Organisations, Ethics and Society

This subject is not offered in 2016.

3 hours per week plus a minimum of 6 hours per week in self directed study.

MGMT20001 Organisational Behaviour

None

Please refer to Prerequisites and Corequisites.

None

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject critically examines the ways in which business organisations affect and are affected by the wider society in which they operate. That 'wider society' includes governments, communities, the natural environment and other stakeholders. It also includes global and local trends and forces, e.g., advances in technology, cultural diversity, economic and political forces. This subject explores the contested meanings and practices of ethical decision making in organisations and corporate social responsibility. It also examines how public issues and crises rise and fall over time, and how organisations respond (e.g., triple bottom line reporting). Such issues and crises include corporate financial scandals, anti-globalisation protests and climate change. This subject also considers the impact upon profitability, or the 'business case', for operating in an ethical and socially responsible manner. These themes constitute major strategic questions currently facing organisational managers and researchers.

• Appreciate the variety of social, political and economic forces, stakeholders and issues affecting business organisations today at the global and local levels.
• Identify and analyse current public issues in the interplay between businesses and their stakeholders, such as social justice, environmental degradation, varieties of globalisation, and privatisation.
• Critically evaluate the debates around the ethical and social responsibilities of business; identify the different ethical frameworks for engaging in those debates; and understand how business decision makers can respond to calls for ethical and social responsibility
• Apply the above learnings to real-world cases and situations.

• A 2-hour end-of-semester examination (50%)
• Individual assignment totalling not more than 1250 words due in week 4 (12%)
• Individual assignment not more than 2750 words due in week 10 (28%)
• Tutorial participation (10%)

You will be advised of prescribed texts by your lecturer.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• High level of development: written communication; interpretation and analysis; critical thinking; receptiveness to alternative ideas.

• Moderate level of development: oral communication; problem solving; application of theory to practice; synthesis of data and other information; evaluation of data and other information; accessing data and other information from a range of sources.

• Some level of development: collaborative learning; team work.