Course Description:
Economic activities of Corporations are interrelated with spheres of society, politics, culture, and international relations. A concept of corporation varies depending on the countries (regions) and changes with times. The relationship between Business and Society has been changing in the last few decades. Globalization has been a positive and/or a negative impact to economy, environment, and society. Sustainable development has been demanding and widely recognized as an urgent concern. At the same time the expected roles and responsibilities of corporations have been changing.
This course will focus on understanding various issues concerning the interface between business and society. Students will encounter a variety of movements and discussions on “Business and Society”, and study some cases, mainly Japanese companies in the class. This course is designed to expose students to various topics on Business and society; 1) the relationship between corporation and its stakeholders: consumers, labor unions, NGOs, government, international organizations, environment and community, 2) corporate social responsibility, and 3) social business. An interdisciplinary approach is demanded for us to study the basic structure of Business and Society. Students are required to comprehend the field on both sides of management and stakeholders.
Aims:
To provide a perspective of Business in Society, and theories and practical ideas of corporate social responsibility and social business in global context and Japan. To enable graduate students to understand business activities from the perspective of society and to consider economic, social and environmental issues as you will relate to make a decision in business.
Learning Format:
The course is conducted on a lecture and tutorial basis. Discussion during the lecture will be carried out within the framework of assigned readings. Students are required to study the reading assignments prior to the lecture so that you can contribute and participate in discussions. Everyone will be expected to play a positive role in contributing to class discussions, and you are encouraged to share your own individual experiences from different countries, cultures and businesses. All students who wish to get a graded credit to participate tutorial. You are expected to do a 20-minutes presentation and discussion.
Course Requirements:
Attend the lecture and the tutorial; they are integral to the course. The lectures will provide the broad information on the topic area. The tutorials will help to put the information into context, and provide information for your individual coursework submission. You will discuss the some cases, and make a presentation concerning the topics that are indicated in the lecture. You are expected to read the core readings at least, and further readings as much as possible before the class starts. You should expect to allocate four or five hours per week for personal study/research.
Assessment:
This course is assessed on 50% Individual Course works (presentation & discussion), and 50% Seminar Papers. The course work should be submitted no later than 15th July 2010.