Module BUSI5E415: BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Department: Economics, Finance and Business (Business)

BUSI5E415: BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide students with the opportunity to study key topics in business sustainability at an advanced level.

Content

• Globalisation and the new context of business;
• new economic models;
• ecology and sustainable development - Gaia hypothesis and natural ecology, systemic thinking, complexity theory;
• concepts of sustainable business - environmental auditing and management, product stewardship;
• political and legal status of organisations;
• stakeholder capitalism - leadership, governance and accountability;
• ethical responsibilities of corporations;
• the post-corporate world;
• new meanings of work;
• beyond materialist assumptions;
• the soul at work.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module, students will:
• have gained knowledge of current thinking on sustainable business, new economic approaches, globalisation, human needs in the workplace, diversity and corporate citizenship.
• be able to participate in the growing world-wide debate on the responsibilities and purposes of business.

• By the end of this module, students will:
• Be able to conduct action experiments in their own workplaces and have developed skills in disciplined action learning.

Written communication; planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures, facilitated discussion sessions, group work and guided reading. Extensive use will be made of case studies and business simulations. All sessions have a high participation element, and an emphasis on action-learning.
• Assessment of this module is by summative assignment, designed to: test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge; test conceptual understanding and skills of application and interpretation within the business context.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Feedback on group and individual activities undertaken during contact hours. Feedback on learning set reflections and action points related to this module.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University