MAN-40118 - Module Specification
Keele Business School
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Sustainability and sustainable development are in the foreground of contemporary challenges facing global business in the 2020s and beyond. The aim of the module is to develop intellectual skills and deeper understanding of the challenges associated with a transition to more sustainable systems of consumption and production.
Students will gain understanding of the complex issues surrounding development towards social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Students will work as teams and develop innovative strategies that balance conflicting needs and consequences, recognising wider considerations and using creativity to overcome barriers to change. Students learn a practical, holistic, approach to tackling problems that applies the fundamental principles of sustainable development; requires both the development of close team collaboration, research skills and critical analysis of information.
Professor Paul Dewick has been researching innovation and sustainability for more than 20 years. He is committed to providing high quality, research led teaching using innovative techniques to improve the learning experience of students. His teaching revolves around innovation and sustainability; in other words, changing for the better what we do and how we do it. Conveying the need for change to a sustainable way of doing things and giving students sufficient knowledge and skills to enable them to act in a way that favours sustainable development are central to his teaching aim. Sustainability knowledge transfer requires interactive teaching; students must be actively involved in the learning process. His teaching reflects this with interactive `lecture¿ sessions based on a problem/enquiry based learning pedagogy.
In terms of employability, the teaching approach offers students more control, more responsibility over their learning, developing student¿s learning independence and creativity. Knowledge acquired is better retained, particularly when you are charged to apply what you know in specific scenarios. The teaching approach will help build adaptive skills that are useful regardless of the career choice.

Sustainability and sustainable development are in the foreground of contemporary challenges facing global business in the 2020s. The aim of the module is to develop intellectual skills and deeper understanding of the challenges associated with a transition to more sustainable systems of consumption and production.
Students will gain understanding of the complex issues surrounding development towards social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Students will work as teams and develop innovative strategies that balance conflicting needs and consequences, recognising wider considerations and using creativity to overcome barriers to change. Students learn a practical, holistic, approach to tackling problems that applies the fundamental principles of sustainable development; requires both the development of close team collaboration, research skills and critical analysis of information.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate understanding of the challenges associated with implementing changes for sustainable development: 1,2
Explain how organisations interact with society and the environment, locally and globally, in the context of corporate social and environmental responsibility: 1,2
1,2
Undertake a holistic and systemic approach to investigating complex, "messy" open-ended problems: 1,2
Apply a framework to employ problem solving skills in examining complex, multi-criteria, issues that incorporate uncertainty and conflicts of interest: 1,2
Apply and develop self-directed learning and information literacy skills: 1
Demonstrate skills in communicating ideas and making arguments in writing and verbally: 1,2
Work collaboratively in teams, contributing to the development of effective team dynamics and project management processes:

Study hours

20 hours scheduled learning and teaching (interactive lecture sessions)
40 hours lecture preparation
90 hours preparation of assessment and private study

School Rules

Module barred combination: Opportunities and Challenges in Contemporary Management (MAN-40112)

Description of Module Assessment