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Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. This case examines Acumen's new projects in Kenya. The organization's investment committee and its chief investment officer, Brian Trelstad, must decide whether or not to fund two for-profit ventures. The first provides clean and accessible shower and toilet facilities in urban areas, serving a critical need for low-income populations - its financial sustainability, however, is less clear. The second investment is a network of successful private health clinics that primarily serve middle-income populations but which have the potential to reach low-income markets. On what basis should Acumen decide whether or not to invest? What performance metrics should it use? As the investment committee nears a decision, political and social unrest breaks out in Kenya following a highly contested presidential election. Acumen Fund must now also consider the political risks of investing.

As Acumen Fund, a global venture philanthropy firm, moves forward with an investment portfolio exceeding $22 million, it runs into two critical measurement problems. First, how should it track the performance of each investment when its interest is not just the bottom line, but also social impact? What should its performance tracking system look like to enable ease of comparison, and to identify problems before they become too significant to fix? The second challenge involves attracting investors. Acumen wants to build the field of "social investing" by creating a new asset class for investors who care about social impact. Doing so will require working with competitors in the field in order to establish benchmarks and standards of measurement. How can Acumen build industry-wide benchmarks when peer organizations are concerned about confidentiality of data? Without such comparisons, how will Acumen attract investors to the field?

After United Way CEO Brian Gallagher began shifting the organization's focus from old-school fundraising to community impact, Gallagher and local leaders like Elise Buik, CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, faced a series of challenges regarding how to best use United Way's resources to address the root causes of social problems.

The Virtue Matrix, first introduced in a 2002 Harvard Business Review article, is a tool developed by the lead author that provides a concrete, actionable framework for creating a corporate citizenship strategy. The goals of CSR have long been poorly defined and unclear, and as a result, many companies are uncertain of the rules or the benefits of doing what is 'right'. The authors argue that as regulations become tighter and solutions more difficult, the capacity of firms to innovate in this arena will become increasingly valuable. The best organizations, they say, will stand out by fully complying with the laws of their industry and jurisdiction; meeting the highest level of current non-regulated norms; having projects underway in the 'strategic frontier' of the Virtue Matrix; and being an active participant in 'structural frontier' projects as well. In addition to describing the four quadrants of the Virtue Matrix in detail, the authors show how companies can protect the best of what currently is - the civil foundation - and contribute to the expansion of what could be, through activities on the frontier.

In this May 2009 interview, Harvard Business School Professor and SSRN chairman Michael Jensen defines 'integrity', explains how it differs from morality and ethics, and argues that the effects of out-of-integrity behavior are significantly more damaging than most of us believe. He explains that people are not the only ones that can have integrity: objects and systems can have it too - indeed, they can only obtain maximum performance by maintaining integrity. He describes the distinction between the integrity of design, the integrity of implementation and the integrity of use. Reflecting on the 2008-09 finance crisis, the author says that putting the economic system back in order is deceptively simple: "people have to start honoring their word. If they do, trust will materialize almost instantly."

Without realizing it, managers delegate unethical behavior to people in their organizations on a regular basis. This occurs whenever someone tells their subordinates to 'do whatever it takes' to achieve production or sales goals, leaving open the possibility of aggressive or even unethical tactics; it happens when companies outsource production to offshore subcontractors that are inexpensive because they are less constrained by costly labor and environmental standards; and it happens when partners at accounting firms remind junior auditors about the importance of retaining a client that has inappropriate accounting practices. In these and countless other situations, people are motivated to overlook the problematic ethical implications of other people's behavior. The result: scandals that can cost trillions of dollars. The good news, say the authors, is that the evidence strongly supports the notion that most people value ethical decisions and behavior and strive to develop the habit of ethicality. Nevertheless, people still find themselves engaging in unethical behavior because of biases that influence their decisions-biases of which they may not be fully aware. Fighting human nature is no easy task, but the authors explain that leaders can and must make the structural changes necessary to reduce the harmful effects of our psychological and ethical limitations.

Each year in March, 800 delegates from 60 countries convene for the Skoll World Forum, a gathering of the world's leading social entrepreneurs organized by the Skoll Foundation. Prominent figures from the social, academic, finance, corporate and policy sectors engage for three days of debates, discussions and work sessions focused on scaling solutions to some of the world's most pressing issues. This article summarizes one of the panels, "Leadership for Change," which featured five prominent business leaders/social entrepreneurs: Hasbro's Chairman Alan Hassenfeld; Cisco's Senoir VP, Corporate Affairs, Tae Yoo; Amamex International's Founder and CEO, Fadi Ghandour; Pitney Bowes' past Executive Chairman Michael Critelli; and Intel's General Manager, Sustainability, William Swope. Each discusses their organization's approach to CSR, sample initiatives and leadership lessons.

Sowers Action was founded in September 1992 as a non-religious, non-political and not-for-profit charity. Its principal objective was to improve the level of education in remote areas of China by subsidizing poverty-stricken students, building safe school premises and enhancing the qualifications of teachers. The organization implemented a business model that led it to a quick success in its start-up phase. Rarely has a similar organization in Hong Kong grown at such a rapid pace and to such a scale. What differentiated Sowers Action from its peers and what were the major factors that drove its early success? This is a case about entrepreneurship and general management, aiming to introduce the concept of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial processes and dynamics, and how critical factors work together to lead to a successful start-up phase. It also sheds light on management and operation of social enterprises.

This case is about a major unmet social need: vision correction. Even though technologically this is a simple problem to solve - eyeglasses - it is not being solved. Over 500 million people with refractive error continue to do without vision correction and lead less productive lives than they could if they had eyeglasses.It would seem that private companies could profitably supply eyeglasses to the poor. Essilor, a French multinational company that is one of the world's leading manufacturers of plastic eyeglass lenses, has developed an innovative approach to selling eyeglasses to the poor in rural India. The case describes Essilor's strategy and provides enough data to do a simple economic analysis of the project. The case next describes VisionSpring, a NGO that supplies reading glasses to the poor in developing countries. The case question centers on whether the two approaches are working and challenges students to consider creative solutions.

Today's future business leaders are confronted early in their academic careers with history-making events which have a profound impact on the global economic system. These students of business are being exposed to behaviors as they unfold and, as such, are possibly living in an age of the "cheating culture" whereby everybody cheats because everyone else does it. Business students from around the world completed a cheating culture scale as part of a much larger investigation examining college students' attitudes toward capitalism and business ethics. Findings suggest that the cheating culture is not just a capitalistic phenomenon and that attitudinal differences are driven by gender, country corruption, and socioeconomic environment. Future business leaders worldwide, who are being shaped by news reports of scandal, are also being taught the fundamentals of operating in the business world. Unfortunately, they may be learning to inextricably combine the cheating culture with best business practices.

Samsung Tesco Homeplus (STH), one of Korea's large hypermarkets, increased its investment in social contribution activities and systematized the organization in charge in the aftermath. It especially focused on education and cultural services, saving the environment and sharing with others. As a consequence, by December 2008, STH was considered one of the most innovative companies and one that realized true customer value. It had won a variety of awards, such as the Green Management award, Social Contribution Company award and the Eco-friendly Management award. After creating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) team in 2005, it won the CSR award given by the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea and was selected as one of Korea's Most Admired Companies. While much progress had been made, company executives wondered what factors would be the keys to their continuing CSR activities. This case presents points of contention and issues in the practice of corporate social responsibility by STH. Social contribution activities and STH were aligned with both sustainable management and customer value-oriented management. Various activities in extended education, environment and charity ultimately led customers to view STH as not just a discount store that simply sold products, but a "value store." STH conducted systematic programs and activities in the areas of extended education environment and charity after having declared itself a "social contribution" company. This case illustrates how a company can develop its social contribution activities. In addition, discussion will center on the long-term impacts that social contribution activities have on enterprises.

This case focuses on the growth of an innovative non-profit institution that motivates aboriginal children to attend school by harnessing their love of football.

Dedicated to offering high-tech solutions for environmental and social problems, a privately-owned Malaysian conglomerate, Petra Group, aimed to innovate the recycling of rubber waste. Since the 1990s, the group had tried to transform rubber waste using its patented DeLink technology to produce reusable rubber, which it branded as Green Rubber. Despite failing to make a sound industrial impact with the technology in the mid-1990s, the company wanted to reintroduce the eco-friendly solution in the new millennium. Through its subsidiary, Green Rubber Global ("GRG"), the group progressively explored partnerships with those wanted to be part of increasing demand for environmentally friendly products. In 2007, GRG opened the first US-based rubber recycling plant in New Mexico, with the support of the state government. Vinod Sekhar, the founder and chief executive of GRG and Petra Group, envisages Green Rubber becoming a global trademark for most rubber-based products, the way "Intel Inside" has for computers. However, there was industrial skepticism not only about the cost-efficiency of DeLink technology, but also the quality of Green Rubber, partly due to GRG's failure in the market a decade before. Would GRG's past failure be a stumbling block for its future business development? Would increased global expectations for corporate environmental and social responsibility be the stepping stone to a lucrative success? Because "green" claims had been over-exploited by marketers in recent years, there was also cynicism about commercial corporations selling green products. How could GRG successfully run a business driven by commercial principles that also aimed to sustain environmental and social progress? And how will GRG benefit from its connection with the parent company?

The case illustrates a grassroots enterprise path to self-sufficiency in a subsistence market context. It explores the gradual evolution of a business model with strong pro-social mandates (pro-health, pro-women) and asks which growth options may best marry profitability and positive social change. The Mwanza-based Yogurt Mamas emerge as entrepreneurial role models in their communities; with funds from Western donors, and an exciting new technology, they seem set on their way to success. Yet close-up analyses reveal several outstanding concerns, including funding sufficiency, clarity of roles and responsibilities, patent restrictions, kitchen ownership, food safety and quality concerns and liability concerns among others. Despite positive health impact assessments, the venture is struggling to grow - and growth is the key to its future. Focused on a mix non-profit and retail model, the Yogurt Mamas produce and locally distribute a probiotic yogurt to their small community; they are interconnected in a local value chain, and benefit from annual inflows of disciplinary expertise from western partners, including free access to patented technology and free culturing of probiotic bacteria in a local lab. However, as the project funding winds down, business issues come to the fore. The case asks students to critically analyze the hurdles to profitability and suggest working solutions to scaling up the venture. Options include technology/model licensing and franchising, organic growth and expansion along value chain links to gain higher margins and greater control over the milk supply and to extend their distribution reach to neighboring communities. If the Yogurt Mamas cannot find an attractive and feasible growth option, the partners will have to contemplate venture termination once the grant funding comes to an end, or consider alternative exit options, including partnerships or adjacent business models.

Goldman Sachs' five-year, $100 million philanthropic initiative to provide practical business and management education to 10,000 women around the globe recently celebrated its first anniversary and over 1,200 women were either enrolled in, or graduated from sponsored certificate programs. The case describes the conception, development and implementation of the initiative and outlines some key strategic decisions facing the firm as they roll-out the program over the coming years. These include: how to organize the network of schools that deliver the educational services, how to determine the best outside partners to provide additional services for the women entrepreneurs, how to best assess the impact of the program, and finally the extent to which the initiative provides contributions to the long-term strategy of the firm.

An Indian wind energy company with global ambitions of being among the top three in its business worldwide, Suzlon Energy Ltd. (Suzlon) manufactures and markets turbines, which harness wind to product electricity. Several of its customers are going global and increasingly expect global service (including pricing) consistent across geographies. Suzlon could consider the rapidly increasing business practice of global account management (GAM) to meet these needs. However, it would be a new trend in the wind energy industry and Suzlon would have to pioneer it. That presents several challenges, including persuading top management to approve a pilot exercise with a key customer, and managing incentives and morale within the organization and across country borders.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is an innovator of strategic environmental management in the airline industry. Being a first-mover can have both its advantages and disadvantages. This case looks at the airline's decision of whether they should invest in the best available environmental technology for a fleet of new aircraft that would serve them for the next 25 years. While the technology for these low-emission engines had been around since the 1970s, it had never really been commercialized. SAS was feeling pressure from the regulatory authorities with regards to potential new charges and taxes that could affect the future operating costs of the fleet. Despite these anticipated future costs, at the time of the decision, the director of aircraft and engine analysis for SAS could not make an economic case for the more expensive engines. The challenge was for the fleet development team to try to convince the SAS management team to spend the extra kr5 million (Swedish Kronor) per aircraft for the dual combustor engine. Given that corporations are faced with increasing pressure with regards to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, this case study presents an opportunity for discussion and analysis of various environmental concepts including strategic environmental management, adoption of best available environmental technologies, the role of internal environmental leadership in a large corporation and the effect of market-based mechanisms to improve a sector's environmental performance. The case illustrates the complexities of environmental decisions in striking a balance between meeting ambitious commitments and dealing with real capabilities of companies and external pressures.

On 12 September 2008, Sanlu Group, the biggest producer of milk powder in China, rocked the country when it admitted that its infant formula had been contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. China's national inspection agency extended its investigation to other dairy manufacturers across the nation. Shockingly, products of 21 other dairies, including some famous Chinese brands, also tested positive for melamine. Due to consumption of melamine-laced milk products, more than 56,000 infants and young children had become sick and four babies had died from kidney failure by the end of September. The melamine scare also resulted in many countries recalling and banning goods using milk products from China. When Sanlu became the key culprit in the milk crisis after its infant formula was revealed to contain as much as four times more melamine than other tainted brands, the company apologized to the public. Sanlu also explained that its unscrupulous raw-milk dealers had illegally added melamine to milk. However, it failed to explain its delay in alerting the public when it first received customer complaints in late 2007. Instead, Sanlu had tried to cover up the news until being prompted by its New Zealand partner, Fonterra, which later alerted the New Zealand government. As a result of the milk crisis, the local government of Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu was headquartered, was accused of holding back the news from the central government. Fonterra wrote off all its investment in Sanlu, and Sanlu finally declared bankruptcy on 24 December 2008. The Sanlu incident has spotlighted the inadequacy of China's entire dairy supply chain and has forced the government and the industry to make a collective effort to restore consumer confidence in Chinese dairy products.

In 2006, Alpina had processing facilities in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela and its products were distributed in 34 countries. With annual sales of nearly $275 million, it was one of the largest private dairy companies in the Andean region. Alpina's social initiatives began early in the organization's history. The founders of the company and the families that were involved in its operations created a work environment in which the needs of stakeholders were a priority. As the company grew, there were changes in its ownership structure. Yet, in 2006, the owners of Alpina, Inc. were still a relatively small number of family investors. With growth there was also an expansion of social initiatives, which were carried out in different areas. Between 2002 and 2006, the Human Resources Department initiated a series of actions to consolidate social responsibility (SR) activities and to achieve greater impact. These efforts fell short when, in 2006, upon implementing a new corporate model, the Executive Committee began to question the purpose and scope of these social activities. The case puts the students in the place of Juan Pablo Fernández who, after three years in the company, was named Vice-President of Marketing. The Executive Committee gave his office the task of preparing a proposal to increase Alpina's social impact and established a limit on the amount of resources available for these activities. The information provided in the case allows the student to study and analyze two paths. One possibility was to expand the activities carried out by the company up until that point, which were aligned to varying degrees with the commercial activities of the company but were generally incorporated into the value chain. This was the path chosen by others in the industry and it would allow the company to tackle different risks and inefficiencies that affected the company's overall performance.

An international corporation's agricultural business division reviews its seven-year-old IT initiative among rural Indian farmers. Suitable for learners at all levels, the case is ideal for modules on strategic change, transformational change in a value chain, and development at the bottom of the pyramid. It also provides excellent insight into how corporations can improve both profits and lifestyles in developing nations while bolstering their worldwide competitiveness. The e-Choupal initiative provides Internet access to connect and unite farmers by teaching them more efficient farming methods and wholesaler accountability strategies. Should the company expand the initiative throughout the country? Given India's size and the various challenges involved, expansion would not be an easy task.