Aggiornato A.A. 2020-2021
SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
Course Syllabus
Master of Science in Business Administration – Track Social Innovation and Sustainability
A.Y. 2021/2022
Prof. Andrea Bonomi Savignon
A vast number of contemporary societal challenges (such as food security, terrorism, global warming, migration, and underemployment) are crossing legal, sectorial and geographical boundaries. Although it is acknowledged that such issues need some level of integration across societal sectors, serious integration challenges still affect the work of policymakers, managers and their institutional environment. In face of these integration challenges, collaboration, defined as the ability to create a common understanding of a problem, has been considered the main lasting solution to tackle these ‘wicked’ societal issues.
The topic of sustainability is a clear example of a wicked social issue which cannot be faced by a single organization. Modern economies are striving to reconcile ambitious economic development while still trying to preserve natural resources and ecosystems. Sustainable development, namely a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, is not only an imperative from an ethic, social and environmental point of view, but also an important growth opportunity for enterprises and, more in general, for the entire economic system. Given the global attention that this theme is receiving and the emergence of severe environmental threats, an integrated approach comprising a more efficient inter-institutional coordination among businesses and among public organizations , and stronger private-public partnerships, is essential.
With this awareness, in 2015 the United Nations established the Agenda 2030. A new approach to sustainability was proposed, with a global outlook: therefore, seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been created, which, taking into consideration the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – aim at ending poverty, inequality, global warming, and at building peaceful societies.
How to implement these goals has progressively become a priority, with regards to the operational approaches to be followed on the ground and the instruments to be used to evaluate the effectiveness and the impact on the national and local level of development. At the same time, the need to define the necessary practices to support businesses, national and sub-national governments has emerged, to orient choices and activities necessary for the implementation of strategic policies. In this context, the core aspect that will be analyzed in this course is the way in which these supranational principles are translated and implemented within national realities, how they affect businesses, and the coordination mechanisms associated to it.
The course is designed to introduce students to sustainability management as a field of practice, providing a foundation for understanding theoretical principles and applied techniques.
At the end of the course, students will be able to recognise sustainable performance in private, public and non profit organizations, either acting as managers or through consultancy firms.
Students will develop knowledge and skills in the sustainable management process in areas related to: strategic planning and managerial controls; leadership and organizational strategies; management of financial resources; stakeholder management, and the analytical techniques applied to pursuing a triple bottom line equilibrium.
Beside lectures, case study discussions and group project works (laboratories) will enable the students to identify critical aspects of sustainability management and propose solutions.
Class participation and presentations are aimed at enhancing students’ communication and dialogue capabilities.
The students will also become familiar with the main databases and international institutions’ sources of data and analysis on sustainability management and reporting. This will allow a continuity of autonomous learning after the completion of the course.
CALENDAR
- Sept 15 : Introduction to the course. Sustainability and the triple bottom line in performance management
- Sept 16: Sustainable Development Goals: institutions and public access databases
- Sept 17: Digital transformation and sustainability
- Sept 22: Managing stakeholders and building sustainable strategies (I)
- Sept 23: Managing stakeholders and building sustainable strategies (II)
- Sept 24: Laboratory: stakeholder mapping and strategic management
- Sept 29: Network management and collaborative governance (I)
- Sept 30:: Network management and collaborative governance (II)
- Oct 1: Network management: laboratory
- Oct 6: Co-production and user innovation
- Oct 7: Sustainability and education: the quintuple-helix approach and third mission activities (1)
- Oct 8: Sustainability and education: the quintuple-helix approach and third mission activities (2)
- Oct 13: Laboratory: co-production and user innovation
- Oct 14: The system of EU funding for sustainability
- Oct 15: The system of EU funding for sustainability (II)
- Oct 20: Testimony: Sustainability and Shared Value in business
- Oct 21: Course recap
- Oct 22: Presentation of students’ project works
TEACHING METHODS
Lectures and seminars. Case study discussions. Group essays and class presentations.
COURSE TEXTBOOK AND STUDY MATERIALS
Sroufe, R. - Integrated Management: How Sustainability Creates Value for Any Business. Emerald Publishing, 2018 (Sections I, II, III, IV) https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Integrated-Management/?k=9781787145627
Slides presented in class.
Papers and articles loaded in the "Mandatory Study Materials" section of the platform.
EXAM RULES
Oral exam (90%). Teamwork case presentation (10%) The teamwork structure is available at the end of the 'Managing stakeholders and building sustainable strategies' slides set in the teaching materials.
Prof.ssa Lucia Leonelli
