Course Code: C167

Course Title: Managing social and environmental responsibility

College: SOAS CEDEP

Course Director: Nigel Poole

Course Description: All organisations have objectives. For many decades, a strong argument has been made by economists that business firms have a single responsibility, which is to their owners, to make an economic return on investment. For other non-commercial organisations, efficiency is nearly always a consideration in measuring performance. But organisations have to look beyond their immediate objectives, beyond their mission statement, to consider the impacts of their activities in a wider context. These include the concerns of various stakeholders within and without the organisation, and the effects on space - the natural environment - and through time - the legacy effects for succeeding generations. As the 20th Century drew to a close, these secondary' responsibilities became important drivers of organisational strategy, often as a response to the spotlight shone by the media and activist organisations.

Much of the modern literature about managing social and environmental responsibilities concerns business firms and their contribution to sustainable development. Another feature of the evolving ethical landscape is that many other types of organisations besides business firms are being subjected to the same searching analysis: even activist organisations are having to account for their wider social impacts such as employment policies, and environmental impacts such as waste management and carbon emissions.

How these wider social and environmental responsibilities are conceived and managed by diverse organisations in an environmentally fragile global context is what this course is about. The thinking and concepts which underlie the analysis of the changing moral environment can be traced back to the work of the philosophers of earlier centuries and millennia. The course aims to present the key moral theories, concepts and approaches underlying the management of organisational responsibilities and to discuss how organisations can integrate social and environmental responsibilities within strategies and policies. It will introduce the social and environmental responsibilities and relationships between organisations and their stakeholders and explain the management tools and reporting processes whereby organisations engage with, and communicate to, their stakeholders.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Discuss and criticise the arguments concerning the moral responsibilities of contemporary organisations for managing social and environmental impacts

• Explain the organisational practices and tools for managing internal and external social and environmental responsibilities

• Interpret the demands of stakeholders for voluntary and mandatory social and environmental management standards, practices and certification

• Identify how organisations can engage with stakeholders and policy makers to fulfil their social and environmental responsibilities

Assessment: Exam 100%

Course Credit: All SOAS CeDEP short course students receive a certificate of completion. Students of SOAS CeDEP Short Courses who may wish to transfer credit to Certificate, Diploma or Masters-level programmes are advised to select short courses which also act as Core Modules on CeDEP's various programmes.

Course Study Hours/Duration: 240 hrs over 35 weeks

Schedule of Availability: Feb - Oct (Enrolment deadline prior to Feb start - 30th November)

Delivery Mechanisms: Print; CD-Rom; Online Discussion

Cost: £960

How to apply: To enquire about applying for this course, or for any other information, please contact the Course Administrator using the online Enquiry Form below