MKTG230-21S1 (C) Semester One 2021

Business, Society and the Environment

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 22 February 2021
End Date: Sunday, 27 June 2021
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 7 March 2021
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 14 May 2021

Description

This course is a general introduction to the changing responsibilities of business to society and the environment. This course is designed to 1) help you to understand current perspectives on the impact of business on climate change globalisation, and consumerism, and, 2) to help you analyse and develop ways in which business organisations respond ethically to the needs of society and the environment. Each of the topics is addressed at a global, national and organisational level.

This is a blended learning course and as such has some face-to-face lectures, with some online only classes to give you more flexibility towards the end of the semester. This course taps into various disciplines with the aim of creating not only a holistic overview that more accurately reflects the kaleidoscopic nature of sustainability within the context of business, but also combines insights from different disciplines in order to suggest concrete practical and viable solutions to environmental and social problems we are facing. This course allows you to get a taste of these disciplines and to learn what you can do in your own career to address the challenges of reconciling business with environmental and social sustainability. The course is designed to provide a brief overview of the roles that business, globalization, consumerism and environmentalism play in today’s world, with particular focus on sustainability.

Workload
The estimated workload breakdown for MGMT-MKTG230S1 is:

Lectures 24
Online Lessons 7
Final Exam 3
Analysis and Letter Assignment 40
Volunteering Assignment 41
Lecture Preparation 35
Total 150 hours

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of the course you should be able to:
  • Identify and discuss forces that shape business activities and vice-versa. In particular, these include environment, consumerism and globalisation.
  • Identify and discuss conflicting ideologies of the social and environmental responsibilities of business and how these affect business practices.
  • Identify useful and successful practices for responding to the needs of society and the environment.
  • Evaluate such practices in relation to a sample of New Zealand companies.

    B.Com. Learning Goals
    1) Graduates can demonstrate advanced knowledge of their selected subject major, informed by the broader context of commerce.
  • Students will understand the broader context of commerce through a global, environmental and consumption lens.
    2) Graduates are able to use analytical thinking and problem-solving skills to address specific problems.
  • Students will be able to analyse a specific environmental issue, such as climate change, and convincingly present the facts on such an issue in a way that is relevant to business.
    3) Graduates can understand issues from a range of ethical, global and multicultural perspectives.
  • Students can identify the implications of key personal and business decisions for a range of stakeholders, including the environment.
    4) Graduates are able to communicate effectively both orally and in written form.
  • Written and oral communication is assessed in this course.

    Learning Objectives
  • Students have an in-depth understanding of their majoring subject and are able to critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within the discipline.
  • Students have a broad understanding of the key domains of commerce.
  • Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers which can be used in a range of applications.
  • Students will be aware of and understand the nature of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its relevance to their area of study and/or their degree.
  • Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.

    For quality assurance purposes the School is required to hold on record a number of assessment pieces as examples of differing standards of work. If you have any objections to the school holding your assessment for this purpose then email the course coordinator to ensure your assignment is not used for this purpose.
    • University Graduate Attributes

      This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

      Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

      Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

      Employable, innovative and enterprising

      Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.

      Biculturally competent and confident

      Students will be aware of and understand the nature of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its relevance to their area of study and/or their degree.

      Globally aware

      Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.

Prerequisites

Any 60 points

Restrictions

Equivalent Courses

Timetable Note

Lecture notes will be uploaded on Learn and lectures delivered in class will be recorded. Please note that online lectures will not be recorded!

Assignment Help Drop-in Sessions: Drop-in Sessions will be run by Afshin Tanouri on designated Thursdays in Room 005 Rehua (as noted in the schedule above). Visit Afshin to discuss progress on your assignments, and address any questions you have about the assignments. Afshin will be available for the three weeks prior to each assignment, and for two weeks prior to the In-class Test.

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Diane Mollenkopf

Lecturer

Afshin Tanouri

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Analysis and Letter 22 Mar 2021 30% Analysis and Letter
Volunteering 10 May 2021 30% Volunteering
Online Classes 10% Online Classes
In-Class Test 01 Jun 2021 30% In-Class Test


Assessment in this course is designed to measure the extent to which a student is able to recognise and apply business concepts. It is also intended to reward those who:
• Consistently do the readings and other assessment on schedule,
• Regularly attend lectures
Weightings and descriptions of the various pieces of assessment are as follows:

Analysis and Letter – 30%: 2500 words (+/- 10%) not including your reference list
For this assessment you will write an analysis on an important aspect of business that negatively impacts society. You will analyse the issue and its impact as well as potential solutions to the issue. Along with this analysis you will also be assessed on a draft letter directed at a company/the Government/a local body that tries to convince them to adopt your solution. You will not be sending these letters unless the lecturer identifies particularly exemplary ones.

Volunteering Reflection – 30%: 2500 words (+/- 10%) not including your reference list
For this assessment you will sign up to and then participate in one volunteering event during the semester. Some options for volunteering (though you may come up with your own ideas too) are: Student Volunteer Army https://www.sva.org.nz Volunteering Canterbury https://volcan.org.nz and Christchurch City Council https://www.ccc.govt.nz/parks-and-gardens/volunteer After your experience, you will write a reflective paper relating theory and concepts from the course to your experience.

Online Lessons – 10%
As this is a blended learning class, some of your classes take place online instead of face-to-face. This gives you more flexibility with when you would like to undertake the classes. Online classes are scheduled as per the lecture outline. You will need to undertake these interactive lessons on Learn by the due date. However, all of these classes will be available from week 1. We encourage you to look forward in your schedule and undertake them before the due date to lighten your stress levels. Each of the online classes is worth 5% of your final grade.

In-Class Test – 30%
The test will be based on a case study, to which you address the issues presented. The test will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge level of concepts and issues discussed throughout the semester, and support ideas for possible remedies.

Grading
The marks for each piece of assessment may be standardized before a final grade is determined.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Kopnina, Helen , Blewitt, John, Taylor and Francis; Sustainable business : key issues ; Second edition; Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis, 2018.

This course is heavily based on the following textbook. You are strongly encouraged to purchase one and make the most of it during this course. This textbook will be prescribed again next year which gives you an opportunity to re-sell to one lucky student the following year.

Lecture notes will be uploaded on Learn and lectures delivered in class will be recorded. Please note that online lectures will not be recorded!

Notes

Class Representative
A class representative may be asked to volunteer in the first few weeks of class. Any problems with the course can be raised with the class rep. Their email can be found at UCSA. The class representative will take up any issues raised by class members with the lecturer concerned as they occur.

Departmental Academic Policies
A summary of Departmental academic policies on course grading, special considerations, etc. is available under: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/business/departments/. The Department assumes that you have read this document.

You should also read the following:
• UC Business School Student Handbook on the UC Business School Students Learn page https://learn.canterbury.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=7744
General Course and Examination Regulations http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/regulations/general/general_regs_enrolment_courses.shtml

Dishonest Practice
The University of Canterbury considers cheating and plagiarism to be serious acts of dishonesty. All assessed work must be your own individual work unless specifically stated otherwise in the assessment guidelines. Material quoted from any other source must be clearly acknowledged. You must not copy the work of another person (student or published work) in any assessment including examinations, tests and assignments. Any person, who is found to have copied someone else's work, or to have allowed their work to be copied, will receive a fail grade for that piece of assessment and may face disciplinary action which may lead to a fine, community service or exclusion from the university.

IMPORTANT: Where there are concerns regarding the authorship of written course work, a student can be required to provide a formal, oral explanation of the content of their work.

Citations and referencing

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $831.00

International fee $3,875.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Management, Marketing and Tourism .

All MKTG230 Occurrences