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MN20448: Business & the natural environment

[Page last updated: 23 October 2023]

Academic Year: 2023/24
Owning Department/School: School of Management
Credits: 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Period:
Semester 1
Assessment Summary: CW 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework (CW 100% - Qualifying Mark: 35)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
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.


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.

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. Guest speakers are invited to discuss the science behind key environmental issues that significantly affect business, and typically include water and climate change. 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 management systems, which are associated with business responses to environmental issues.

Course availability:

MN20448 is Optional on the following courses:

School of Management
  • UMMN-AFB02 : BSc(Hons) Accounting and Finance (Year 2)
  • UMMN-AKB02 : BSc(Hons) Accounting and Finance with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UMMN-ANB07 : BSc(Hons) Business with Thin sandwich placement(s) (Year 3)
  • UMMN-AYB06 : BSc(Hons) International Management with Year Abroad (Year 2)
  • UMMN-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Management (Year 2)
  • UMMN-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Management with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UMMN-AKB05 : BSc(Hons) Management with Marketing with Year long work placement (Year 2)
Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
  • UXXX-AYB05 : BSc(Hons) International Management and Modern Languages (French) with Year Abroad (Year 4)
  • UXXX-AYB04 : BSc(Hons) International Management and Modern Languages (German) with Year Abroad (Year 4)
  • UXXX-AYB06 : BSc(Hons) International Management and Modern Languages (Spanish) with Year Abroad (Year 4)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2023/24 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2024/25 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2023/24.
  • Courses and units are subject to change 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.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.