COURSE SYLLABUS: SOCIAL ECONOMY IN LATIN AMERICA

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Partner Institution: University of Belgrano

Course Title (English): Social Economy in Latin America

Course Title (Spanish): Economía social en Latinoamérica

Sessions Offered: Fall Semester, Spring Semester

Instructional in: Spanish

Classroom Contact Hours: 45 contact hours

College Credit (Semester Credit Hours): 3 credit hours

College Credit (Quarter Units): 4.5 quarter units

Prerequisites: Intermediate II Spanish Level if taught in Spanish

Local Department: Programa de estudios argentinos y latinoamericanos (PEAL)

Course Code: PEAL 373

Course Description

Environmentally, technologically, economically and culturally, we live in an interconnected world where traditional approaches to business no longer work. Environmental problems and social issues are becoming increasingly important. Notions of sustainable development and fair trade are forcing companies to radically rethink their business strategies. New structures and beliefs and a redistribution of existing resources are required to build sustainable businesses. Here, the work of C.K. Prahalad and Stuart Hart has been ground-breaking: added values, such as transparency and mutual agreements, are just part of a new vision of business.

Course Requirements

The student is expected to read the assigned readings, participate actively in class and perform oral presentations. The student must attend 75% of class to pass the course. The system of control is electronic and the student must pass their card every class to be counted present. The final exam is written and oral. Part of the evaluation is considered: the midterm, presentations and class participation, as well as three research papers.

Program Schedule

Week 1

-Course introduction

-Economic context: national and regional. Repercussions of companies. Immigration and regional development. Private and public sector.

-Cultural context: Argentina, its regions and the impact of businesses

Readings: 

-www.econlink.com.ar Social Economy.pdf

-PRAHALAD, C.K.; Fortuna en la Base de la Pirámide Wharton School Publishing. 2006

Week 2

-Objectives of the millenium and the Global Pact. Systemic abilities and thought.

Suggested readings: 

-2008 PNUD Informe MM

-Companies and the Global Pact in Argentina. Cases.

Readings:

-Yunus, Crear un Mundo sin Pobreza: Empresas sociales y el futuro del capitalismo

Week 3

-Sustainability portfolio. RSE (Responsabilidad Social Empresa), inclusive businesses and the new markets.

-Base of the pyramid: first and second edition

-Protocol of 2008, towards the next generation of strategies in the Base of the Pyramid. Cases.

Readings:

-HART, S.L. El capitalismo en la Encrucijada (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing). 2005

-SIMANIS y HART. Base de la Pirámide, Protocolo de la Escuela de Cornell Segunda Edición, 2008

Week 4

-Complementary monies: a new form of creating development in regional economies.

-Assign cases to develop in the final presentation and essay.

-Group work

-Review of work

Readings:  

-El Futuro del Dinero: La creación de nueva riqueza Longseller, 2005

Week 5

-The “best strategies” to do business in Latin America. The banks and the new economy.

-Garantee SGR (organization) directed towards small and mid-size businesses.

-Society of guaranteed reciprocity of a multisectorial form in Argentina.

-Mercantile society of a private character, conformed of a special type of legal entity in the Laws 24.467 and 25.300, also called Pymes Law.

Readings:  

-Cómo cambiar el mundo: emprendedores sociales y el poder de las nuevas ideas, Updated Edition

Week 6

-Local development and fair trade. Distrust in businesses.

-Agrobusiness

- Organisations: Alliances with Corporations’, Stanford Social Innovation Review 1.3: 28-35. 2003

-The next 4 billion. Market volume and strategy of business at the base of the pyramid.

Readings:

-LONDON, T., and RONDINELLI D.; ‘Partnership for Learning. Managing Tensions in Non Profit

-The next 4 billion. Market size and business strategy at the base of the pyramid. World Resources Institute, 2007 (Spanish edition)

Week 7

-The new business: Farms – farms for tourism,

-Thinking in the frame of sustainability. This option includes businesses, tourism, ecological perspective and sustainable values.

-Model farm: Ñandúes en Argentina

-Organizations: Alliances with Corporations’, Stanford Social

-Innovation Review 1.3: 28-35. 2003

-Argentine businesses: Grupo Arcor, case study

Readings:

-LONDON, T., and RONDINELLI D.; ‘Partnership for Learning. Managing Tensions in Non -Profit

Week 8

-Wine and tourism. Wine and the wine business.

Readings:

-MILSTEIN, M., HART, S. and LONDON, T.; ‘Revolutionary Routines’, in Handbook of Transformative Cooperation – New Designs and Dynamics, Piderit, S.K., R. E. Fry and D. L. Cooperrider (Editors) (Stanford-CA: Stanford University Press); 2007

-Business logistics. Andreani, case study

Week 9

-Base organizations. Local cultures and ways of life. Design for sustainability.

-Water challenges. Case study.

Readings:  

-UNIVERSIDAD DELF. The Fisrt Learning Experience of Designing for the BoP. 2010

-WRI-Instituto de Recursos Mundiales. Raíces de la Resistencia, www.wri.org 2008

Week 10

-The frontier. Social capital as a new way of doing business and showing the difference.

-Socially responsible businesses. Social economy and inclusion.

-The “best practices”. Chain of value and the creation of networks.

Readings:

-RAINEY, D.; Sustainable Development and Enterprise Management: Creating Value through Business Integration, Innovation and Leadership. Oxford University at its colloquium on “Regulating Sustainable Development: Adapting to Globalization in the 21st Century”-August 8 through 13, 2004

-Negocios Inclusivos. IARSE - Fundación Avina edición primera. 2009

Week 11

-Creating change in culture. Leadership, corporate volunteerism.

-Case of Tom’s of Maine.

-Special research: CEADS Consejo Empresarial Mundial para el Desarrollo Sostenible (WBCSD).

-Social responsibilyt and poverty.

Week 12

-Development of business networks: activities, resources and bonding.

-FPVS Case of the foundation: material and class discussion.

-Best practices. Basing their work in developed models, the students will work on their presentations for their final project.

-Group work in class.

Readings:  

-HAKANSSON, H and SNEHOTA, I. Developing Relationships in Business Networks. Routeledge Publications, London. 1995

Week 13

-New social pact. Innovative businesses, local businesses, savings groups, microcredit applied to construction companies.

-Sustainable financing. Microfinance.

-Investing challenges. Fundraising, searching for funding and coordinating capital.

Readings: 

-BRUGMANN AND C.K. PRAHALAD. Cocreating Business’s. New Social Compact, 2007

-NEW VENTURES- WRI On the frontiers of finance. Scaling up investment in Sustainable Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries, 2009

Week 14

-New focuses for Markets of Low Income.

-Emerging markets and emerging models. Business models that function, that  have success.

-Technique: payment for use, solution to the challenges of world poverty.

Readings:

-Kubzansky y otros. Emerging Markets, Emerging Models, www.monitor.com 2009

Week 15

-Final documents: group discussion: What is the best way to do business?

-First round of final presentations: Conclusions.

-Second presentation end of final round conclusions.

-Global conclusions

Course Evaluation

In agreement with the policies of the University of Belgrano the student can only have a 25% absence rate. The percentage of attendance that is required in order to take the final exam is 75%. Any trip or excursion that is not planned in the calendar is part of the 25% absence.

• Participation 20%
• Oral Presentations 15%
• Midterm 25%
• Group presentation 20%
• Final exam 20%

Bibliography (Text and Materials)

Required Text:

• Cuadernillo del curso. Griselda Lassaga, ed.

Bibliography:

• GROWING INCLUSIVE BUSINESS "Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor"- www.growinginclusivemarkets.org .Global report 2008 ISBN 978-92-1-126224-7
• HART, S.L. Capitalism at the Crossroads (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing). 2005 Book ISBN 10: 0-13-613439-4 ISBN-13: 978-0-13-613439-8
• KANDACHAR, P; Sustainability Challenges at the Base of the Pyramid. Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield. 2008 ISBN 978-1-906093-11-2
• HAKANSSON, H and SNEHOTA, I. Developing Relationships in Business Networks.Routledge Publications, London. 1995 ISBN-10: 1861522355 ISBN-13: 978-1861522351
• PRAHALAD, C.K.; Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Eradicating Poverty through Profits. Wharton School Publishing. 2006 ISBN-10: 0131467506; ISBN-13:978-0131467507
• SENGE, P; SCHARMER, O; JAWORSKI, J and FLOWERS, B. S.; Presence: Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society. Doubleday, Random House, New York. 2004 ISBN: 0-385-51624
• SIMANIS, E. and HART S.; The Base of the Pyramid Protocol BOP Strategy, 2nd ed. Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Johnson School of Management. Cornell. 2008 ISBN 978-1-906093-11-2
• WRI- World Resources Institute. Roots of Resilience, Growing the Wealth of the Poor.
• www.wri.org 2008 ISBN 978-1-56973-729-3

Contact Information:

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