Course Syllabus:
Societal Leadership: Microfinance and Economic Development

Faculty

Professors Andrew B. Bernard, Richard J. McNulty

Objectives

This course is designed to give second-year students a hands-on opportunity to develop leadership skills by tackling complex social issues from a business perspective. For 2007-2008, the course will focus on microfinance as a vehicle for alleviating global poverty. Future topics will similarly focus on opportunities for businesses to create both positive social and financial value - the double bottom line.

The course will span the academic year and the course format allows students to spend the fall studying an issue in the classroom, followed by experiential project-based learning in the winter and early spring. The course will feature Tuck student collaboration with Dartmouth undergraduate research and analysis. Dartmouth students who are awarded Paganucci Fellowships will dedicate a summer to researching and synthesizing information about microfinance, with the option of continued work at Tuck throughout the following academic year.

Overview

Leaders in today's global marketplace must have a strategic understanding of the interdependence between business and society. This new course is designed to provide students with a unique opportunity to explore a complex societal issue from a business perspective, with a focus on the double bottom line (the creation of positive social and financial value). Specifically, the course will examine microfinance as a vehicle for sustainable poverty alleviation and economic development. It will be structured to combine seminar-style classroom discussions and team-based experiential projects. Topics will include microfinance industry structure, risk, and growth, as well as innovations amoung a rapidly increasing number of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Student led project teams will design and implement practical microfinance tools capable of producing measurable results (e.g. a business plan for creating an international microfinance investment fund). Industry leaders will share their expertise, debate current issues, and inform team projets. No prior knowledge of microfinance is presumed. Please note that several classroom sessions will be spread throughout the fall term and that project work will continue beyond the fall. Enrollment will be limited to 25 students in order to facilitate in-depth classroom discussions and hands-on team projects.

Requirements

Attendance and Class Participation

You are expected to prepare for and attend every class. Class participation is 30% of your grade. On days when we have a case, you should come prepared to lead the discussion of the assigned questions which are based on each day's readings.

Class Project

The core project for this course is the development of a business plan for a microfinance fund. Students will be expected to scope out the project from beginning to end, to develop a work plan that requires class-wide participation, and to execute against that work plan in an effective and efficient manner. Phase I of the project will comprise the majority of the work and will be conducted during the fall term. The goal of Phase I will be to analyze key issues related to the viability of creating a microfinance fund that is both profitable and scalable. Phase II of the project will synthesize the findings from Phase I into a cohesive business plan to be presented in the winter of 2008. Overall, the project will require students to refine their interpersonal teamwork and leadership skills - including creating a vision, working with ambiguous goals and conditions, managing inter-team and interpersonal dynamics, negotiating team and dyadic relationships, etc. Note that a group of Dartmouth College students (Paganucci Fellows) has already done preliminary research and analysis in order to provide a knowledge base for the Tuck teams to begin their work. The Fellows will also be available to contribute to the class project as appropriate.

Course Outline

The daily course schedule provides a guide to the topics covered in the classroom sessions in this course. It will be supplemented by more detailed weekly memos (a la GEM), which will provide a guide to readings and discussion questions to be prepared for class. Weekly memos should be considered the "official record" of what is covered in the class and what should be prepared.

Materials

This syllabus contains required readings for the sessions and serves as a more in-depth bibliography of the topics covered.

Two books are required for the class in addition to articles in the reading packet. These books can be purchased at Dartmouth Bookstore or Wheelock Books.


Marguerite S. Robinson, The Microfinance Revolution, June 2001, World Bank Publications, 356 pp.

Beatriz Armendariz de Aghion and Jonathan Morduck, The Economics of Microfinance, June, 2005, The MIT Press, 360 pp.Online Resources

The following websites contain a variety of materials and news about MFIs:

Microfinance Gateway contains research and publications, news, events and job listings for the microfinance industry.
MIX Market provides financial information on microfinance institutions.
What is Microfinance? includes FAQs about microfinance, lists of websites, organizations and books.
Directory of Development Organizations for microfinance.
International Year of Microcredit 2005 describes the UN program of 2005.
Rural Finance Program - The Ohio State University includes publications and links.
United Nations Capital Development Fund is the Microfinance arm of the UN.
Accion International.
The Boulder Institute of Microfinance.
SKS Microfinance.
CGAP is a consortium of microfinance investors, home of many articles on emerging trends within microfinance.

The Honor Principle

We take the Academic Honor Principle very seriously and have very clear policies for this course.