• Be able to apply different theories and perspectives to analyze and evaluate specific responsibility challenges, such as doing business in a ‘corrupt’ environment, championing equal rights in a ‘despotic’ milieu, and being sensitive to culturally-established practices that contradict the values of the corporation.
• Be able to compare and combine theories and frameworks to draw out implications and provide inputs for developing the business case a firm’s social responsibility strategy.
• Be able to present a comprehensive, critical and reflexive ‘social responsibility mapping’ of a firm, in terms of the firm’s CSR values, practices, strategies and shortcomings.
• Be able to describe and classify different analytical frameworks and concepts in relation to the supply chain management principles.
• Be able to critically appraise and evaluate the various supply chain management constructs and their linkages to firm performance.
• Be able to develop capabilities to apply chain management concepts into their own and other business contexts and reflect upon to the role of SCM in their organizations and other business contexts.

The purpose for this module is to explore, evaluate and critically appraise the ways in which leading corporations manage their business and supply chain operations through a number of lenses.  Initially, the module will identify and discuss a range of social and ethical paradigms within the domain of corporate responsibility.  It will then continue by examining emerging business models for supply chain management and the implications for shareholder value and environmental impacts.  By doing so, the module will provide delegates with a comprehensive understanding of corporate responsibility and effective supply chain management from both commercial and sustainability standpoints.

Corporations are expected to contribute to the social environment they are functioning within today. By concentrating on the diverse ways that social values manifest themselves in society, the course aims to familiarize course participants with various approaches and perspectives in evaluating a firm’s responsibility towards its employees, customers, business partners, competitors, society, the environment, and even the world. The objective is to provide an honest and holistic understanding of the complex relationships between business and society, which have tremendous implications for human resource management, marketing, internationalization, investor relation management, and other activities of the firm. This course takes a cross-disciplinary – including philosophy, sociology, anthropology and management – approach.

Further, many of the social, ethical and environmental issues can be attributed to supply chain operations.  While this is the case, supply chains are also increasingly being seen as a key to unlock customer value and gain completive advantage.  However, effective management of supply chains is often difficult due to their complex and dynamic nature which therefore necessitates a business wide, co-ordinated and integrated response.  Consequently, a key objective of this module is to explore the concepts and principles that companies exploit to gain competitive advantage through their supply chain operations while maintaining good corporate and environmental citizenship.

The course will have resonance with those students from both product and service backgrounds, as many of the concepts discussed will be applicable in either context.  More specifically, the course will provide tools and techniques for improving the performance of operations which can equally be applied. 

Syllabus will be available, well in time, before the first session.