Advanced Seminar F&A: Organizations with Purpose
| Seminar leader | Nikolai Brosch |
| Contact | Christoph Ratay |
| Course language | German |
| Credit points (ECTS) | 6 |
| Participants | max. 10 |
Description & Course objectives
Academics, business leaders, investors, employees among others increasingly call for a (re)definition of corporate purpose beyond profit maximization to create value by contributing to the welfare of society and planet. The objective of the seminar is to offer participants an overview of current discussion about corporate purpose and give them the opportunity to examine one topic in more detail. The seminar will address current topics on organizations with purpose through a combination of theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. Insights from resent academic research as well as contemporary business practices will be discussed. After successful participation in this seminar, students will be able to explain what corporate purpose is, what antecedents and outcomes are associated with purpose and how it can be successfully implemented within an organization. In addition, students will deepen their knowledge about writing and presenting research papers.
Topics
The seminar will cover the following topics:
- Purpose definition: What is "corporate purpose" and how can it be distinguished from related concepts like mission or corporate social responsibility?
- Purpose drivers: Why are companies increasingly trying to become purpose-driven?
- Purpose consequences: What are business- and employee-level consequences of corporate purpose?
- Purpose & profit: Are purpose and profit at odds or mutually reinforcing?
- Purpose-driven strategy: How can purpose be integrated in corporate strategy?
- Purpose internalization: How can purpose be embedded within an organization?
- Purpose measurement: How can purpose be quantified and integrated in performance management?
- Purpose washing: When is corporate purpose more than “cheap talk”?
- Purpose best-practice: What are best-practice cases of organizations with purpose and what characterizes them?
Application
In the summer semester 2022, the registration and distribution for the limited courses of the TUM School of Management will no longer take place via the seminar tool of the faculty, but only via TUMonline.
Examination
Participants are required to make the following contributions in teams of two:
- Seminar paper of about 12 pages on a topic to be specified with the supervisor (60%)
- Presentation and discussion of the seminar paper (30%)
- Presentation and discussion of a practice case (10%)
Timeline
The kick-off day (April 30) and final presentation day (June 20) will be held in person. All other sessions and meetings will be held virtually. The links will be provided in time.
| April 30 | 09:00 – 15:00 | Kick-off: Introduction and assignment of topics (in person) |
| May 6 | 09:00 – 17:00 | Discussion of the research question and approach (meetings are to be arranged individually) |
| May 13 | 09:00-10:00 | Practical session 1: Guest lecture |
| May 20 | 09:00 – 17:00 | Discussion of the outline and content of the seminar paper (meetings are to be arranged individually) |
| May 30 | 09:00 – 11:00 | Practical session 2: Case presentation |
| June 17 | Noon | Deadline for submission of the presentation slides and seminar paper |
| June 20 | 09:00 – 15:00 | Final presentation and discussion of the seminar papers (in person) |
| June 24 | 09:00 – 17:00 | Feedback talks (optional) |
Literature
- Hollensbe, E., Wookey, C., Hickey, L., George, G., & Nichols, C. V. (2014). Organizations with purpose. Academy of Management Journal, 57(5), 1227–1234.
- Gartenberg, C., Prat, A., & Serafeim, G. (2019). Corporate purpose and financial performance. Organization Science, 30(1), 1–18.
- Mayer, C. (2021). The future of the corporation and the economics of purpose. Journal of Management Studies, 58(3), 887–901.
