Postgraduate Course: Business Strategy for Sustainability: Applying an Ethical Approach (CMSE11684)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course teaches students how they can apply an ethical lens and develop business strategies to address major societal challenges such as climate change and inequality. |
| Course description |
The course introduces fundamental practices of developing business strategies aimed at delivering valuable products or services. It also covers key concepts from ethical theories (e.g., deontological ethics, utilitarianism) and sustainable development (e.g., TBL framework, SDG, green growth, degrowth). Building on this foundation, the course discusses how ethical reasoning and practices of developing a business strategy can be applied in a strategy process to define economic, ecological, and social goals, as well as the actions required to achieve them.
The course organiser will teach students how to apply an ethical lens and develop business strategies to address major societal challenges such as climate change and inequality in various ways, contributing to different pathways toward a more sustainable society (e.g., green growth, degrowth). In team projects, students will apply learnings from lectures and seminars to develop original business ideas, integrate strategic and ethical thinking, and undertake strategic analysis and strategy formulation to tackle a grand challenge. Tutorials provide teams with feedback on project progress and guidance from the course organiser. The course will enhance both students' understanding and practical skills.
Outline content
The course consists of three sections:
Business strategy, society, and ethics
Strategic Analysis
Strategy formulation and decision making
Student learning experience
The course organiser combines in-person lectures, seminars, tutorials, and group projects.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is available to students on MSc Global Strategy and Sustainability and MSc Management.
Due to the pedagogical nature of the course (intensive and continuous group activities), students must be enrolled by Friday before the first lecture starts and cannot switch out after this deadline. This requirement ensures group stability and protects the learning experience for all students. The course organiser will hold an introductory meeting with Management students, so that they can make an informed decision. Students must ensure they are aware of these enrolment requirements if selecting the course as an option. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 2 (Sem 1) |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
84 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Project Report (Individual) - 2,000 words - Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,2,4 |
| Feedback |
Formative: Feedback will be provided throughout the course.
Summative: Feedback will be provided on assessments within agreed deadlines. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand, critically discuss, and apply practices, tools and concepts of strategic management, ethics, and sustainability.
- Understand and critically discuss dynamics between different organisational strategies and different forms of societal change.
- Manage work within teams.
- Demonstrate the ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity by specifying problems and the systematic development of a strategy to manage these problems in a reflexive fashion showing both awareness of competing arguments for different options and skills of convincing others that the developed strategy is the right one.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Practice: Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Apply creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, sustainable and responsible business solutions to address social, economic and environmental global challenges.
Work with a variety of organisations, their stakeholders, and the communities they serve - learning from them, and aiding them to achieve responsible, sustainable and enterprising solutions to complex problems.
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
Critically evaluate and present digital and other sources, research methods, data and information; discern their limitations, accuracy, validity, reliability and suitability; and apply responsibly in a wide variety of organisational contexts.
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| Keywords | Business strategy,ethics strategic analysis,strategy formulation,strategic decision-making |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Marc Krautzberger
Tel:
Email: Marc.Krautzberger@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Tamara Turford
Tel: (0131 6)50 8074
Email: Tamara.Turford@ed.ac.uk |
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