- Student Records
Programme & Unit Catalogues


MN30448: Business & the natural environment

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2012/3
Follow this link for further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: School of Management
Follow this link for further information on credits Credits: 6
Follow this link for further information on unit levels Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Follow this link for further information on period slots Period: Semester 2
Follow this link for further information on unit assessment Assessment: CW 40%, EX 60%
Follow this link for further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment: Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Follow this link for further information on unit rules Requisites:
Follow this link for further information on unit content Description: Aims:
This unit is an introduction to the complex interaction amongst social, political, cultural, economic and ecological factors in the field of environmental management. The unit introduces students to the background of current environmental issues, providing students with knowledge of contemporary environmental problems and resource issues. As such, the unit provides students with an understanding of the key concepts, theories, and evidence from a wide variety of disciplines, which comprises the main features in managing environmental issues. The unit highlights the multiple levels of analysis (planetary/global ecosystem, industry environment, organisational) inherent in managing environmental issues and the interrelated and complex nature of these challenges. The unit emphasises the value in thinking about environmental issues and opportunities in a holistic and interdisciplinary way.

Learning Outcomes:
Having studied the unit, students will be able to:
* Summarise, describe, and critically engage with the main science related to the contemporary environmental debate;
* Understand and evaluate the ethical, economic, and governance issues involved in a variety of environmental policy initiatives, and develop have the capacity to critically, actively and creatively contribute to public debates concerned with environmental issues;
* Appreciate the increasing pressures from stakeholders for beyond compliance performance in respect of environmental issues;
* Use their understanding of environmental issues to propose, evaluate, and critique the validity and scope of organisational responses to environmental issues.

Skills:
Studying the unit will help students to develop the skills to:
* Effectively communicate and defend ideas concerned with environmental issues in writing (T, F,A)
* Apply theories and approaches from multiple disciplinary foundations to environmental issues and challenges (T, F, A)
* Interpret data and evidence regarding environmental issues (T, F, A)
* Develop research skills through critical reading, data collection and the production of written work (F, A)
* Identify and use internet resources (F).

Content:
Environmental issues are of increasing salience within society. Human activity has caused or contributed to a range of serious environmental issues including pollution, deforestation, reduction in biodiversity, species extinction, climate change and global warming, and resource depletion. The dramatic increase in society's concern about the state of the environment has led to substantially greater pressure on business to respond to these challenges. The course is designed to provide students with the knowledge to understand dynamic ecological and environmental processes and their implications for how organisations respond to them.
The first part of the unit explores contemporary environmental issues at the international/global systems level. Topics covered will include climate change, peak oil and resource depletion, and sustainability. In this part of the course, the emphasis will be on investigating the scientific, political, economic, historical, and social relevance of these issues, including an analysis of policy responses to them.
The second part of the unit explores organisational responses to environmental issues. The unit examines the rationales for the management of environmental impacts in business, including the commercial benefits of doing so, and the managerial processes and practices, such as environmental reporting and environmental management systems, which are associated with business responses to environmental issues.
Follow this link for further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

MN30448 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Chemistry
  • USCH-AFB03 : BSc (hons) Chemistry with Management (Full-time) - Year 3
  • USCH-AKB04 : BSc (hons) Chemistry with Management with Industrial Training (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4
  • USCH-AAB04 : BSc (hons) Chemistry with Management with Study Year Abroad (Full-time with Study Year Abroad) - Year 4
  • USCH-AFM07 : MSci (hons) Chemistry with Management (Full-time) - Year 3
  • USCH-AKM07 : MSci (hons) Chemistry with Management with Industrial Training (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4
School of Management
  • UMMN-AFB02 : BSc (hons) Accounting and Finance (Full-time) - Year 3
  • UMMN-AKB02 : BSc (hons) Accounting and Finance (Full-time with Thick Sandwich Placement) - Year 4
  • UMMN-ANB01 : BSc (hons) Business Administration (Full-time with Thin Sandwich Placements) - Year 4
Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
  • UXXX-AYB05 : BSc (hons) International Management and Modern Languages (French) (Full-time with Year Abroad) - Year 4
  • UXXX-AYB04 : BSc (hons) International Management and Modern Languages (German) (Full-time with Year Abroad) - Year 4
  • UXXX-AYB06 : BSc (hons) International Management and Modern Languages (Spanish) (Full-time with Year Abroad) - Year 4

Notes:
* This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2012/13 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2013/14 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2012/13.
* Programmes and units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.
* Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.