The University of Toronto will offer one course in South Africa. This course is worth one full-year credit and is contingent on adequate enrolment.
MGT396Y0 Special Topics: Inclusive Consulting with Micro-Enterprises
The course has two main objectives:
1) Develop an understanding of one of the increasingly important emerging national economies, i.e., South Africa, which continues to face and address important social and economic challenges, and
2) Demonstrate the vitality of the socio-economic innovations in the townships by consulting with micro-entrepreneurs there.
Students, in small teams, will learn by working collaboratively on consulting engagements with a micro-entrepreneur. Students will work with a local consulting firm, Reciprocity, which has experience working with the University of Toronto for ten years and other North American universities. Prior to starting the engagements, students will learn about the socio-economic context as well as about consulting processes and techniques. The students’ performance will be assessed through written journals, course contribution, a take-home exam, and consulting engagement reports and presentations. The program will not only ground the students’ content knowledge but will provide the opportunity to develop transferable skills in analysis and consulting.
Prerequisites: None
Breadth Requirement = Society and its Institutions (3)
CR/NCR option: Eligible
2025 Preliminary Course Outline
Note: Rotman Commerce students may take this course and it will count as the equivalent of an RSM course towards their degree/program requirements. However, if Rotman Commerce students opt for CR/NCR, the course cannot count towards their program requirements, including the 8.0 RSM requirement. It would simply be an elective towards the 20.0 credit degree requirement
Applies towards:
- Focus in Strategy and Innovation: Requirement 2
- Focus in International Business (UofT Global Scholar): Requirement 2
Instructors
Ann Armstrong, PhD, has had a long connection with the Rotman School of Management, both as a student and faculty member. Her PhD is in organizational behaviour. Ann has particular interest in change management and sustainability. Her research focuses on social enterprises as agents of change. She publishes on a broad range of topics from creativity in teaching to social return on investment. Ann is also the co-author of several texts and has been recognized for her teaching. Since 2015, Ann and her U of T students have partnered with Reciprocity to work with numerous township micro-enterprises in Cape Town.