Module BUSI3412: Strategising for Sustainable Futures

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI3412: Strategising for Sustainable Futures

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• BUSI3232: Dissertation, BUSI3342: Innovation Accelerator, BUSI3422: New Venture Creation Project and BUSI3481 Organisational Behaviour and Leadership Project

Aims

• The module aims to:
• Expose students to the critical role of strategy in tackling issues of sustainability and creating more sustainable futures.
• Equip students with the skills needed to design, conduct, critically evaluate and disseminate the results from qualitative research into strategy and sustainability.
• Provide an opportunity for students to undertake extended blocks of supervised practical work, carrying out independent qualitative research on a substantive topic pertaining to strategy and sustainability.

Content

• A diverse range of topics pertinent to strategy work as they relate to sustainable futures, e.g. the role of business in tackling the sustainable development goals, strategic responses to grand challenges.
• Qualitative approaches to research into strategy and sustainability.
• Areas of application - academic, commercial.
• Qualitative methodologies relevant to strategy and sustainability, e.g., case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography.
• Qualitative research methods, e.g., interviews, focus groups, observations, secondary research.
• Analysing, interpreting, and reporting qualitative research findings.

Learning Outcomes

• A well-developed personal position / approach to strategy and sustainability.
• Extended knowledge of a relevant topic of interest in the field of strategy and its application to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• A comprehensive understanding of a broad range of qualitative research methods employed in academic and organisational strategy research.

• To have acquired skills of independent research and project management.
• To be able to demonstrate an ability to present and analyse data in a clear and appropriate manner.
• To be able to demonstrate an ability to present arguments and conclusions in an extended and coherent form.
• Be able to apply relevant analytical tools and frameworks to assess environments, organisations, and strategic options.
• Be able to locate, comprehend and critically evaluate relevant research and sources of information relating to strategy and sustainability.

• Written communication - through summative assessment.
• Planning, organisation, and working to deadlines.
• Problem solving and analysis, e.g., by designing research, manipulating concepts and applying analytical skills.
• Initiative by gaining access to relevant sources.
• Computer literacy - by production of the dissertation in word processed form, accessing literature and other sources via electronic means, relevant use of computer-based data analysis methods.

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

• This is a tutorial-based module, supported by online learning materials, and centred around the design, execution, reporting and dissemination of a major sustainability-focused strategy research project. Learning is facilitated via a combination of compulsory practical classes and small-group tutorials. In Term One, introductory and plenary lectures frame the term’s key activities and serve as their roadmap. Learning at this stage in the module is facilitated by weekly small-group tutorials in which students refine their topics, conduct initial literature searches, and design an original piece of research focused on strategy and sustainability. Bi-weekly online materials including podcasts, interactive activities and self-assessed quizzes are used to support the tutorial delivery. During Term Two, students conduct the empirical research projects designed in the previous term under the supervision of the Module Leader, with fortnightly tutorials being used to provide continuous advice, support, and monitoring of progress within a peer-review environment. Bi-weekly online materials again support the tutorial delivery. The two-term learning journey culminates in the presentation of student research in a one-day conference format, supported by key commercial and social research partners. A final project report submitted in the format of a journal article is the key assessment component at the end of the module.
• Formative assessment is in two forms: evaluation of, and feedback on, work undertaken during the tutorials; and through feedback on the preparation of the project outline, draft chapter, tutorial discussions, and the maintenance of an individual project diary
• Summative assessment is in three parts. The first component is a research proposal submitted at the end of Term One, outlining the intended project to be undertaken during Term Two. Students present their findings at a summatively-assessed mini-conference held at the end of Term Two which evaluates skills in the dissemination and communication of key research findings to a diverse audience. The main element of the summative assessment is the Practical Project Report, submitted at the start of Term Three, assessed as a scientific report conforming to a journal style and requiring students to demonstrate their evaluative, analytical and research skills in a single comprehensive piece of work.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Continuous tutorial preparation and feedback throughout Terms One and Two.

■ 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