Module overview
This module exposes students to the idea that firms are organisations embedded in societies, thus helping students contextualise the nature, goals, actions, and impact of the organisations of the business world. As such, it helps students build an interdisciplinary intellectual foundation to business as a field of inquiry by drawing on fundamental ideas, theories, and critical debates from the whole social science spectrum (economics, sociology, politics, management, and psychology).
In particular, the module explores developments in human thought in relation to the nature of the firm, business behaviour, societal institutions, entrepreneurship, people management, the world of work, and social stratification. It examines debates about the importance of institutions and the state for economic growth and development, and also explores geographical dimensions of institutional and policy diversity. It therefore examines important historical and geographical processes necessary for business operations and economic prosperity.
By the end of the module students will have a powerful set of interdisciplinary thinking tools by which to interpret events of the past, the present, and visions of the future. The overarching aim of the module is to establish business management as an intellectually stimulating and liberal subject which affords students a powerful and enlightening understanding of how businesses affect and are affected by society, its people, and its institutions.