Sustainability in International Business: Navigating Grand Challenges

The course Sustainability in International Business: Navigating Grand Challenges within the Master of Science programmes at the Graduate School, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg.

To be eligible for the course Sustainability in International Business: Navigating Grand Challenges the participant must fulfil the entrance qualifications for one of the Master of Science programmes at the Graduate School.

Our economies and societies face severe contemporary grand challenges, amongst them climate change, biodiversity loss and scarcity of natural resources. In many ways, these issues also contest equitable and resilient societies. Grand challenges call for awareness and responsible business practices more than ever before, and the inherent global in the nature of both, grand challenges and international business, makes addressing these topics integral to contemporary business studies. Multinational companies are not only expected to engage in business, but also to act as global citizens.

The course deals with the complex relation between international business and grand challenges. The course fosters insights into responsible international business practices and equips the students with perspectives to understand and navigate a complex international business landscape under the contemporary context conditions.

Students will be introduced to a variety of theoretical viewpoints capturing different levels and actor perspectives. The course also involves practical perspectives.

On successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding 

1) describe current grand challenges and their development over time and space

2) demonstrate understanding of central concepts and theories crucial for addressing and conceptualizing sustainability-related issues

3) identify factors that drive and hinder the adoption of sustainable practices in multinational corporations

Competence and skills 

4) apply concepts and theories covered in the course to an international business context

5) propose improvements to multinational corporations’ work to address grand challenges

Judgement and approach

6) critically assess multinational corporations’ work towards responsible business practices.

Lectures, seminars, group work. Undervisningsspråket är engelska.

Learning outcomes 1-3 will be assessed through an individual written exam.

Learning outcomes 4-6 will be assessed through written group assignments, seminars and an individual written exam.

Participation in seminars is mandatory. If the course coordinator agrees that the reason for absence from seminars is valid, then the missing elements can be replaced with alternative assignments.

A failed assignment can be supplemented to a Pass grade.

Individual assignments and exams shall be written individually, cooperation in formulating text, tables, figures etc. is not allowed.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone major changes, the student must be offered at least two examination sessions in addition to ordinary examination sessions. These sessions are to be spread over a period of at least one year but no more than two years after the course has been discontinued/changed.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local rules regarding RIU students at the University of Gothenburg.

The grading scale comprises: Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E) and Fail (F).

Pass is required on all examination forms. The assignments and seminars are graded Pass/Fail.

The grade (A-E) corresponds to the total score a student obtains on the written exam. To receive a pass grade (A-E) >= 50% is required. The grading scale is tied to fixed score intervals:

A: 85-100%

B: 75-84%

C: 68-74%

D: 60-67%

E: 50-59%

The course will be evaluated upon completion. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.