Business Administration 612

The condition of the world's poor is the subject of growing attention. Global poverty is increasingly seen as an unacceptable outcome of the current economic system, and there is interest in exploring new market-based approaches to poverty alleviation. The emerging base of the pyramid (BoP) perspective aligns business-oriented incentives for growth, innovation, and profits with the development community's efforts to create a more inclusive capitalism. In fact, the relationship between profits and poverty alleviation in pursuit of mutual value creation is a central component of the BoP perspective. To explore these issues, this course integrates concepts of strategy, international business, non-profit management, and poverty alleviation to stimulate the leadership skills and competitive imagination needed to design BoP ventures. Through combination of cases, readings, lectures, videos, and outside guests, class session will engage students in discussions aimed at: 1) identifying the opportunities associated with a new perspective on serving BoP markets; and 2) developing the strategies, business models, and partnerships required to productively explore those opportunities.