Module Description
The objective of this 10 credit compulsory module is to equip students with an understanding of key issues and debates around ecological sustainability and corporate ethics and responsibility, focussing particularly on issues of corporate sustainability and ethical supply chain management. These discourses and practices have been gaining in importance in the business world and society at large in an era of rapid economic globalization, and this module will introduce a range of theories which address the relationship between management and corporations on the one hand, and society and nature on the other. While core, standard business concepts and practices are taught on this module, the aim of this module is to also put these under critical scrutiny, drawing insights from a number of different fields, from political science and sociology to management and accounting. A variety of methods will be used in this module, from the critical discussion of theories to the evaluation of case studies.
Aims
The module has been designed to
Provide an understanding of contemporary approaches to corporate ethics and sustainability, by putting these approaches in historical and social context and exploring the tensions and challenges inherent in current corporate practices
Enable students to understand broader trends in contemporary corporate social responsibility efforts by analyzing concrete business cases, focusing in particular on corporate sustainability strategies and ethical supply chain management
Engage students in creative exploration of possibilities for managing organisations in more ethical and sustainable ways
Develop students abilities to tackle both theoretical and empirical problems regarding ethical and sustainability issues in management, through class discussion, reading, case analysis, participation, and oral presentation and assessment of written work
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the students should be able to
Understand the historical context for the rise of concerns about sustainability, ethics and corporate social responsibility, and the shifting roles of corporations, governments and civil society actors in the governance of corporate activities
Understand issues of ethical and sustainable supply chain management and the role of a variety of different stakeholders
Understand and critique green and ethical management discourse and practices, including multi-stakeholder governance, ecological modernization, green marketing, sustainability reporting, social accounting and other corporate communication approaches
Critically engage with, and understand, a variety of different cases and examples of corporate behavior in relation to ethics and sustainability
Apply critically key concepts and issues to the development of sustainable management strategies to different business scenarios
The objective of this 10 credit compulsory module is to equip students with an understanding of key issues and debates around ecological sustainability and corporate ethics and responsibility, focussing particularly on issues of corporate sustainability and ethical supply chain management. These discourses and practices have been gaining in importance in the business world and society at large in an era of rapid economic globalization, and this module will introduce a range of theories which address the relationship between management and corporations on the one hand, and society and nature on the other. While core, standard business concepts and practices are taught on this module, the aim of this module is to also put these under critical scrutiny, drawing insights from a number of different fields, from political science and sociology to management and accounting. A variety of methods will be used in this module, from the critical discussion of theories to the evaluation of case studies.
Aims
The module has been designed to
Provide an understanding of contemporary approaches to corporate ethics and sustainability, by putting these approaches in historical and social context and exploring the tensions and challenges inherent in current corporate practices
Enable students to understand broader trends in contemporary corporate social responsibility efforts by analyzing concrete business cases, focusing in particular on corporate sustainability strategies and ethical supply chain management
Engage students in creative exploration of possibilities for managing organisations in more ethical and sustainable ways
Develop students abilities to tackle both theoretical and empirical problems regarding ethical and sustainability issues in management, through class discussion, reading, case analysis, participation, and oral presentation and assessment of written work
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the students should be able to
Understand the historical context for the rise of concerns about sustainability, ethics and corporate social responsibility, and the shifting roles of corporations, governments and civil society actors in the governance of corporate activities
Understand issues of ethical and sustainable supply chain management and the role of a variety of different stakeholders
Understand and critique green and ethical management discourse and practices, including multi-stakeholder governance, ecological modernization, green marketing, sustainability reporting, social accounting and other corporate communication approaches
Critically engage with, and understand, a variety of different cases and examples of corporate behavior in relation to ethics and sustainability
Apply critically key concepts and issues to the development of sustainable management strategies to different business scenarios