Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society
The course provides an introduction to the concept of social sustainability from different perspectives.
When we discuss social sustainability, lots of questions arise that we want to be able to answer:
• What does social responsibility mean for the individual, the leader, the company and society?
• How much responsibility should we take for future generations and what impact do we have in our company or in our environment?
• What does socially sustainable leadership mean?
• How can we work with social sustainability in companies and organizations?
These and similar questions we will delve into during the course.
Course evaluation
The course evaluation is now closed
TN0346-10174 - Course evaluation report
Once the evaluation is closed, the course coordinator and student representative have 1 month to draft their comments. The comments will be published in the evaluation report.
Additional course evaluations for TN0346
Academic year 2023/2024
Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society (TN0346-10330)
2023-08-28 - 2024-01-14
Academic year 2022/2023
Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society (TN0346-10256)
2022-08-29 - 2023-01-15
Academic year 2021/2022
Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society (TN0346-10321)
2021-08-30 - 2022-01-16
Academic year 2019/2020
Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society (TN0346-10276)
2019-09-02 - 2020-01-19
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
TN0346 Social sustainability of work life, businesses and the society, 7.5 Credits
Social hållbarhet i arbetsliv, företagande och samhälleSubjects
Technology Agricultural Science Technology Agricultural scienceEducation cycle
Bachelor’s levelModules
Title | Credits | Code |
---|---|---|
Single module | 7.5 | 0101 |
Advanced study in the main field
First cycle, has only upper-secondary level entry requirementsBachelor’s level (G1N)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
SwedishPrior knowledge
The equivalent of general entrance requirements for higher education studies.Objectives
The overall purpose of this course is to increase your understanding of social sustainability from various perspectives, which includes the perspective of the world-wide society, the social responsibility of enterprises and the need of the individual for a healthy and stimulating place of work. You will also acquire an understanding of the importance of leadership for social sustainability in organizations. You are going to gain an insight in how enterprises can create value both for their business and for the society by working strategically on societal sustainability issues. You will obtain a process based method to plan, carry out and evaluate interventions in organizations, which are value-adding from the perspective of sustainability.
On completion of the course, students will be able to:
explain and specify the meaning of social sustainability as a concept, from an organizational, a societal and a global perspective
be able to evaluate and improve the social sustainability in the production process and in the supply chains of an enterprise
reflect upon various aspects on the theme leadership and organization in relation to increased social sustainability in organizations
follow a systematic procedure to plan, conduct and evaluate an intervention aimed at increasing the social sustainability of an organization
explain and exemplify how an enterprise can work strategically for social sustainability by finding business solutions that also improve societal challenges
reflect upon your own professional role in the endeavor towards an improved social sustainability in business and in the society
Content
The course use various modes of education in order to promote teacher facilitated learning, student centered activities as well as discussions, by lectures, seminars, excercises in groups and individually, supported by an interactive learning platform. The students conduct an extensive group work in cooperation with an organization. The teaching is mainly on-line but one or two compulsory days are situated at the campus of SLU in Alnarp.
The course comprises of both theoretical parts and elements of practice on the subject of social sustainability, and discuss concepts like sustainable leadership, organization, psychosocial working environment, global development, social responsibility of business, theories of social change and global justice.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
The course will be examined in terms of a written home exam, exercises and seminars. To obtain the course credits, approved participation in all seminars, approved project presentation and approved exercises will be required.
The project work presentation is compulsory, attending the course introduction at campus is compulsory for obtaining course credits.
- If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
- The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
- If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
- For the examination of a degree project (independent project), the examiner may also allow the student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Additional information
The course is given as a 25% of full time distance tuition course and it´s conducted at home by studying literature, doing written work and carrying out a project work at an organization. The course begins with a mandatory introduction at the SLU campus in Alnarp. All students must have a computer with an internet connection.Responsible department
Department of People and Society
Grading criteria
|
Förklara och konkretisera begreppet social hållbarhet ur ett organisatoriskt, samhälleligt och globalt perspektiv |
5 |
Kan dessutom kritiskt diskutera dessa begrepp och definitioner |
4 |
Kan dessutom förklara begreppet genom att ge konkreta exempel |
3 |
Förklarar begreppet social hållbarhet ur ett organisatoriskt, samhälleligt och globalt perspektiv |
|
Kunna analysera och förbättra den sociala hållbarheten i företagets produktion och värdekedjor |
5 |
Kan också visa prov på att kunna tillämpa ett systematiskt arbetssätt för att göra detta |
4 |
Kan dessutom värdera och diskutera utfallet av ett sådant arbetssätt |
3 |
Känner till arbetssätt för att systematiskt kunna för att planera, genomföra och utvärdera effekterna av insatser för ökad social hållbarhet i verksamheten och dess värdekedjor |
|
Reflektera över betydelsen av ledarskap och organisering för en ökad social hållbarhet i organisationer |
5 |
Kan också värdera olika insatser i organisationen i relation till den sociala hållbarheten |
4 |
Kan dessutom diskutera detta med hjälp av konkreta exempel |
3 |
Kan förklara hur organisation och ledning påverkar den sociala hållbarheten i en verksamhet |
|
Förklara och exemplifiera hur ett företag kan arbeta strategiskt med social hållbarhet och kombinera affärsnytta med lösningar på samhällsproblem |
5 |
Kan ge förslag på och analysera hur en befintlig verksamhet kan utveckla mer socialt hållbara affärsmodeller |
4 |
Kan förklara detta genom att beskrivande exempel |
3 |
Kan förklara hur ett företag kan kombinera affärsnytta med lösningar på samhällsproblem |
|
Reflektera över sin egen professionella roll i utvecklingen mot en ökad social hållbarhet i företagande och samhälle |
5 |
Kunna reflektera över vilka attityder/färdigheter/kompetenser som behöver utvecklas och hur studenten personligen ska gå tillväga för ett livslångt lärande inom detta område |
4 |
Dessutom kunna förklara hur studenten i sin framtida professionella roll kan bidra till ökad social hållbarhet |
3 |
Kunna beskriva hur de egna attityder/kunskap/kompetens inom social hållbarhet har utvecklats under kursens gång |
Litterature list
- Kursmaterialet utgörs av ett urval av vetenskapliga artiklar och rapporter som tillhandahålls vid kursstart. 1) Carroll, Archie (1991). The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons, vol. 34, no. 4. 1) Dees, G. 1998. The meaning of social entrepreneurship. 1) Delve, L och Eriksson, A. 2016. Hållbart och hälsofrämjande ledarskap i vardag och förändring 1) Kimbu, A. and Ngoasong, M. 2015. Women as vectors of social entrepreneurship. Annals of Tourism Research 60 (2016) 63–79 1) Maloni, M and Brown, M. 2006. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry. Journal of Business Ethics (2006) 68:35–52 1) Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer. 2006. Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility 1) Raworth, K. A safe and just space for humanity. CAN WE LIVE WITHIN THE DOUGHNUT? Oxfam Discussion Papers 1) Vallancea, S., Perkinsa, H, and Dixon, J. 2011. What is social sustainability? A clarification of concepts. Geoforum 42 (2011) 342–348