CTU3070 Corporate Social Responsibility
| Semester 1, 2012 External Toowoomba | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business and Law |
| School or Department : | School of Accounting, Economics and Finance |
| Version produced : | 25 May 2013 |
Staffing
Examiner: Geoff Slaughter
Moderator: Marie Kavanagh
Other requisites
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/students/standards/default.htm.
Synopsis
This course introduces sustainability frameworks that businesses can use to make business decisions that strike a careful balance between corporate profits, environmental stewardship, and social justice. Emphasis is placed on strategies to resolve ethical conflicts using values-based strategies that respect the needs of all stakeholders. Students will analyse business practices to identify ethical conflicts that are a result of an overemphasis on corporate efficiency and profits and will have the opportunity to suggest alternative corporate strategies that are beneficial and responsible to all parties.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- distinguish between personal ethics and corporate responsibility
- assess business practices to minimise the risk of corruption and educate employees in anti-corruption policies and procedures
- identify the responsibilities that businesses have to customers, to shareholders, to society, and to the environment; plan values-based business strategies and actions that respect the welfare of all three areas
- evaluate an organisation’s business practices to determine what current economic, social, and/or environmental risks may exist and for which stakeholders; identify external influences that may pose or influence possible risks for the organisation
- conduct a critical analysis of business practices to determine the extent to which they are both responsible and sustainable in the long term
- recommend methods for the internationalisation of business practices in ways that are respectful of cultural and social needs.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |
All topics carry equal weighting. 1. Why is sustainability important? 2. Leadership 3. Organising for sustainability/mental models 4. Developing a sustainability strategy 5. Managing the change to a sustainable enterprise 6. Metrics and measurement systems 7. Employee engagement 8. Sustainable globalisation 9. The benefits of sustainability for corporations and society |
100.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2012&sem=01&subject1=CTU3070)
Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
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Epstein, MJ 2008, Making sustainability work: best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, California.
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Wirtenberg, J, Russell, WG & Lipsky, D 2009, The sustainable enterprise fieldbook: when it all comes together, AMACOM/American Management Association, New York.
Reference materials
Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Student workload requirements
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 39.00 |
| Directed Study | 39.00 |
| Private Study | 87.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSIGNMENT | 20 | 20 | 28 Feb 2012 | |
| CSR STATEMENT REVIEW | 10 | 10 | 16 Mar 2012 | |
| CASE STUDY: ETHICAL LAPSE | 15 | 15 | 30 Mar 2012 | |
| ARTICLE REVIEW | 10 | 10 | 27 Apr 2012 | |
| CASE STUDY: SUSTAINABILITY | 15 | 15 | 18 May 2012 | |
| GROUP PROJECT: PAPER | 15 | 15 | 08 Jun 2012 | |
| GROUP PROJECT: PRESENTATION | 5 | 5 | 08 Jun 2012 | |
| PARTICIPATION | 10 | 10 | 08 Jun 2012 |
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
If you are an international student in Australia, you are advised to attend all classes at your campus. For all other students, there are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.) -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval of the examiner, then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
This will be an open examination. Candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Not applicable. -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/search/category/usq_document_policy_type/Student.1.html.
Assessment notes
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Referencing in assignments: Harvard (AGPS) is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use Harvard (AGPS) style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/default.htm.