BU3590 Business in Society
(10 ECTS credits)
Module Content/Outline:
The business corporation of the twenty-first century is affected by socio-political trends and by stakeholders who expect their interests to be considered in the decision making of companies from which they buy goods and services, to which they contribute their labour and ideas, and extend the hospitality of their communities. Increasingly, questions are being asked of businesses which relate to their membership of societies and their relevance to the longer viability and quality of human existence in those societies. In this context, the task environment of business has become increasingly complex as organisational legitimacy becomes a key competitive asset and as business leaders are faced with managing relations with multiple stakeholders with varied value bases. The aim of this course is to develop in students an understanding of the nature of these dynamics in society – business relationship and to equip them with some of the analytic frameworks required to successfully negotiate this environment. The subject is approach via historical, present and future sensing perspectives and at systemic/societal, organisational and individual levels.
Specific themes addressed within this module include:
- The sociological imagination
- Ethics as a mode of human understanding
- The historical agency of business in society
- The social environment of business
- The three-sector political economy
- Changing paradigms of the business corporation
- Corporate social responsibility
- The impacts of globalisation on the business/society relationship
- The individual as employee and consumer in the post-modern society
- Civil society and business relations
- Landmark cases in international business / society relations
Lecturer(s):
Professor Andrew O'Regan
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module students should:
- be familiar with the emerging field of Business in Society studies, its key discourses and themes
- be equipped to consider the central challenges of nonmarket environment of Business from a number of disciplinary perspectives
- be able to offer analyses on the Business / Society relationship at the level of society, organisation and the individual
- have gained an understanding of the impact of globalization on the ongoing development of Business and its role in Society
- have the capacity to evaluate possible organisational responses to demands within the social task environment
Lectures &Tutorials/Contact hours:
2 lecture hours per week
8 tutorial hours per semester
Recommended Texts/Key Reading:
There is no set textbook. An extensive reading list is provided. In each lecture students are referred to the appropriate section in the reading list and the relevance and value of each reading to the specific lecture topic is identified.
Assessment:
Semester 1: Assignment of 3,000 words – 20%
Semester 2: Assignment of 3,000 words – 20%
Dates for submission:
The Semester 1 assignment is due on the first day of Semester 2.
The Semester 2 assignment is due following the conclusion of the Semester, at a date to be decided.
Penalties for late submission
Students unable to submit a term assignment for medical reasons must produce a medical certificate to the School of Business Studies office within three working days of the missed submission date. Certificates received after that time will not be accepted.
Examination:
1 x 3-hour examination - 60% of overall grade