The Doughty Centre forCorporate Responsibility: Student project ideas
Cranfield SOM is dedicated to the improvement of the practice of management. As an integral part of the School,the Doughty Centre aims to develop and then promote through teaching and practice,a distinctive “Cranfield take” on how to integrate Corporate Responsibility as an integral part of successful management practice. The assumption is that Corporate Responsibility cannot be a bolt-on to business operations but must be built in to business purpose and strategy. If it is embedded, it should produce shared value: opportunities for the business and positive environmental and social impacts.
The Doughty Centre works closely with SOM and SAS, providing lectures, course content, consultancy advice and shared research and publications. Students on MSc and MBA courses can choose to do an independent project in CR, and work with the centre, as project sponsor, on their project.
Projects
The centre has a variety of projects available for students, working with external partners such as the Global Peace Initiative, Oxfam, Unipart, and Housing 21. We offer projects to all students,including SAS, MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management, MSc Marketing, and MBA.
A supervisor from your course togetherwith a member the Doughty Centre staff and a member from the partnering organization will become your project sponsors, with the Doughty Centre able toprovide not only academic advice (for example on literature research,references, style of paper) but also advice on how to approach the project and on working with the project partner. The partner will provide access to live case studies, opportunities to interview leading companies, practitioner insight, and input significantly into desired outputs and use of the work.
Most of the projects are research consultancy based, and as such, it is important to remember both the integrity of the research and the importance of the relationship with the partners.
For further information please contact Nadine on nadine.exter@cranfield.ac.uk
Project credit and dates2010:
MBA typically gives 10 credits (100 hours of work), and EMBA gives 12.5 credits (125 hours of work). If a case can be made for it, a project can be extended to 20 credits (FMBA) or 25 credits (EMBA). For MScs for information on credits and hours for independent projects please see your case packs. Work can start before dates only if supervisors agree – these dates are a guide, as each course organises times and final project presentation as detailed in your course case packs.
·Full time MBA: agree topic February, project work April-August
·Executive year 2 MBA: agree topic February, project work February-October
·MSc: submit topic February, approved March and project work April-August
| Suggested Classes: MSc, EMBA, FMBA | Type of project | Description of project |
| MSc Marketing | Thesis or IP | 3 x IPs on brand management, responsible marketing and responsible lobbying. Offered with the Strategic Marketing, Strategic Management, and Demand Chain Management departments |
| MSc Marketing, MBA (E or F) | Consultancy based IP | Work with an SME sustainability consultancy entering a new and innovative market space to develop their marketing strategy: stakeholder assessment, market analysis, channels to market, and brand identity recommendations |
| MSc Marketing, MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Work with the Doughty Centre to develop their marketing strategy: stakeholder consultation and work with the Centre on brand identification and its communications strategy |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Thesis or IP | Embedding/integrating CR into an organization: Developing a case study to further ongoing research |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Explore how businesses can use data from a global peace organisation's database for contribution to existing risk assessment exercises for foreign locations |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Research and write case studies of SMEs involved in a UK SME-wide sustainability programme for best practice sharing on drivers and obstacles for embedding sustainability |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Do a feasibility study on the location of a retirement village near a UK university campus based on US experience, for a elderly housing social enterprise |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Thesis or research consultancy IP | Evaluating learning from a large charity's partnerships with a leading UK business, with recommendations for managing partnerships in the future |
| MSc, MBA (E or F) | Thesis or research based IP | Stakeholder governance: As part of a wider research project, research into different forms on how stakeholders participate in corporate decision-making |
| MBA (E or F) | Thesis or IP | Social innovation and social intrapreneurs: develop case studies on how intrapreneurs create social, environmental and commercial value |
| MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Analyse the evolution, activities and impact of a CR coalition (either in Philippines or Spain - Spanish language needed) |
| MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Work with a local charity by tapping into the experience and feedback from their volunteers to explore how to improve performance and effectiveness of NGOs and charities |
| MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Research and develop first draft of a good practice how to guide for how businesses develop knowledge management systems (KMS) for corporate responsibility and sustainability, or incorporate CR into existing KMS |
| MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | Explore a leading global organisation use of their knowledge management system to engage employees on sustainability, with recommendations for improvements and sharing their best practice for others to learn from |
| MBA (E or F) | Research based IP | China IBE: write with the Doughty Centre a think-piece expanding SustainAbility's guide to China (if possible with case study) |