| Unit name | Sustainability and Ethics in Global Supply Chains |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0076 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Lopez Castellanos |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is the unit important?
The unit addresses the key issues of sustainability and ethics (including inclusion) in today’s operations and supply chains for goods and service provision world-wide. Essentially, this unit will develop relevant management knowledge and skills necessary to deliver efficient and effective goods and services in a fast changing context facing global challenges. Students will be introduced to the core concepts of business ethics, corporate social responsibility, sustainable and resilient supply chains, circular economy/closed loop supply chains, humanitarian logistics, green/environmental friendly product development, carbon taxes, carbon neutral government regulation/legislation/policy, carbon/water foot printing, reverse logistics, eco-system services and associated frameworks/models to illustrate how operations can contribute to developing sustainable competitive advantage.
There will be an emphasis upon understanding dominant ethical models in business decision-making from a philosophical perspective, the importance of responsible, transparent and inclusive economic growth in global and local environments and triple bottom line reporting for sustainable business. Important discussions will also consider how organisations are working collaboratively with the not-for-profit-sectors to respond to the global challenges and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
In the context of the MSc in Global Operations and Supply Chain Management, this unit will give students the opportunity to discuss global megatrends and how these may impact industrial systems in the period to mid-century. Students will examine the long-term and strategic importance of grappling with complex ethical, inclusive and sustainable business matters and the firm level strategies and practices involved in doing so. Focus will also be placed on industrial policy and system-level innovation that aim to drive future product and service delivery in a resource constrained world.
Content Overview:
The unit will cover those topics that are relevant for today’s global supply chains, specifically:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, independent research, and other learning activities like online simulations.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
This will include a small range of methods including in class debates and case evaluation. Additionally, students will receive formative feedback on their group assignment. More specifically, groups will be given the opportunity to meet with their lecturers for 15 min during teaching week 4 or 5 to provide an update on their progress, ask questions and get feedback on their work.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Summative 1: group coursework assignment in the form of group presentation (40%) – ILOs 1 and 2
Summative 2: 2000 word Individual Assignment, specially an essay where the student will deal with multiple aspects of a complex topic (60%) – ILOs 1, 2, 3, and 4
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis as follows:
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0076).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
