2013/2014  KAN-CBL_BGS  Business, Government, and Society

English Title

Business, Government, and Society

Course information
Language	English
Exam ECTS	7.5 ECTS
Type	Elective
Level	Full Degree Master
Duration	One Quarter
Course period	Third Quarter Changes in schedule may occur. Tuesday 9.50 - 13.20, week 5-11 Tuesday 9:50 - 14.15, week 12.
Time Table	Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board	Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
Andreas Rasche - Department of Intercultural Communication and Management (ICM)
Administrative Contact: Tove Pedersen
Main academic disciplines
Business Ethics, value based management and CSR Globalization, International Business, markets and studies Corporate and Business Strategy
Last updated on 04-04-2014

Learning objectives

The overall aim of this course is to gain an in-depth understanding of the different factors influencing the legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of firms, particu-larly when considering the changing relationship between businesses, governments and civil society actors. After completing this course students should be able to: Understand and critically evaluate the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate accountability, Understand how businesses, governments, and civil society actors interact and what problems and opportunities this creates, Recognize in what ways emerging legal and non-legal regulations with regard social and environmental issues impact managerial decisions, Understand how business leaders can manage different types of risks (e.g., po-litical and reputational) related to responsible corporate conduct, Understand how to identify and prioritise social and environmental is-sues that have a high impact on the company, and Examine how firms can successfully align their behaviour in the market and non-market environment.

Examination

Business, Government, and Society: Examination form Home assignment - written product Individual or group exam Individual Size of written product Max. 10 pages Includes cover page but not reference list Assignment type Written assignment Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time. Grading scale 7-step scale Examiner(s) One internal examiner Exam period Spring Term, The topics for the written assignments should be released on the last day of teaching. Students then have two weeks to prepare the written assignment. Make-up exam/re-exam Same examination form as the ordinary exam

Course content and structure

This course approaches corporations’ changing responsibilities in society from the perspective of how business, government, and civil society interact. The course introduces students to debates on CSR and sustainability, but also reaches beyond these discussions, as it (a) highlights the regulatory and political context shaping and constraining responsible business decisions, (b) emphasizes how business leaders can collaborate with governments and civil society actors, and (c) discusses how management can address selected problem areas such as corruption, political risk, and human rights. The course is divided into two parts.   The first part looks at why and how the relationship between businesses, governments and civil society is changing, and how this alters the way in which corporations address their responsibilities. We discuss how this changing context creates significant leadership challenges and how practitioners can adequately respond to these challenges. We explore answers to a variety of questions, such as: Can lobbying be responsible? What are the benefits and risks of signing up to initiatives promoting responsible business practices (e.g., Fairtrade and the UN Global Compact)? In how far are firms turning into political actors, and how does that change their responsibilities? What are the risks and opportunities when firms partner with governments, inter-governmental organizations, and NGOs?   Using the insights from the first part, the second part focuses on how practitioners can address particular social and environmental problem areas. We discuss especially those problem areas where businesses are increasingly interacting with governmental and/or non-governmental actors. For instance, we focus on questions like: How can labor and human rights be secured when operating global supply chains? How can firms prevent corruption if they operate in diverse cultural contexts? How can firms show responsibility when operating in environments where they are exposed to high degrees of political risk (e.g. in failed or weak states)?  The course adopts a multi-disciplinary perspective on the discussed issue areas, blending insights from management studies, economics, and political science. Students are not expected to have specific prior knowledge of these disciplines.

Teaching methods

The course is based on interactive lecturing enabling students to explore the topics at hand jointly with teaching faculty. Further, students will work in small groups during selected lectures to analyze case studies which provide the basis for class discussion. Lectures also include short video supplements and analyses of recent newspaper/magazine articles.