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    • Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability→
    This course is part of the Business in Society and Leadership & Management track.
    Introduction to Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability

    LIMITED TIME ONLY

    Extra learning at no extra cost. Enroll now and unlock a GenAI Bonus Bundle featuring complimentary lessons on AI fundamentals. Download our guide to learn more about this limited-time offer.
     

    Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability

    $1,850
    Next 6-week session starts June 4th
    Enroll Now
    Develop a toolkit for making tough leadership decisions with economic, legal, and ethical considerations.
    6
    weeks
    7-9
    hours per week
    5
    modules
    Self-Paced
    with regular deadlines

     This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.

    Overview
    Syllabus
    Enrollment
    Stories
    FAQs
    Enroll Now

    Key Concepts

    Develop a framework for understanding the responsibilities leaders have to their customers, employees, investors, and society
    Determine and deliver on your economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities
    Formulate a plan to address conflicts and communicate the “why” behind your decisions
    Establish a toolkit for making tough leadership decisions now and in the future

    Who Will Benefit

    Determine and deliver on your responsibilities to investors, customers, employees, and society.
    "Don't lose hope. These courses helped change my career trajectory, and I hope they do wonders in your life as well. In the end, it'll be all worth it."
    Riya Dashoriya
    Engineering Manager at Quizlet at Infosys
    Prepare for, or acclimate to, new leadership roles in which you’ll be faced with making difficult decisions.
    "For me, that connection from textbook to reality made the courses memorable, enjoyable, and interesting. Case studies were absolutely my favorite part of the program."
    Kyle Rosenmeyer
    Boise State University Graduate, Engineer, and Photographer
    Learn how to navigate new leadership challenges as you build or scale your venture.
    "I would advise that you ask for help or opinions on any topic that appears murky to you."
    Fabian Ibekwe
    Founder, Angelus Consulting and Research Limited at Infosys

    What You Earn

    Certificate of Completion

    Certificate of Completion

    Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

    Earn by: completing this course

    Certificate of Specialization

    Certificate of Specialization

    Prove your mastery of leadership and management and business in society

    Earn by: completing any three courses within either subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

    Learn More about what you earn

    Syllabus

    5 Modules, 40-50 Hours
    Download full syllabus
    12-16
    hrs
    Module 1 - 2 Weeks

    Delivering on Responsibilities to Customers

    Understand what “gray-area situations” are and the reflective leadership model to start assessing difficult circumstances and improve your decision-making skills.

    Highlights

    Information Asymmetry
    Development of Antegren
    Alex's Final Decision
    ShowHide Details

    Concepts

    1. Course Introduction and Overview of the Reflective Leadership Model
    2. The Complexities of Business-Customer Relationships
    3. Applying the Reflective Leadership Questions
    4. Ethical Practices with Business Customers

    Featured Exercises

    • Examine gray-area decisions related to customers
    • Apply the reflective leadership model to work through a crisis
    • Differentiate between customers, clients, and counterparties
    7-9
    hrs
    Module 2 - 1 Week

    Ensuring Fairness for Employees

    Learn how to make a fair workplace culture at scale that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and analyze how personal beliefs might influence decision-making. Develop techniques to combat bias.

    Highlights

    What is Fairness
    Organizational Fairness and Challenges
    Explicit Bias vs. Implicit Bias
    ShowHide Details

    Concepts

    1. Employee Considerations
    2. An Analysis Using the Reflective Leadership Framework
    3. Examining Employee Responsibilities at Scale: What Can We Learn from Google?
    4. Review and Self-Reflection

    Featured Exercises

    • Analyze your biases and reflect on past decisions to help identify problem areas
    • Consider how employee rights factor into firing decisions
    • Identify three types of fairness in employee-employer relationships
    7-9
    hrs
    Module 3 - 1 Week

    Investor Responsibilities and Fiduciary Duties

    Explore due diligence and how fiduciary duties influence leadership responsibilities. Unpack the tensions leaders face when balancing value creation for investors with accountability to other constituencies.

    Highlights

    What Can We Learn
    Briefing on Wilder's Plan
    ShowHide Details

    Concepts

    1. Theranos: Where Does the Responsibility Lie?
    2. Power and Money at TXU Corporation
    3. From TXU to Energy Future Holdings
    4. Review and Self-Reflection

    Featured Exercises

    • Evaluate long-versus short-term responsibilities through the lens of different stakeholder interests
    • Reflect on the responsibilities of founders, CEOs, and boards
    7-9
    hrs
    Module 4 - 1 Week

    The Social Responsibility of Business

    Understand different perspectives on the role of business in society and why an organizational approach focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues can—and should—be financially viable.

    Highlights

    Causality and Complicity
    The Tazreen Fire
    Purpose of the Firm
    ShowHide Details

    Concepts

    1. The Changing Role of Business in Society
    2. Engaging with Harms in the Garment Industry
    3. SA Taxi: One Firm’s Response to Harms
    4. Long-Term Value Through Commitment to Society

    Featured Exercises

    • Analyze an organization’s goals by reflecting on your company’s purpose
    • Identify different types of harms most common in your industry
    7-9
    hrs
    Module 5 - 1 Week

    Reflective Leadership in a Digital World

    Discover how the scale, scope, and speed of business in Big Tech affects leadership responsibilities and integrate your knowledge of the reflective leadership model through a critical analysis of Facebook.

    Highlights

    Intro to Protagonists and Tech Effects
    Frances Haugen - Civic Integrity Work
    Mossberg and Spar about Privacy
    ShowHide Details

    Concepts

    1. Leadership Changes in the Digital Age
    2. Awareness: Considerations and Responsibilities at Facebook
    3. Judgment: What Should Facebook Do?
    4. How Should Facebook Do It?

    Featured Exercises

    • Develop action plans to address specific company problems
    • Reflect on past mistakes and issues in tech to identify improvement areas
    • Identify your strengths and weaknesses when dealing with ethical decision-making
    Free E-Book

    How to Become a More Effective Leader

    Learn about the difference between leadership and management, uncover the qualities and skills that characterize an effective leader, gain an understanding of common leadership styles, and explore how you can unleash the potential in yourself and others.
    Access Your Free E-Book

    Upskill Your Team, Transform Your Organization

    Whether you represent a large multinational corporation or a small local business, we have a solution for your learning and development needs.
    Learn More

    Our Difference

    Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability helps current and aspiring managers determine and deliver on their responsibilities to customers, employees, investors, and society by drawing on economic, legal, and ethical considerations.
    Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including applying the reflective leadership framework.
    Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including applying the reflective leadership framework.
    Description of silent animated video above: Learner completes an interactive question by dragging and dropping choices into two different categories
    Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
    Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
    Description of silent animated video above: Learner types an answer in the discussion board in response to a peer's question
    Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading companies like Facebook, Google, and SA Taxi.
    Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading companies like Facebook, Google, and SA Taxi.
    Description of silent animated video above: Learner scrolls through video interviews from prominent business leaders

    About the Professor

    Nien-hê Hsieh
    Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability

    Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration
    “This course will offer valuable tools to sharpen your judgment and decision-making skills and help you act and lead with integrity and good conscience.”

    Dates & Eligibility

    No current course offerings for this selection.

    Starting
    Jun
    04
    6 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
    Enrollment deadline May 29
    View weekly calendar
    Enroll Now
    Starting
    Aug
    13
    6 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
    Enrollment deadline August 7
    View weekly calendar
    Enroll Now
    Starting
    Oct
    22
    6 Weeks  $1,850 + applicable international taxes
    Enrollment deadline October 16
    View weekly calendar
    Enroll Now
    • No documentation required

    All learners must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

    Learn about bringing this course to your organization.

    Learner Stories

    91%
    Gained Deeper Expertise in Specific Areas
    Participating in the student discussions was empowering. It ignited a drive within me to learn and absorb as much as I could.
    Leslie Pico
    A small business owner and tech entrepreneur from Arizona
    Programming & System Analysis, Biomedical Engineering, Estrella Mountain Community College
    Small Business Administration, Northern Arizona University
    As always, the case studies are eye-opening. The content is superb, and the presentation of the case is superb as well.
    Richard Pitts
    VP and Senior Medical Director at St. Joseph Heritage Health
    Read more learner stories
    * Source: 2022 surveys and course data
     
    All FAQs

    Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability FAQs

    What are the learning requirements, and how are grades assigned?

    +–

    Participants in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

    Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein by the required deadline. This course also features recommended weekly deadlines to help ensure your cohort proceeds through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect participation in the social learning elements of the course by offering feedback on others’ reflections and contributing to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

    More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

    What materials will I have access to after the course?

    +–

    You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final program deadline.

    At the end of each course module, you’ll be able to download a PDF summary highlighting key concepts introduced in the course. At the end of the program, you’ll receive a PDF compilation of all the module summary documents. We hope these serve as a helpful resource after you finish the course.

    How should I list my certificate on my resume?

    +–

    Harvard Business School Online
    Certificate in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
    [Cohort Start Month and Year]

    List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

    School: Harvard Business School Online
    Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
    Degree: Other; Certificate in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
    Field of Study: Leave blank
    Grade: Complete
    Activities and Societies: Leave blank

    For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

    Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability is a 6-week, 40-50 hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. It helps current and aspiring managers determine and deliver on their responsibilities to customers, employees, investors, and society, drawing on economic, legal, and ethical considerations.

     

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    All FAQs

    Top FAQs

    How are HBS Online courses delivered?

    +–

    We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

    Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

    Are HBS Online programs available in languages other than English?

    +–

    We expect to offer our courses in additional languages in the future but, at this time, HBS Online can only be provided in English.

    All course content is delivered in written English. Closed captioning in English is available for all videos. There are no live interactions during the course that requires the learner to speak English. Coursework must be completed in English.

    Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

    +–

    No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

    How do I enroll in a course?

    +–

    Certificate Programs

    HBS Online welcomes committed learners wherever they are—in the world and their careers—irrespective of their professional experience or academic background. To extend the reach of HBS Online, we no longer require an application for our certificate programs. (Applications are still required for our credential programs: CORe and CLIMB.) You can now immediately enroll and start taking the next step in your career.

    All programs require the completion of a brief online enrollment form before payment. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before enrolling in the program of your choice.

    Our easy online enrollment form is free, and no special documentation is required. All participants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

    Updates to your enrollment status will be shown on your account page. HBS Online does not use race, gender, ethnicity, or any protected class as criteria for enrollment for any HBS Online program.

    Credential Programs

    HBS Online's CORe and CLIMB programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

    Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All participants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

    Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your account page. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application for CORe and three weeks for CLIMB. HBS Online does not use race, gender, ethnicity, or any protected class as criteria for admissions for any HBS Online program.

    Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

    +–

    No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

    What are my payment options?

    +–

    We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

    We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

    In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

    What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

    +–

    After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

     

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