| Learning objectives |
The students should be able to demonstrate:
- Describe and critically discuss what sustainability means for a
company
- Analyse and critically assess a company’s information of its
sustainability policies, strategies or work against theories of
creating shared value for the company and society
- Analyse and assess a company’s sustainability strategy against
the key elements of the UN Global Compact
- Identify and critically assess how a company engages with
stakeholders in its development of its sustainability strategy and
its implementation
- Develop well-argued recommendations for a company to improve
its sustainability commitments and contribute value to
society
|
| Course prerequisites |
| None |
| Examination |
|
Introduction
to Sustainable Business:
|
| Exam
ECTS |
7,5 |
| Examination form |
Home assignment - written product |
| Individual or group exam |
Individual exam |
| Size of written product |
Max. 5 pages |
| Assignment type |
Case based assignment |
| Duration |
24 hours to prepare |
| Grading scale |
7-step scale |
| Examiner(s) |
One internal examiner |
| Exam period |
Summer and Winter |
| Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary
exam
|
|
| Course content and structure |
|
Course content and structure
|
|
The course is an introduction to sustainable business with a
focus on firms’ environmental and social impact on society. It
provides students with an understanding of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) issues in relation to organization,
supply-change management, finance, non-financial accounting and
reporting. The course addresses stakeholder approaches to strategic
management, branding through CSR, CSR in supply chains, social and
environmental management systems, CSR reporting and socially
responsible investment. Students will obtain knowledge about how
corporations integrate CSR issues in order to identify new business
opportunities, communicate with their stakeholders, compete in
global markets, and address social and environmental sustainability
expectations and requirements of firms in the early 21st
century. Beside of introducing a number of CSR issues, the course
provides students with analytical skills and theories to critically
interrogate CSR ideals and practices.
Sustainable business and CSR concerns the governance of
environmental, social and economic aspects. In a world where
corporate reputation is essential to the success of business, CSR
and its focus on stakeholder dialogue and responsible business
development can enhance the market share of enterprises. CSR
strategies may include optimization of operational efficiency to
increase workplace productivity (human resource management) and to
reduce cost associated with environmental or social risks (risk
management). The course develops students’ competencies with regard
to govern such new business opportunities to the advantage of the
corporations.
The course rests upon a stakeholder view of the corporation. Its
central proposition is that organizational wealth is created (or
destroyed) through a corporation's interaction and
communication with its stakeholders. Emphasis will be given to
characterizing and discussing what constitutes as effective
stakeholder engagement. To this end, the course will, in
particular, look into how corporate social responsibility issues
can be integrated in business through stakeholder engagement
processes.
|
|
| Description of the teaching methods |
| The course is taught through lectures, cases,
discussions and group work in class as well as student
presentations. Guest lecturers from companies and other
organizations provide the students with practical examples of some
of the challenges involved in sustainable business. By drawing on
the experience of these practitioners and on recent developments
within research on sustainable business, the course enhances
students’ abilities to analytically address the issue of
sustainable business. |
| Feedback during the teaching period |
Feedback: For the period of teaching, individual
feedback is offered during ‘office hours’ provided by faculty staff
members teaching in the course (see day and time on Learn). We also
encourage you to ask questions or make comments in class and form
self-study groups to secure peer feedback on your work.
|
| Student workload |
| Preparation |
165 hours |
| Teaching |
36 hours |
| Examination |
24 hours |
|
| Expected literature |
|
Preliminary list of readings:
- Friedman (1970):
“
The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its
Profits”. New York Times, September 13th. (Online
resource – PDF)
- Porter & Kramer
(2011):”
Creating Shared Value”, Harvard Business Review,
Jan/Feb2011, Vol. 89 Issue 1/2, p. 62-77.
- Crane, A, Palazzo, G, Spence, L
& Matten, D (2014), 'Contesting
the value of 'Creating Shared
Value'', California Management Review, Vol
56, no. 2: 130-153 UN Global Compact
(2010):”
Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership”
- Global Reporting Initiative
(2011):”
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines”, p. 1-41.
- Searcy and Elkhawas
(2012):”
Corporate sustainability ratings: an investigation into how
corporations use the Dow Jones Sustainability Index”,Journal of
Cleaner Production, Vol 35, p 79-92
- Hockerts & Moir
(2004):”
Communicating Corporate Responsibility to Investors: The
changing Role of the Investor Relations Function”, Journal of
Business Ethics, 52: 85-98
- Doganova & Karnøe
(2012):
Assembling environmental concerns and economic worth in clean-tech
markets. Paper presented at the 2nd Interdisciplinary Market
Studies Workshop, June 7-8, Dublin, Ireland.
- Arleta A.A. Majoch, Andreas G.F. Hoepner and Tessa Hebb (2014)
Sources of Stakeholder Salience in the Responsible Investment
Movement: Why do investors sign the Principles for Responsible
Investment? [SSRN,
http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2487351]
- Pedersen
(2009):”
The many and the few: Rounding up the SME's that manage
CSR in supply chains”, Supply Chain Management, Vol 14, Iss 2:
p. 109-116.
- Pedersen and Andersen
(2006):”
Safeguarding Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) in
global supply chains: How codes of conducts are managed in
buyer-supplier relationships”, Journal of Public Affairs, vol
6: p. 288-240.
- Morsing, Schultz and Nielsen
(2008):”
The 'Catch 22' of communicating CSR: Findings from a
Danish study”, Journal of Marketing Communications, Vol. 14, No
2: p. 97-111.
- Matten & Moon
(2008):”
’Implicit’ and ‘Explicit’ CSR: A conceptual framework for a
comparative understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility”,
Academy of Management Review 2008, Vol. 33, No. 2: p. 404–424.
- Mitchell, R.K., Agle B.R.& Wood, J. (1997):
“
Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience:
Defining the Principle of Who and What Really Counts”, The
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct., 1997): pp.
853-886.
- Freeman & Wicks (2007):”Managing for stakeholders”, Chapter
1 of “Managing for stakeholders survival, reputation and success”,
p. 1-19.
- AccountAbility (2011):
“
AA1000 Stakeholder engagement standard”.
- Webb, Kernaghan (2012) ISO 26000: Bridging the Public/Private
Divide in Transnational Business Governance Interactions,
Osgoode Hall Law School Research Paper Series, Research
Paper No. 21/2012, forthcoming in Journal of Transnational Legal
Theory Vol. 6 No. 2 (2015)
|
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