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MN50478: Environmental management

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2018/9
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: School of Management
Further information on credits Credits: 6      [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: 120
Further information on unit levels Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Semester 1
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: CW 40%, EX 60%
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework (CW 40%)
  • Examination (EX 60%)
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Further information on requisites Requisites:
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:
This unit is an introduction to the complex interaction between social, political, cultural, economic and ecological factors in the field of environmental management. The unit introduces students to some key environmental issues, frames for understanding and evaluating environmental attitudes and related behaviour or organizations, and tools for acting on environmental impacts. 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, critical and interdisciplinary way.

Learning Outcomes:
Having studied the unit, students will be able to:
* Describe and summarize the main science, theories and tools related to the contemporary environmental debate;
* Identify and interpret data and evidence regarding environmental issues;
* Critically evaluate environmental rhetoric and activities of governments, businesses and or civil society organizations using the theories and frameworks provided in class;
* Construct coherent, well-planned, and sufficiently evidenced arguments to support thinking on environmental issues and activities;
* Use knowledge 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 different sources of data such as internet resources (F).
* Discuss, evaluate and participate in debates relevant to business's impacts on the natural environment in your role as voter, employee, consumer, and civil society member, and develop your capacity for active and creative contributions to public debates concerned with environmental issues
* Identify a range of issues from different stakeholder perspectives, and be able to construct solutions that meet the needs of seemingly conflicting requirements.
* Use knowledge of environmental issues to propose, evaluate, and critique the validity and scope of organisational responses to environmental issues.

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 global warming, and resource depletion. The dramatic increase in society's concern about the state of the environment, and business's unprecedented use of the natural environment has led to substantially greater pressure on business to respond to these challenges. The unit is designed to provide students with the knowledge to understand dynamic ecological processes, attitudes towards these 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, biodiversity, and sustainability. In this part of the unit, 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 different aspects of the context in which organizations seek to manage environmental issues and includes investigation of rationales for particular types of responses to the environment, regulation and compliance, individual behaviour, technology and innovation as possible solutions for key environmental impacts.
The final part looks specifically at organisational responses to environmental issues. It critically investigates managerial processes and practices, such as environmental management systems and the tools that support these systems within organizations.
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

MN50478 is Compulsory on the following programmes:

School of Management

MN50478 is Optional on the following programmes:

School of Management

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