2024/2025 KAN-CCBDO1009U Responsible Value Chains ‐ a Path to Sustainable Development?
English Title | |
Responsible Value Chains ‐ a Path to Sustainable Development? |
Course information |
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Language | English |
Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
Type | Mandatory (also offered as elective) |
Level | Full Degree Master |
Duration | One Quarter |
Start time of the course | Second Quarter |
Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
Study board |
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture,
MSc
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Course coordinator | |
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Main academic disciplines | |
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Teaching methods | |
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Last updated on 24-06-2024 |
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Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By the end of the course, the students are
expected to be able to:
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Course prerequisites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The most important qualification you need to participate is intellectual curiosity and a willingness to examine and challenge your own assumptions about what sustainability is, and how it is addressed in developing country contexts. Students returning from -- or intending to undertake internships or fieldwork in the broad area of business and development studies -- might find the “hands-on” approach of this course particularly useful. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Course content, structure and pedagogical approach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the last thirty years several international media and NGO reports have highlighted poor labor and environmental conditions at the base of the global value chains of internationally branded corporations. Responding to some of these challenges, many of these corporations have developed their own standards and codes of conduct and/or have joined multi-stakeholder initiatives that bring together business, NGOs, governments, and other organizations in trying to address the social and environmental challenges of export-oriented industries in developing countries.
In this course, we explore the potential and limitations of addressing sustainability in global value chains (GVCs) in relation to improving poor work, social and environmental conditions of production in export-oriented industries in developing countries. We do this through the lens of global value chain analysis, which helps us understand the transnational organization of industries, power relations and inequality within these industries, as we map the linkages between consumers, brand owners, suppliers, workers and nature in different parts of the Global South. In particular, we trace how the sustainability strategies of global brands travel through GVCs and touch down in different localities, differentially impacting upon local firms/farmers, workers, and local communities and environments.
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Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The course is structured in such a way that
theory and practice are closely related. It combines theories of
global value chains (and related Global Production Network and
Recycling approaches) and economic, social, and environmental
upgrading with practical applications to different cases, based on
hands-on and dialogue-based approaches to learning. Attention is
paid to developing the ability of students to consider a variety of
options and devise solutions to the complex dilemmas faced by
corporate executives, NGO representatives, trade union
representatives, and government policymakers that work with
sustainability issues in developing countries.
A variety of teaching methods are used in the course. Practical, case or video-based exercises are used as a basis for debating sustainability dilemmas in GVCs, together with small group discussions. Common points are subsequently discussed in a plenary forum. Guest speakers will explain how they work with sustainability in GVCs in practice outside the classroom. Traditional lecture-based presentations also form part of the course in ways that link class discussions to the course literature and related theoretical approaches. |
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Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feedback during the teaching period will be
provided as follows:
a) on demand, during office hours b) during class discussions, when students will be challenged by the course lecturers to reflect deeply on their own assumptions and views about constitutes “appropriate” ways of addressing sustainability issues in GVCs; and c) through occasional quizzes along the course for students to be able to self-assess their own understanding of key concepts covered in the curriculum, followed by overall feedback by the lecturer |
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Student workload | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To be announced on Canvas |