Coursera Course on Rotman School’s Professor’s Award Winning MBA Class and Book Launched.

Toronto – Every business model and every operating decision has stakeholder trade-offs embedded in it. Profits to the bottom line are not always compatible with the interests of the stakeholders that surround the corporation. A new online course from Coursera created by Prof. Sarah Kaplan of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management helps participants examine these trade-offs and learn to address them either by rethinking), innovating around them, or thriving within them.  

“The 360º Corporation: Tools for Achieving Corporate Purpose” is based on Prof. Kaplan’s award winning MBA course at the Rotman School and her most recent book.  “The 360° Corporation” is an elective MBA course which engages students in developing an integrated understanding of both private and public value creation.  Prof. Kaplan’s latest book, The 360º Corporation: From Stakeholder Trade-offs to Transformation addresses the social impact of business and how corporate social responsibility can be a source of innovation and resilience. 

“Through my teaching and writing on The 360° Corporation, I want students and leaders to grapple with the trade-offs that businesses create. I want them to understand that there aren’t simple solutions to these increasing conflicts with how you handle the social and environmental impact of their products, services and organizations. Instead, I guide them to find ways to innovate and thrive within the trade-offs in order to work towards a more productive balance between business and society,” says Sarah Kaplan, Distinguished Professor; Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy; fellow of the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship; and, professor of strategic management at the Rotman School.  

The course was developed with support from the University of Toronto and from the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School. The Institute is a cornerstone of the School’s commitment to “creating positive value for business and society.” Since 2004, the Lee-Chin Institute has conducted and supported research to help business leaders - current and future - integrate sustainability into business strategy and practices.   

Further information on the course, including registration, is online.  

The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.    

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For more information:  

Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca