Ethics, Governance and Sustainability

Course aim

This course provides students with theoretical and practical knowledge of:

• Business ethics, corporate governance and sustainable business, and explores their impact on organisational management and leadership, business strategy, and business conduct. The course critically examines the role of business in society and how this role might be fulfilled.
• Qualitative research principles and methods applicable to organisational management and leadership, building on the research content of other MBA courses.

Students completing the course develop a body of knowledge that:

• Contributes to a comprehensive and integrated application of principles of ethics, governance and sustainability to recent developments in the field of senior organisational management and leadership in international business environments.
• Provides a pathway for further learning.

Course content

Topics covered in this course include:

• Business and society: the role of business in society, including a critique of the shareholder, stakeholder, and triple bottom line approaches.
• Business ethics: principles of ethical decision making, their application in the business context and the implications for business conduct, ethics in the global business setting, and contemporary ethical dilemmas for managers.
• Sustainable business: concepts of sustainability and sustainable business, key social and ecological challenges, and how sustainability issues can be addressed in business strategy.
• Corporate governance: what corporate governance and good governance practices are, and the implications for managers and management decision making.
• Qualitative research principles and methods applicable to the field of organisational management and leadership.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Common to all relevant programs
Subject Area & Catalogue Number	Course Name
BUSS 5244	Contemporary Management Skills

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Component	Duration
INTERNAL, CITY WEST
Seminar (Compulsory Introductory Seminar)	4 hours x N/A
Seminar	3 hours x 11 weeks
EXTERNAL, CITY WEST, ONLINE
External (Asynchronous Online Discussion plus 1 hour per week of Compulsory Synchronous Discussion)	37 hours equiv. x N/A
EXTERNAL, OFFSHORE, HOPKINS TRAINING AND EDUCATION GROUP, ONLINE
External (Asynchronous Online Discussion plus 1 hour per week of Compulsory Synchronous Discussion)	37 hours equiv. x N/A
INTERNAL, CITY WEST (INTENSIVE)
Seminar	37 hours x N/A
EXTERNAL, CITY WEST, DISTANCE EDUCATION
External	37 hours equiv. x N/A

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Assignment, Group project, Reflective journal

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 3)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee. (Opens new window)

Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.