MSc Sustainable Business

What kinds of knowledge are required to effectively understand sustainable business solutions and how can this knowledge be produced and communicated in a way that is both useful and robust? The unit emphasises the importance of critical thinking in designing research processes to address this question. It sees research design as a systematic process and as a craft, that requires researchers to make informed choices.

The unit is organised around producing a research/project proposal to address sustainable business solutions and the steps involved in this. It aims to bring together questions of how we see the sustainable business world, as a focus of inquiry, with how we can know it, through systematic processes of research.

Using real world challenges (framed by sustainable business practitioners), students learn a range of research techniques to critically analyse and assess evidence about the problem and develop evidence-based arguments in support of their proposed sustainable solutions.
 

The unit aims to:

• Introduce students to the ‘research process’ and how this is consequential for knowledge and evidence about sustainable business solutions
• Equip students with knowledge of a variety of research techniques to critically analyse and assess evidence of sustainable business solutions
• Enable students to design, develop and deliver a research/project proposal of a small project to address sustainability challenges
• Enable students to critically evaluate the usefulness of research methodologies for addressing global sustainability challenges and organisational responses
• Provide a collaborative working environment, contributing to the development of effective team dynamics through group-based proposal development.
   

The unit is organised around producing a research/project proposal to address sustainable business solutions and the steps involved in this. At the end of the unit, students should be able to:

· Understand at an introductory level key features of the ‘research process’, the systematic nature of the research process and how this is consequential for knowledge and evidence about sustainable business solutions  

· Understand the key features of a variety of research techniques and how they can be used to critically analyse and assess evidence of sustainable business solutions  

· Critically evaluate, at an introductory level, the usefulness of research methodologies for addressing global sustainability challenges and organisational responses  

· Design, develop and deliver a research/project proposal of a small project to address sustainability challenges  

Students will develop knowledge and skills to address societally-relevant sustainability challenges via a systematic process of academically robust knowledge production. Developing this capability is likely to position students for a variety of prospective sustainability professional roles. The unit prioritises a mix of critical thinking and effective, practical responses. This mix is likely to be applicable to a range of sustainability professional roles and also attractive to a range of potential employers. Students will also develop both written and oral communication skills that are embedded in a systematic process of producing a research/project design. This will also be rooted in collaborative process of debating with and learning from peers in group situations. These communication and collaborative skills are likely to be valued in a wide-range of organisational contexts
 

Syllabus (indicative curriculum content):
The unit addresses the question: What kinds of knowledge are required to effectively understand sustainable business solutions and how can this knowledge be produced in a way that is both useful and robust? Using combinations of lecture/seminar and workshops, topics covered includes:

Varieties of sustainable projects, objects of inquiry and modes of knowledge production
Reviewing literatures
Framing case-based projects
Developing research frameworks
Qualitative methods and analysis  
Quantitative methods and analysis
Communicating Sustainable Business evidence, analysis and knowledge

Each week of the unit will be organised around three modes of teaching and learning. 

Recorded lecture: a one hour recorded (asynchronous) lecture will be posted on the unit Blackboard page at the beginning of each week. The recorded lecture will set out the key ideas, theories, concepts and examples in relation to that week’s topic. 

Face-to-face lecture: there will also be a weekly (synchronous) lecture on the unit. The lecture will be face-to-face and will involve elaboration of the key ideas set out in the recorded lecture and a deepening of understanding via group discussions.

Workshop: the unit will also have weekly (synchronous) workshops, in which exercises will be undertaken that contribute to developing practical understanding of the steps involved in producing a Sustainable Business Project report/dissertation proposal. 
 

KU1 Demonstrate critical understanding of how to construct a small project to research sustainable business responses/solutions - Project/research proposal; Individual written reflection 

KU2 Demonstrate understanding of the research process and how this is consequential for what kinds of knowledge and evidence about sustainable business solutions are produced - Project/research proposal; Individual written reflection

KU3 Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of research techniques to critically analyse and assess evidence of sustainable business solutions - Individual written reflection

IS1 Critically engage with literature on research design and methodologies in relation to sustainable business and sustainable transitions - Project/research proposal; Individual written reflection

IS2 Evaluate the usefulness of research methodologies for addressing global sustainability challenges and organisational responses - Individual written reflection

IS3 Design, develop and deliver a research/project proposal of a small project to address sustainability challenges - Project/research proposal

PS1 Communicate theory and evidence-based arguments through academic writings and presentations - Project/research proposal; Individual written reflection

PS2 Research, synthesise and critically analyse published academic literature on research design and methodology in relation to a sustainable business perspective - Project/research proposal

TS1 Demonstrate skills in debating, persuasion and compromise verbally and in writing - Project/research proposal; Individual written reflection

TS2 Work collaboratively, contributing to the development of effective team dynamics and project management processes - Project/research proposal
 

IEMA accreditation

Group project proposal OR individual research proposal 70%

Written assignment (inc essay) 30%

Feedback within 15 days. 
Submission: Semester 2, Week 10.

Feedback within 15 days. Submission: Semester 2, Week 12.

• Beech, J., (2015) Doing your Business Research Project, Sage: London.
• Bell, E., Harley, B., and Bryman, A., (2022) Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 6th Edition.
• Bryman, A., (2016) Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 5th Edition.
• Hartz-Karp, J., and Marinova, D., (2017) Methods for Sustainability Research, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham.
• May, T., and Perry, B., (2022) Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process, McGraw Hill: Maidenhead, 5th Edition.
 

ENHANCEMENT OF DIGITAL LITERACY  

Students will be introduced to: 

· Digital research methods and issues and processes in conducting research online
· Online research methods (e.g. online interviews)
· Using digital data sources (e.g. analysing websites and blogs)

STATEMENT TO SUPPORT EQUALITY,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The unit is organised around the process of moving from identifying a research problem to producing a research proposal. Research problems, on this unit, can be framed to include a wide range of EDI issues. Students will be presented with examples of potential research problems and this will include examples that address social class, race and gender. Groupworking is an important element of teaching and learning on the unit, particularly in the workshops, and groups will be encouraged to work together, in their diversity, and to find ways of working collaboratively. Students are able to choose the research topic for their summative assessment, which can explicitly focus on an EDI issue that relates to ‘sustainable business’.