Courses Exchange Display 2017-2018

Course Description To PDF
Course title Business Innovation and Sustainable Development
Course code EBC4106
ECTS credits 6,5
Assessment Whole/Half Grades
Period
Period Start End Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
5 16-4-2018 8-6-2018 X/E X/E
Level Advanced
Coordinator Cindy Lopes-Bento
For more information: c.lopes-bento@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Language of instruction English
Goals
The main educational goal is to develop a holistic viewpoint on today’s business world. Sustainability refers to the relationships between business, society, and planet. Understanding these connections, and connecting them to business decisions, is the task in a sustainability course.

There is a personal and skill development aspect to this course. This is very much a do-course with a heavy workload from the first course day (or actually a week earlier) till the exam week! Students form a team and do a study project. Competencies that students need to mobilize include team work, self-Organisation, analytical skill, and multitasking between theory and practice.

We read a variety of academic literatures including empirical studies, case studies, and analyses, from various academic disciplines. The skill to learn here is to make s synthesis of these various intellectual inputs, and develop the ability to develop an overview, see the big picture, and guide yourself and others through a complex intellectual landscape. Holism!
Description
The topic of this course is that business innovation takes place in a societal context. Inventors, innovators, and businesses influence their environment. They have external effects on the local society, natural environment, on competitors, clients and suppliers. Many actors in a capitalist society are aware of their external effects. They start a business or invent a new technology, product, or business model in order to solve a social ill or a perceived inefficiency. They live in the world and they act their part. The view of capitalism as solely profit oriented and opportunistic represents an impoverished view of the reality of business. This course aims to correct that. By doing so it provides its students a handle to see their societal awareness and responsibility as a resource that helps them to make original contributions to the companies they will work for.

Educational Approach
The course contains theory sessions, project sessions, and one or two lectures. In theory sessions students discuss the literature in details and in their connections: analysis and synthesis! In project sessions student teams report their ongoing work on a sustainability project. They analyze a stakeholder. A final report provides the data collection, problem analysis, and advice or other agreed outcome. Since the master Strategy and Innovation contains courses on competition, strategy, innovation and alliances, the report should explicitly use and refer to insights from at least one of the other three courses of this track.

Remark concerning assessment methods:
Subgroup performance too.
Literature
The literature consists of academic articles plus usually a book as well. To give an idea in 2016 we used Stuart Hart’s motivational book ‘Capitalism at the crossroads’. A set of academic articles will provide multiple viewpoints, depth, and critical perspectives.
Prerequisites
- Attendance in the first two meetings of the course is mandatory. You get introduced to tutor, fellow students, teams, and the educational approach. Failure to attend both meetings implies course failure.
- Excellent command of English in spontaneous class discussions, prepared student presentations, and in writing for essays (part of the grading). Vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation should all be proper.
- Basic understanding of strategic management and business economics. Basic concepts like ROA and
concentration and the five forces should be known.
- Basic understanding (in terms of reading rather than actually doing) of statistics, notably, the ability to understand regression analysis as research tool, regression equations as a model in a research paper, and tables of results.
Teaching methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) PBL / Lecture / Assignment / Papers / Groupwork
Assessment methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) Final Paper / Attendance / Participation
Evaluation in previous academic year For the complete evaluation of this course please click "here"
This course belongs to the following programmes / specialisations
Master Business Research IB Electives
Master Business Research Track OR IB Electives
Master Human Decision Science Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Accountancy Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Controlling Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Entrepreneurship and SME Management Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Organisation: Management, Change and Consultancy Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Strategic Corporate Finance Electives
Master International Business Specialisation Strategy and Innovation Compulsory Courses
Master International Business Specialisation Sustainable Finance Electives
SBE Exchange Master Master Exchange Courses
SBE Non Degree Courses Master Courses