2026/2027
Бизнес и общество
Статус:
Маго-лего
Где читается:
Высшая школа бизнеса
Когда читается:
1, 2 модуль
Охват аудитории:
для своего кампуса
Язык:
английский
Кредиты:
6
Контактные часы:
48
Course Syllabus
Abstract
In an era of growing political uncertainties, rapid digitalization, and accelerating climate crisis, businesses face unprecedented challenges in balancing economic prosperity with social and environmental responsibility. This course prepares future business leaders to navigate the complex intersection of business strategy, societal flourishing, and planetary boundaries through theoretical frameworks and practical application.
Students will explore historical, ethical, and stakeholder perspectives on business-society relations, examining strategic, political, and ecological approaches to understanding the business-society-nature nexus. The course analyzes diverse stakeholders — multinationals, SMEs, investors, governments, NGOs, and consumers — and critical processes including business model innovation, corporate governance, ESG reporting, and international sustainability standards (UN Global Compact, GRI, ISO 26000). Key issues addressed include human rights, labour rights, anti-corruption, climate change, international development, and AI value alignment.
This student-centered course employs innovative, experiential learning approaches with case studies, arts-based pedagogies and practicum sessions enabling real-world application. Students develop multidimensional competencies: systems thinking and socio-ecological literacy (cognitive), empathy and stakeholder awareness (behavioral), and values-based decision-making (affective). Contemporary debates examined include shareholder versus stakeholder value creation, the evolution from 3Ps (People, Planet, Profit) to 3Rs (Responsibility, Resilience, Regeneration), and integrity in managerial practice.
Graduates will emerge as responsible business leaders equipped with a holistic mindset to drive the transition toward regenerative business models that create value for both business and society while respecting planetary boundaries.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze the complex relationship between business, society, and nature by exploring historical, ethical, and stakeholder perspectives on business-society-nature relations, and understanding seminal frameworks managers use to navigate challenges from the UN SDGs while balancing economic prosperity with social and environmental responsibility.
- Examine diverse stakeholders and critical business processes shaping ESG management, including the roles of multinationals, SMEs, investors, governments, NGOs, and consumers, and analyze business model innovation, corporate governance, strategic partnerships, and international sustainability standards.
- Apply strategic, political, and ecological approaches to address critical challenges including political instability, digitalization, labour rights, anti-corruption, climate change, international development, and AI value alignment, while evaluating regenerative business models that create value for both business and society within planetary boundaries.
- Develop responsible leadership competencies through experiential learning — integrating systems thinking and socio-ecological literacy (cognitive), empathy and stakeholder awareness (behavioral), and values-based decision-making (affective)—by engaging with case studies and experiential learning from ESG practitioners at the forefront of business transformation.
- Demonstrate practical application of ESG principles by creating stories of local sustainability champions for the AIM2Flourish.com platform, showcasing responsible businesses that address one or more UN SDGs and exemplify the transition toward regenerative business practices in diverse organizational contexts.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- 1) Develop a holistic mindset for business and society relations by integrating knowledge of seminal ethics, responsibility and sustainability frameworks with understanding of historical perspectives, stakeholder views, and international business dynamics to make responsible decisions in a complex, interconnected world shaped by political uncertainties, digitalization, and climate crisis.
- 2) Analyze diverse stakeholders and their roles in the business-society-nature nexus—including corporations (SMEs and multinationals), investors, NGOs, governments, and consumers—and evaluate their strategies and collaborative approaches to addressing ESG challenges and advancing societal flourishing within planetary boundaries.
- 3) Utilize international ESG initiatives (UN Global Compact, GRI, ISO 26000) to assess and design business strategies that address critical challenges including labour rights, anti-corruption, climate action, international development, and AI value alignment.
- 4) Evaluate key business processes and innovations for sustainability—including business model innovation, corporate governance, strategic partnerships, ESG reporting, and materiality assessments—to understand how organizations integrate responsibility, resilience, and regeneration into their operations.
- 5) Demonstrate systems thinking and socio-ecological literacy to understand interconnected business-society-nature challenges, consider long-term impacts and cross-sector interdependencies, and identify leverage points for sustainable business transformation in diverse organizational contexts.
- 6) Exhibit responsible leadership competencies by integrating cognitive capabilities (systems thinking), emotional intelligence (empathy and stakeholder awareness), and purposeful decision-making (values-based frameworks grounded in integrity) to navigate complex ethical dilemmas and drive meaningful change in business settings.
- 7) Apply ESG principles in practice by creating impact narratives (such as AIM2Flourish.com stories), implementing sustainability reporting, designing innovative business solutions, and advancing organizations toward regenerative practices that address one or more UN SDGs and create value for both business and society.
Course Contents
- Business and Society: What It Is and Why It Matters
- Conceptual Approaches to Business, Society and Natural Environment
- Stakeholders in Business, Society and Natural Environment
- Processes in Business, Society and Natural Environment
- Issues for Business, Society and Natural Environment
- Business and Society: Current Debates and Opportunities
Assessment Elements
- Course attendance 1 (individual)
- Reflective essays (individual)
- AIM2Flourish project (team)
- Exam 1 (individual)
- Course attendance 2 (individual)
- Seminars performance (team)
- In-class tests (individual)
- Exam 2 (individual)
Interim Assessment
- 2026/2027 1st module0.2 * Reflective essays (individual) + 0.3 * AIM2Flourish project (team) + 0.4 * Exam 1 (individual) + 0.1 * Course attendance 1 (individual)
- 2026/2027 2nd module0.4 * Exam 2 (individual) + 0.2 * In-class tests (individual) + 0.3 * Seminars performance (team) + 0.1 * Course attendance 2 (individual)
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- 9781000533927 - Ekaterina Ivanova - Revolutionizing Sustainability Education - 2022 - Routledge - https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=3002024 - nlebk - 3002024
- Costanza, R. (1994). The ecology of commerce: a declaration of sustainability : Paul Hawken. Harper Business, New York, 1993, 250 pp., ISBN 0-88730-655-1. Ecological Economics, (3), 251. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.eee.ecolec.v11y1994i3p251.253
- Principles of business & management : practicing ethics, responsibility, sustainability, Laasch, O., 2024
- Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics : Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1850087
- Schumacher, E. F. (2007). Small Is Beautiful. Bloomsbury Business Library - Management Library, 94. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=bsu&AN=26659637
- Sternad, D., Kennelly, J. J., & Bradley, F. (2017). Digging Deeper : How Purpose-Driven Enterprises Create Real Value (Vol. First edition). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1592336
- Sustainability management : global perspectives on concepts, instruments, and stakeholders, Hahn, R., 2022
- Wicks, J. (2013). Good Morning, Beautiful Business : The Unexpected Journey of an Activist Entrepreneur and Local-Economy Pioneer. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1850060
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Corporate social responsibility : a research handbook, , 2013
- Corporate sustainability : managing responsible business in a globalised world, , 2023
- Principles of management : practicing ethics, responsibility, sustainability, Laasch, O., 2021