• knowledge and comprehension of theories relating to stakeholder interaction as included in the course curriculum.
• overall knowledge and mastery of the interactive repertoires of corporations as well as civil society actors.
• ability to identify and apply relevant theories and perspectives to cases in order to obtain an analysis which goes beyond common sense.
• ability to reflect on the interactions between various types of actors on the basis of a rich understanding of their agendas and room of manouvre within economical, political and cultural contexts.
• ability to identify and obtain relevant and sufficient contextual information for the analysis of cases.
• ability to communicate knowledge and reflections in a concise, correct and theoretically informed manner, orally as well as in writing.

This course explores the role of business in society. It does so by exploring perceptions and interactions between corporations and other societal actors such as consumers, citizens, NGOs, media, national government, and transnational institutions of governance (UN, ILO etc).

The course investigates practices of communicative interaction between corporations and stakeholders, and the strategies employed by different actors to protect and further their interests.  A large repertoire of corporate strategies will be explored, ranging from reporting, reputation monitoring, surveillance and lobbyism towards more participatory forms of interaction such as community hearings and multistakeholder forums. Similarly, civil society strategies will be investigated such as sponsorships, partnerships and advocacy towards more antagonistic interactions such as smear campaigns (esp. social media), corporate sabotage, brand terrorism etc.
 
In addition to lectures, which focus on theory, the course consists of case-work and workshops, all of which exemplify stakeholder interactions in a globalized and highly mediated reality. The context (political, economical, cultural) of cases will be explored in depth in order to enable critical analysis and discussion of the communicative responses and strategies of relevant actors for each case. In  workshops, we work with practitioners representing different stakeholders to solve communicative challenges from their practice.
 
During the last month of the semester, groups work with self-selected cases to be developed for their exams, which are presented and discussed in class. A synopsis describing the case, suggesting a theoretically informed analysis of it and suggesting feasible strategic alternatives, will constitute the starting point of an individual oral exam.