COURSE NUMBER: MBA292T.2

COURSE TITLE: The Power of Social Technology for Good

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 units

INSTRUCTOR: Kellie McElhaney

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bspace.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Wednesdays 4:00 – 6:00PM

PREREQUISITE(S): None.

CLASS FORMAT: The format of this course is a seminar setting. Open class participation is essential and critical. We will learn from a variety of methods: readings, discussions, videos, lectures, cases and most importantly, each other.

REQUIRED READINGS: There is one multi-week required text for this course: The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change, By Jennifer Aaker & Andy Smith with Carlye Adler. As this topic is a highly emergent one, The Dragonfly Effect will be published after the start of the course (on September 28), so a PDF version will be available on bSpace. This text along with all other readings will be posted on bSpace, listed on the day that they will be discussed in class.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:

Mini-case Assignement (25%)

Final Project (50%)

Class Participation (25%)

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

The Power of Social Technology for Good (PoST4Good) means that the tools that galvanized rescue and rebuilding efforts in Haiti were the same that helped fuel Pepsi's project to crowdsource and fund ideas to "refresh" the world, creating value for society and value for the firm. This transformation could be witnessed during the Mumbai terrorist attacks as microblogs informed new escape routes, or at Dove, where an online video set out to redefine beauty for women globally. Social media has proved itself to be a powerful tool for branding & marketing, employee engagement, innovation, customer loyalty and fundraising, but we're just starting to see its potential to do much more.

Following the first weeks of introductions to good/CSR, various forms, cases, and value of social media, and the power combination of the two business strategies, the course will be structured around two assignments: a mini-case of current company PoST4Good strategy and best practices therein, and applying your learnings on a PoST4Good strategy ideation, formation, and development project.

These mini-cases will be our chance to collectively learn from one another as there is no expertise in this new field yet. Each team will investigate a current PoST4Good company case, analyze and present it to the class in the framework of best practices, tools used, business impact/ value, and societal value. From this, we will, as a class, develop a PoST4Good Guidebook.

You will then form teams of 3-4 to work on a social media strategy for a company’s CSR activation using our guidebook as your roadmap. Projects are an opportunity for students to put their newly learned theory into practice to develop or improve a real-world social media strategy. Projects should include, but are not limited to, a strategic framework, creation of social media content, strategic recommendations, and analytical data and support (as available).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Kellie McElhaney is the John C. Whitehead Adjunct Professor and the Faculty Director of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. In her six years at Haas, the Center has received global critical acclaim. The Financial Times rated Haas number one in the world in January 2008. Kellie was named a Faculty Pioneer by the Aspen Institute in 2005. Her research focus is in three areas: (1) Analyzing and developing companies’ CSR strategy and its alignment with corporate strategy, business objectives, core competencies, and business value; (2) Exploring the linkage between diversity and CSR and using CSR as a hook to re-engage women with business as employees, consumers, and investors; (3) The business value and opportunities in branding, communication and CSR, a topic on which she has a new book entitled Just Good Business The Strategic Guide to Corporate Responsibility and Brand. Kellie consults to several Global 1000 companies in developing integrated CSR strategy. Her client list includes HP, Gap, eBay, McDonalds, Ernst & Young, NVIDIA, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kimberly-Clark, Nokia (Finland), Navigant, Volunteer Match, Ford Motor Company, Bernard Hodes Group (Great Britain), PG&E, Driscolls Berries, Triage Consulting Group, Ulster Bank (Ireland), StatoilHydro (Norway) and PG&E. She is a highly engaging and motivational public speaker in the area of CSR, and has keynoted at major conferences, leadership summits, and corporate events all over the world.