School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2011/12 |
|
 Credits:
| 12 |
| Level:
| Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
Academic Year |
| Assessment:
| CW 50%, EX 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| This unit is only available to students on the MSc in Advanced Management Practice. |
| Description:
| Aims: The course offers an overview of the growing field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Specific aims of the course are to: * Provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the strategic challenges currently facing companies in their efforts to link successful business practice with broader social, environmental and ethical concerns; * Offer students creative perspectives on the evolving relationship between business and a wider range of stakeholders. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students will have developed * An ability to apply a critical analysis of the hanging conceptual frameworks underlying the implicit contract between business and society and their application to the forming of corporate strategy. * Understanding of the current and future challenges being faced by businesses as they negotiate their relationship with their physical and social environments in fast changing conditions, and the key questions these pose for corporate action, strategies and purposes. * A critical awareness of the new practices and business opportunities which are developing as companies attempt to respond to these challenges, and their sometimes contradictory effects. Skills: Stakeholder thinking (T,A) and cross-sector collaboration (T). Systemic and critical thinking (F,A) Communication, negotiation, and group problem-solving skills (F) Ability to connect emerging strategic challenges with understanding of individual managerial action (F,A). Ability to see interdisciplinary connections across management curriculum (e.g., marketing, human resources, regulation, strategy and purpose). Content: This course focuses on the ways in which an increasing number of companies are attempting to address these challenges through developing practices for assuming social and environmental responsibility in doing business Moving beyond a reactive and defensive mode to the challenges raised by NGOs and other critics, forward-thinking business have begun respond by building cross-sectoral links and enhancing their internal capacity to engage in social arenas in way that enhance and sometimes transform their business. A wide range of conceptual perspectives on corporate responsibility will be explored, and empirical issues relating to the measurement of corporate responsibility will be addressed. In addition, considerable attention will be devoted to allowing students to discuss and reflect upon practical challenges faced by business. Examples of case studies and practices explored could include: * Nike's struggles to satisfy critics of its labour practices * Retailer and supplier involvement in multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Marine and Forest Stewardship Councils * Participation of companies in the United Nations Global Compact * New international regulatory challenges such as the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Business with Regard to Human Rights. * Sustainable development challenges faced by companies in specific contexts (e.g., climate change). |
| Programme availability: |
MN50386 is Compulsory on the following programmes:School of Management
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