CEMS Magazine | May 2011
Q.
How do you view the CEMS strategy to incorporate an increasing CSR dimension?
A. With regards to CEMS, I really appreciate the recently
increasing interest in social issues. When I enrolled in the programme, these issues were not greatly discussed yet! I really would like to encourage CEMS to continue attracting Corporate Partners from the social sector and continue developing academic content on the issue to raise students' awareness. However, CSR has become a bit of a fashion, since with increasing awareness, it markets well! But as we all know: paper is patient! It is easy to write a nice statement about CSR and the company's values when things go well and sales increase, but whether a company truly adheres to what it writes, shows, once things do not go very well or in crisis times.
Q. What advice would you give to people considering a similar path to you own? A. Working in the international development sector is very exciting sometimes frustrating, but certainly mostly very rewarding.
However a career in the field takes its toll on your personal life: moving from one country to another makes family life difficult as well as keeping in touch with friends. Contracts or assignments in the sector are mostly based on available funding from donors and governments and thus often short-term. Remuneration generally is below what you would earn in the private sector. But knowing that you make your tiny contribution towards making this world a more equal place compensates for a lot!
Claudia HUBER,
CEMS 2004 (St Gallen-ESADE)
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