Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) becomes more and more important and today is included in many curriculums of top business schools (Christensen et al. 2007). However, it is different from other courses taught in business schools: While most business school modules are highly scientific and quantitative, modules in this area discuss values and beliefs and students who had few non-quantitative courses so far might feel uneasy. Fears might be further heightened by the fact that many students “view “values” as highly personal and therefore not subject to debate” (Fort and Zollers 1999). While teaching CSR to students at Coventry University, it became obvious that especially Asian students kept quiet during discussions despite the fact that a good teaching environment was created and also received lower marks. Previous research has found that international students from collectivist cultures often seem to avoid conflict and/or discussing controversial topics highlighting that some foreign educational systems discourage oral communication and independent thought in favour of traditional teaching methods such as rote memorization (Gelb 2012; Samovar at al. 2010). In a module on CSR where no right answers exist and views and opinions are highly important, this can cause problems. By evaluating data from 2 MBA classes taught at Coventry University consisting of 109 students from all over the world, this research tries to shed some light on the challenges of teaching CSR to international students as well as on the question how the teaching could be improved. The student composition in the classes evaluated pretty much reflects the current situation in the UK Higher Education section: Many courses are dominated by international students, especially at the postgraduate level (Hefce 2014). Therefore, the sample is well suited for the analysis of teaching CSR to international Students enrolled at UK universities and the analysis will help to provide suitable recommendations for improving the teaching of CSR.

1. Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility to International MBA Students Enrolled at UK Universities
Eva Koscher, Coventry University Business School, Department of Strategy and Applied Management
Contact: Eva.Koscher@coventry.ac.uk
What is CSR?
CSR Definition
The European Commission defines
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
as “the responsibility of enterprises
for their impacts on society”.
 Companies are expected to
“integrate social, environmental,
ethical, human rights and
consumer concerns into their
business operations and core
strategy”.
(European Commission 2011)
The importance of teaching
CSR to MBA students
Reasons for this study
Teaching CSR to MBA students is not
only desirable, it is necessary. Those
students are aspiring to become the
leaders of tomorrow. They must be
equipped to recognise environmental,
financial and social changes and to
develop more responsible business
models (University of Exeter 2014).
Therefore, CSR modules are by now
included in the curriculums of most
top business schools (Christensen et
al. 2007). However, research about
teaching CSR is in its infancy.
Challenges of teaching CSR to MBA students at UK Universities
What we already now….
Teaching CSR is different from other courses taught at UK business schools: While most business
school modules are highly scientific and quantitative, modules in this area discuss values and beliefs.
Students who had few non-quantitative courses so far might feel uneasy.
 Fears might be further heightened by the fact that many students “view ‘values’ as highly
personal and therefore not subject to debate” (Fort and Zollers 1999).
Furthermore, MBA students enrolled at UK universities come from across the world and the UK is the
second most popular destination for international HE students (see Picture 1).
My own experience…
 While teaching CSR to students at Coventry University, I observed that especially Asian students
kept quiet during discussions despite the fact that a good teaching environment was created. One
explanation might be that students from collectivist cultures often seem to avoid conflict and/or
discussing controversial topics since some foreign educational systems discourage oral
communication and independent thought in favour of traditional teaching methods such as rote
memorization (Gelb 2012; Samovar at al. 2010).
Research Question: Do teachers at UK universities have to take into account the
cultural background of their students when designing teaching,
learning and assessment of CSR modules?
Research Method and Sample Size
Date collection still in process, so far:
 Primary data regarding the grades of 109 international students from 2 MBA modules taught at
Coventry University
 Questionnaire given to some of those students asking them about teaching preferences.
Preliminary Results
Regarding grades
All
students:
58.31
UK
students:
64.83
Other EU
students:
76.50
Nigerian
students:
61.30
Chinese
students:
49.35
Indian
students:
56.22
Table 1: Coursework Grades (Average)
Regarding teaching preferences
Do you
like to
discuss in
class?
Do you
participate in
discussions?
Total Yes:
72.4%
“Sometimes”
European
Students
Yes:
75%
“Always”
Nigerian
Students
Yes:
85.7%
“Always”
Chinese
Students
Yes:
37.5%
“Only when the
teacher asks me”
Indian
Students
Yes:
50%
“Sometimes”
Table 2: Results from the Questionnaire
Picture 1: International Education (HM Government 2012)
References
Christensen, L. J., Peirce, E., Hartman, L. P., Hoffman, W. M., & Carrier, J. (2007):
“Ethics, CSR, and sustainability education in the Financial Times top 50 global
business schools: Baseline data and future research directions”. Journal of
Business Ethics, 73(4), 347-368.
European Commission (2011): “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”. Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/corporate-social-responsibility/
index_en.htm.
Fort, T. L. and Zollers, F. E. (1999): “Teaching Business Ethics: Theory and Practice”.
Teaching Business Ethics 2 (3), 273.
Gelb, C. (2012): “Cultural Issues in the Higher Education Classroom”. Student Pulse 4
(07).
HM Government (2012): “International Education”. Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2
25562/international-education-industrial-strategy-infographics.pdf .
Samovar, L., Porter, R., and McDaniel, E. (2010) Communication between Cultures.
Boston:Wadsworth Cengage Learning
University of Exeter (2014): An MBA at Exeter changes the future. Available at:
http://business-school.exeter.ac.uk/opmba/about/.
A viable business
model includes CSR!
SRHE Newer Researchers Conference 9 December 2014 Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom