I realised when I reviewed my blog entries that I have talked a lot about CSR activities of HP and other corporations, highlighting best practices and showing some of the dilemmas we face when engaging in CSR. Today I thought of putting the business perspective aside and highlighting a new book on CSR which argues for integrating CSR much more into the business school curriculum. In his book ’Mainstreaming Corporate Responsibility: Cases and Text for Integrating Corporate Responsibility across the Business School Curriculum’, Craig Smith, INSEAD Chaired Professor of Ethics and Social Responsibility, argues the need to include CSR issues across different business disciplines such as strategy, accounting, entrepreneurship, marketing and finance. To integrate CSR into the curriculum in such a way illustrates that CSR is an integral part of every element of business.

I think this is the right way to go. I remember that, when I did my studies, there were no courses on Business Ethics or Corporate Social Responsibility available at the time. Today, however, more universities offer at least an introduction into business ethics. But is that enough? It seems to me that a single CSR course might dawn in the ocean of other courses such as marketing, finance or accounting. Would it not be better, therefore to include CSR issues within these courses in order to show that CSR really is everywhere within corporations?

We need young business students on board who know about CSR and who consider it to be an integral part of business rather than as a PR function. Such knowledgeable people could help to prevent corporate scandals, similar to those we have seen in the past and they could help to keep CSR in the frontline - especially in these current economic climes. As Craig Smith said in a recent interview CSR must be at the top of the business agenda, especially now.

What do you think about Smith’s ideas? Do you know any business school that has already started such an approach? Maybe those schools will become favourites among corporations when recruiting in the future.

Jeannette Weisschuh, Director of Global Citizenship, HP EMEA