International opportunities for students

Details

Instructors: Marco Frey, f.testa [at] santannapisa.it; Francesco Testa, f.testa [at] santannapisa.it
Other Lecturers: Fabio Iraldo, f.iraldo [at] santannapisa.it
Tiberio Daddi, t.daddi [at] santannapisa.it
Massimo Battaglia, m.battaglia [at] santannapisa.it

Class hours: 36, 6 ECTS

Contents

The course aims to provide students with fundamental knowledge of the notion of corporate sustainability, its background, its objectives and operating modalities. It will be done mainly referring to current trends in the way organizations answer increasing environmental, social and technological challenges. A specific focus will be done on the analysis of the connections between corporate strategy and corporate sustainability and the impact of corporate sustainability on business's functional organizational structures and on business performances. This course will thus discuss key concepts such as how organizations impacts on the environment and socio-technical systems, the relationship between social and environmental performance and competitiveness, the approaches and methods (e.g. organizational, managerial and operational tools) that can be adopted to effectively manage these issues.

Objectives

The course aims to equip participants with both the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills challenging students to think strategically, multi-dimensionally and innovatively regarding business management and processes.
Students who complete this course will develop:

  • an understanding of sustainability management as an approach to aid in evaluating and minimizing environmental impacts while achieving the expected social impact
  • an understanding of strategies and approaches for designing sustainable products and processes
  • develop knowledge and skills to analyze firm strategies and practices to address the sustainability challenge
  • understand new managerial approaches and concepts such as green innovation, clean tech, design for sustainability, sustainable supply chain
  • acquire basic knowledge on the main tools to manage environmental and sustainability issues
  • an exposure to practical case studies and real-world examples of applying sustainability management strategies

List of topics:

  • Management of sustainability: rationale and political trends
  • Corporate sustainability and responsibility:
  • Sustainability management: strategies and approaches
  • Sustainability and innovation:

Teaching method

The course is based on active teaching methodologies aimed at maximizing students' participation. We think strongly that learning occurs best though active experiences, interactions among students, discussion with the instructor, guests and other stakeholders involved. Accordingly, in addition to some theoretical sessions in the form of lecture, we will use practical cases and videos to activate debates, and several case histories providing real-life examples as teaching methods.

Evaluation method

Grading is based on a number of different components as outlined below:

  • Class participation and attendance (weight 15%) evaluated using the following criteria: attendance (very few absences will be allowed; students should inform the instructor prior to any absence-s); timeliness (on time arrival is an expression of respect towards other students and to the instructor); preparedness (students must read and prepare in advance for the day's schedule, topic, key concepts, cases, readings, etc. to favor discussion); and contribution (i.e. responds very thoughtfully to the instructor or to the other students' comments, contributes to the cooperative argument-building, provides insightful analysis or compelling advocacy etc. Note that quality will count far more than quantity.
  • Group assignments (weight 35%): groups are required to prepare a power point presentation (15 slides max) and a short paper (max 3000 words). We expect a 20 minutes oral presentation (+5 minutes for discussion). The essay must be delivered the day of the last lecture where the power point presentation must be discussed. Specific topics and guidelines for the assignment will be presented during the initial lectures.
  • Final individual oral exam (weight 50%) - the length is 20 minutes.

Teaching material

Daddi, T., Iraldo, F., Testa, (2015) Environmental Certification for Organizations and Products: Management Approaches and Operational Tools, Routledge.
Additional papers and selected readings, slides and cases provided by instructors will be available on the e-learning platform.