• 1. Content:
• Formulate a relevant topic for discussion based on the themes and concepts in the course literature.
• Account for institutional contexts as these are covered in the course literature.
• Account for the concept of social responsibility.
• Account for the main actors of social responsibility in the two institutional contexts.
• Reflect analytically upon the concept of social responsibility and upon challenges of applying it in selected Francophone countries.
• Ensure that the discussion moves forward by elaborating upon the topics and concepts raised and he/she should actively relate these to other topics and concepts addressed during the course, without having to be prompted by the examiner.
• 2. Language:
• Present and discuss a given topic in French using an appropriate and rich vocabulary and academic terminology.
• Communicate in a coherent manner without committing grammatical, lexical, idiomatic or pronunciation errors that disturb communication.
• Show sufficient linguistic awareness and to correct any errors in the exam situation.
• Demonstrate that s/he is sufficiently at ease in the language to respond fluently to the examiner’s questions, so that the examination flows as a dialogue.

The course focuses on how Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability are being received, adapted, and institutionalized in different French-speaking countries' contexts. We adopt a Global North / Global South perspective by putting specifically into conversation a Western context (i.e.metropolitan and ultramarine France) and a North-African one (i.e. Morocco) - though the examples we will study go beyond these two national contexts. The conversation between different French-speaking contexts aims to illustrate how history, traditions, and institutions contribute to enabling and constraining how business actors’ sensemaking. 

The ideal of socially responsible business will be used as a lens for comparing institutional particularities and diversities as well as different groups of business actors and their identities.

Particular attention will be paid to the various and conflicting businesses (MNCs, SME, Social and solidarity economy organizations i.e. civil society organizations, governments, and sectoral interests) and stakeholders’ interests when business and social responsibility acquire a sense in francophone countries. We will study how the different dimensions of sustainability i.e. economic, environmental, and social are articulated. The course uses problem-based and case-study learning in different sectors (e.g car constructors, fast fashion, agriculture, tourism, mining industries). We will explore a diversity of conceptual and theoretical frameworks to analyse CSR initiatives and strategies, review its relationship with historical concepts such as paternalism or philantropy and study the legal framework for CSR and how soft law and hard law articulate.

We will place responsibility in the globalization context discussing how it can be implemented through a global supply chain and discussing it at different levels. We will use different theoretical perspectives to understand real cases, such as the decoupling between firms' discourses and practices, green, pink, or social washing.