TEACHING

Ivey's teaching approach employs the case study method, a cross-enterprise focus, and the Think-Act-Lead orientation to equip students with the skills and resources needed to become decision makers and managers in the global economy. These core principles and activities also prepare MBA students to manage the social and environmental issues that are increasingly important.

The case method focuses on issues. Case studies immerse students in real-world problems that do not fit into functional silos. It allows students to immediately examine the business world from the perspective of a business person. Social and environmental issues are central to many of these cases. Addressing these issues through this method allows a holistic approach to decision making that accommodates all aspects of the triple bottom line, rather than focusing strictly on the fiscal bottom line. The discussion moves freely and students are encouraged to think outside the financial box.

Our focus on cross-enterprise leadership helps to ensure that the professors who facilitate the case discussions are open to social and environmental issues surfacing. Cross-enterprise leadership encourages students to think about the business issue, not in a silo, but its relationship to other functions in the firm, other firms in its network, and its relationship to government, society, and the environment. To facilitate this, several cases in the program are taught with multiple faculty members in the classroom to ensure that students recognize the breadth of issues pertinent to business decisions.

The Ivey in-class experience is a dynamic, high energy learning environment led by a world-class student-oriented faculty team. We encourage students to analyze problems, but we do not end there. We encourage them to Think-Act-Lead, which gives students the skills to make a decision, implement that decision and lead their organizations. This ensures that this knowledge of the social and environmental issues does not remain only an analytical experience, but one that impacts students' decisions and actions. Through service learning, simulations, and interactions with real world problems our students will incorporate social and environmental issues management in all of their decisions.

This section describes the courses, cases and guest speakers that have content relevant to the Centre for Building Sustainable Value.