Course syllabus - Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship

Objectives

This is a course in Business, which is a joint course in the NordBiz network of universities. The aim of the course is to introduce a Nordic-Baltic business perspective to business ethics and entrepreneurship and give the students the possibility to work in a multicultural environment and create their own network of future business people during the course.

Learning outcomes

The student should after the course be able to:

* explain and value the purpose and the meaning of business ethics and entrepreneurship for companies and/or for public and non-profit organizations;
* apply perspectives from management and organizational theories in order to investigate the opportunities and hindrances for business ethics and entrepreneurship;
* identify and analyse the complex relation between economy, society, environment and development on local, national and global level;
* value and reflect upon culture and communication between people from different backgrounds;
* plan, organise and critically work with qualified project tasks within a limited time frame;
* orally and in writing explain and discuss conclusions in relation to the knowledge and arguments they are based upon;
* communicate and in practice cooperate with actors in the business sector and in the academy;
* critically analyse and evaluate information in relation to business ethics and entrepreneurship

Course content

The course content is focused on how companies and organizations in the non-profit sector as voluntary and public organizations handle environmental, social and ethical issues from an entrepreneurial perspective. This will be discussed in relation to different themes such as: social Entrepreneurship, ecopreneurship, experience economy and corporate social responsibility

The course will focus on how sustainable social and ethical issues are managed within companies, public organizations and voluntary non-profit organizations. These organizations are representing three different sectors in the society: the profit sector, non-profit sector and the public sector. Social entrepreneurs are often crossing these sectors when trying to change the society into a more sustainable direction. Companies and organizations, which have created or carried out new innovations to improve their work with sustainable development and ethical issues, will be studied. These innovations are not only products, but also new service concepts or business models that strive to achieve a much higher level of sustainability in business than traditional solutions. In the course this will be critically discussed from an ethical perspective.

The theoretical framework is based on organizational and management theories. The students will practically work with ethical related issues in cooperation with companies or voluntary organizations regarding their work with environmental and social issues.

Tuition

Lectures, seminars, presentations and tutoring. At the beginning of the course students prepare a group work at their home university. This group work is a report on how their home country works with the topics of this course. In this course there is an extensive use of Internet - as a place to communicate and discuss between students and teachers. During one intensive week students and teachers from 8 different countries/universities meet for multi-cultural group works, seminars, presentations, company visits and guest lectures.

Specific requirements

Business Administration 60 credits with progression. At least 45 credits must be completed by course start. At least 5 credits of management accounting must be included and at least 15 credits must be on level G1F. In addition English course B/6. Management accounting can be acchieved by studying the course Cost and Management Accounting 7,5 credits or similar course.

In addition English course B is required. Foreign students are required to submit a test of English equivalent to a TOEFL test result of at least 575 with TWE score 4.5 (PBT) or 90 with TWE score 20 (iBT) or an IELTS test score for academic purposes with an overall band score of 6.5 and no band score below 5.5. The test is mandatory for all applicants except for those from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA.

Examination

Report (INL1), 3 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)
Project (PRO1), 3 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)
Multiple Choice Test (TEN1), 1,5 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)

A student who has a certificate from MDU regarding a disability has the opportunity to submit a request for supportive measures during written examinations or other forms of examination, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations for Examinations at First-cycle and Second-cycle Level at Mälardalen University (2020/1655). It is the examiner who takes decisions on any supportive measures, based on what kind of certificate is issued, and in that case which measures are to be applied.

Suspicions of attempting to deceive in examinations (cheating) are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, and are examined by the University’s Disciplinary Board. If the Disciplinary Board considers the student to be guilty of a disciplinary offence, the Board will take a decision on disciplinary action, which will be a warning or suspension.

Grade

Pass with distinction, Pass, Fail

Interim Regulations and Other Regulations

Since the course is given in English, grades are also translated to the ECTS grading system.