DSMBA

For you soon-to-be MBAs and courageous leaders responsible for making the world a better place, here's your checklist of things that will be helpful for you to know as you embark on the road less traveled. Warning: while easier paths exist, this one will challenge your heart, mind and soul and is full of complexity at every turn, twist, peak, and valley. The topics and ideas that we will explore in this class include:

*Leading Change in Organizations and Society*
What does leadership look like in the context of social change organizations? How might one participate in leading change? What is required of me to be an effective leader in a constantly changing world?


*Business Models of Social Enterprise*
What is social progress? What is social impact? What is a social venture? How can I create, capture, and deliver value while making a positive impact on people and the planet?


*Social Ventures as a Lever for Social Change*
What are the limitations of a social venture to drive social progress? What are the limitations of for-profit ventures to drive social progress? What constitutes a responsible business? What is the role of business in society? How do social innovators/entrepreneurs of “non-business” activities (i.e. activists, inventors, policy advocates, educators, etc.) drive social progress? What about systems change?


*Social Impact Defined*
How is success measured? What are possible end-games? What are the tensions around capital and social impact? Is the way money works more a “catalyst” or “kryptonite” for social impact? How can capital be in service of social impact? What are the conditions and requirements for scale?


*Justice, Incentives, Values & Power*
What’s power got to do with it? How do power dynamics impact how problems are defined and what outcomes are considered successful? How does justice become the starting point and the end-game? Is it always disruptive or can harmony and social progress coexist? What is the role of equity-centered design in all this?