Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Business

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• contribute successfully to a peer work group;
• confidently present a particular course of action and justify it with reference to theoretical literature and relevant examples;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• present convincing and well-argued cases for particular CSR-related decisions;
• critically evaluate existing CSR initiatives, and appropriate courses of managerial action from a range of alternatives;
• be aware of, and understand, the appropriate relevant research literature;
• apply logical and critical analysis to complex ethical issues;
• synthesise information and write and debate analytically on the subject.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the changing role and expectations of business in society;
• the extent to which business can meet the challenges of sustainable development;
• the strategic significance of CSR for business;
• how CSR is being practiced in various organisations;
• the role and importance of non-financial reporting.
• the relevance of stakeholder theory and the role and importance of CSR in 21st Century organisations;

Historical context, theoretical overview of CSR, stakeholder theory and stakeholder management; Institutional theory, Cross cultural issues, partnerships with NGOs, Sustainability issues: how business is responding to the challenge of sustainable development; Role of finance-related metrics e.g. Dow Jones sustainability index, FTSE4Good. Initiatives such as UN Global Compact, Ethical Trading Initiative; Sustainable business modules, Strategic CSR – business case for CSR, reputation risk; CSR in global supply chains; Ethical investment; Trade, labour and corporate citizenship in a globalising world; Introduction to ethical theories. Application of ethics to real life business dilemmas; Applied CSR: Case studies: how companies and industries manage CSR; Standards, codes of conduct, professional bodies, guidelines; Social Reporting and accounting; Support agencies: CSR service providers. CSR and SMEs. Circular economy and cradle to cradle approaches.

Future trends: emergence of CSR legislation, shift from corporate responsibility to corporate accountability, net zero strategies.

The module will be primarily lecture-base and involve e-learning discussion groups, open debate, case studies, group work, and videos. You will be expected to actively participate in the learning process, using Blackboard or other facilitative media.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

In-class activities

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: You will work in groups to discuss issues and content covered in lectures and weekly learning blogs
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.