Western Ontario, University of Richard Ivey School of Business

To develop business leaders who think globally, act strategically, and contribute to the societies within which they operate.

At Ivey, our approach to addressing the issues of corporate social responsibility is to diffuse it throughout the organization. We believe issues related to corporate social responsibility are integral to all aspects of business, not separate and distinct. Ivey students are provided with opportunities to address and understand the complexity of these issues throughout all their courses and the many of the extra-curricular activities such as the Sustainable Development Club, consulting projects for non-profit firms, and guest speakers like Dr Jeffrey Wigand, one of the most well-known whistleblowers of the past decade. In fact, each class section has a student CSR representative, who is also a member of the MBA Association Executive Committee.

In 2003, the business school undertook a comprehensive review and restructuring of the MBA program to place even greater emphasis on the various elements of Ivey�s Mission Statement (see above), with a more global perspective, more focus on strategic Total Enterprise Thinking, and more emphasis on how individuals, corporations, and society interact.

While we continue to believe strongly that the best way to develop ethical business leaders who are aware of their larger societal responsibilities is to integrate the learning throughout all courses, the enhanced MBA program also includes a full core course, called the Individuals, Corporations and Society, which is taught during the first term. This course sensitizes students about the role of individuals in the corporation and the role of corporations in society.

Several new electives have also been added, including Management for Sustainable Development and Leading Diversity. However, these courses alone do not reflect the true depth of the integration of CSR at Ivey.

CSR is entrenched from the beginning to the end of the MBA program. During the first week in the program, students sign the Code of Conduct, which includes a commitment to foster a positive learning environment for all individuals by adhering to the Ontario Human Rights Code and not tolerating gender- or race-related comments or harassment of any individual or group. Prior to Convocation, graduates take the Ivey Pledge and wear the Ivey Ring, which signifies their lifetime commitment to: �act honorably and ethically in all dealings, in the belief and knowledge that doing so will lead to a greater good and � above all, aspire to make a positive contribution to my society.�

On the student activity side, the level of enthusiasm expressed by our students in this relatively small program is impressive. All of the students volunteer in the local community through a Community Action Day, and this year, Ivey�s MBA students raised close to CDN $100,000 to design and build a barrier-free home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The home is slated for completion in April coinciding with Ivey�s inaugural CSR Conference. In addition, Ivey is pushing the envelope in the creation and dissemination of knowledge associated with CSR. Ivey Publishing carries and distributes close to 200 cases related to CSR, ethics and sustainable development and one third of Ivey faculty have or are conducting research related to social and environmental issues.