Effective leaders must understand how the success of their organizations is intertwined with broader ethical and social issues. And they must recognize that sustainable economic growth is not possible without considering the needs and demands of broader society.

Tuck's strategy is to provide practical business skills that will help you identify and act on the ethical and social dimensions of business issues, make reasoned decisions when faced with a dilemma, and justify your actions to stakeholders and the public within a social context.

To prepare students for success as principled leaders, Tuck requires each student to take at least one minicourse (1.5 credits) that explores the complex ethical and social challenges of business. To satisfy this requirement a course must give students the ability to recognize the ethical and social dimensions of business problems, the tools, concepts and frameworks to make practical, reasoned decisions when faced with ethical or social dilemmas, and the ability to justify those decisions in language that is both clear and persuasive. Students may also work on independent study projects, including international projects with NGOs in countries as diverse as Bolivia, Tanzania, and the U.K.

Electives that satisfy the requirement include, but aren't limited to, these courses: 

Ethics in Action

Ethics in Action is a minicourse in which students consider the ethical challenges that arise across the spectrum of business activity. Several faculty members from diverse disciplines lead discussions of ethical issues in cases involving their particular areas of expertise. Topics deal with specific ethical issues faced by businesses in the current environment both in the US and in the global marketplace, where different local practices and cultural norms seem to muddy the ethical water. The purpose of the course is to acquire some practical business skills: the ability to identify the ethical dimensions of business problems, the ability to make practical, reasoned decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas, and the ability to justify those decisions in language that is both clear and persuasive.

Business Strategies for Sustainability

Companies now face challenges and opportunities created by concerns about their environmental and social impact. General managers need to understand the factors that drive business value when dealing with these concerns. This course evaluates how firms are responding to these challenges. It also explored how firms are strategically influencing the regulatory and competitive context in which they operate. The course considered examples related to climate, natural resources (renewable and non renewable), and human health.

Social Marketing

The course examines marketing principles and research methods applied to social causes. You will learn to apply marketing planning frameworks and tools for social causes within for-profits and within not-for-profits. We will also explore analytical concepts and techniques relevant for evaluating social programs. Several social causes are selected to serve as illustrations for marketing applications to other social causes, retirement savings, museums, and health, among others. Consulting for nonprofits and transformative marketing are also covered.

Business-Social Sector Partnerships

This course investigates collaboration between for-profit business and non-profit organizations. It takes a global perspective on corporate responsibility and stakeholder management. Students explore value creation at the intersection of business and the social sector, and how capacities, constraints, and strategies might differ. Frameworks are used to analyze cross-sector collaboration. Throughout, the larger question is addressed of how differences among partners may or may not drive learning and transformation of the partners themselves, and how to approach this analysis.

Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector

There has been a worldwide explosion of entrepreneurial activities by organizations whose primary focus is on improving the health, education, and well being of individuals and communities. Most of this activity has been undertaken by nonprofit organizations, which, in the U. S., generate revenues greater than the gross domestic products of Brazil, Russia, or Australia. Some entrepreneurs working in the social sector chose to incorporate as for-profit orgs. Both models will be considered in this course. It will focus on the tools and skills required to launch or grow a successful enterprise in the social sector.

Business and Climate Change

Dealing with the likely impacts of climate change has become one of the momentous societal and economic concerns of our time. Forward-thinking companies worldwide are aggressively addressing it, since they are the constituency with the largest cause/effect relationship to climate change. The focus of this mini-course is to examine the links between climate change and the firm as viewed through an economics/finance/public policy lens.

Corporate Responsibility

This mini course starts with the premise that corporate social responsibility is good for business and focuses on how leaders can balance the needs of their organizations with responsibilities to key constituencies. Through cases focusing on the social, reputational, and environmental consequences of corporate activities, students will learn how to make difficult choices, promote responsible behavior within their organizations, and understand the role personal values play in developing effective leadership skills.