business model that they present at the session close.
This MOOC is dedicated to social entrepreneurship, and is developed by professors of the S&O Center in partnership with the ‘Ticket for Change’ project, of which HEC Paris is a platinum partner.
The project aims to inspire and help aspiring entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in society. The MOOC is based on individual and collective action learning for each participant, through three different stages: inspiration, introspection, and implementation.
Focus on Lead Campus - Sustainable Leadership in Africa
On November 25, 2019 HEC Paris launched the first module of the Lead Campus Sustainable Leadership in Africa program, a bilingual and certified management training course, co-constructed with AFD (Agence Française de Développement), Mohammed VI Polytechnique University (Morocco), UCT GSB (Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town, South Africa) and the Investors and Partners (I&P) investment fund.
This program concentrates on the key areas of leadership, general management and running a company, while at the same time paying close attention to the specific nature of the African continent. The focus on the stakes and challenges of a continent in transition and key sustainable development issues such as managing resources, carbon footprint and social inclusion will enable participants to acquire a greater understanding of new high performing business models that are more sustainable and inclusive
The Inclusive and Social Business Certificate
Doing business as usual is no longer an option. To stay competitive and be a responsible actor of today’ challenges, making a social impact is essential and will be the next revolution as the one we face with digital.
Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot, HEC Professor and Executive Director of the S&O Institute explains how the Inclusive and Social Business Certificate will allow you to reflect on the role that firms can play in society at large, and to undersdand that with power comes responsibility.
Voices of Inclusive and Social Business Certificate Alumni
The Inclusive & Social Business Certificate sponsored by Danone, Schneider Electric and Renault and Veolia is a very special place at a very special time! For its 12th edition and despite the lockdown constraints, we did our best to organize the online sessions and provide to our students with an active and fruitful learning experience. As part of this “experimental learning part”, they were requested to work on an “entrepreneurial project” with impact or to design a “social business” project that addresses the current COVID-19 crisis. See below some testimonies of their experience.
