Sustainability and Responsible Ownership 15 hp

Undervisningen bedrivs på engelska.

Kursinnehåll

The course on Sustainability and Responsible Ownership is based on more than 20 years of research and practical experience from family enterprises developed by the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) at Jönköping International Business School. Thanks to an extensive network of international collaborators and partners, CeFEO offers a unique regional, national, and global perspective on sustainability and responsible ownership.

The purpose of this course is to enhance participants’ awareness and comprehension of how private companies can advance their sustainability and owners can embrace responsible practices. The course develops the competencies and skills of private owners, family business members, decision-makers, and business leaders on sustainability and responsible ownership. Moreover, the course stimulates dialogue and reflection about the opportunities for the regeneration of enterprises to stimulate the renewal of strategy and operations.

The 15 credits course on Sustainability and Responsible Ownership is composed by 5 parts of 3 credits each:
1. Introduction to Sustainability and Responsible Ownership
2. Strategies for Sustainability and Responsible Ownership
3. Organizing for Sustainability and Responsible Ownership
4. System Thinking for Sustainability and Responsible Ownership
5. Implementation of Sustainability and Responsible Ownership

Five teaching cases developed by CeFEO researchers specifically for each part of the course allow a deeper understanding of the topics addressed in the lectures and discussions, bridging theory and practice.

Introduction to Sustainability and Responsible Ownership – 3 credits
The module introduces the main characteristics of sustainability and responsible ownership and depicts broader understandings of sustainability and responsibility due to the state of the planet. The module covers the role of anticipatory competencies for advancing the sustainability and responsibility of enterprises. The most common challenges, including sustaining a living planet and climate change, will be discussed.

Strategies of Sustainability and Responsible Ownership – 3 credits
The module focuses on the importance of understanding the planetary boundaries and organizational sustainability to develop a proactive sustainable, and regenerative strategy for dealing with ownership and sustainable business development. The impact of businesses on the planetary resources and the enterprise’s sustainability will be discussed, as will different types of strategic choices for navigating the sustainability journey and recognising the need for sustainability-oriented innovation for competitiveness.

Organizing Sustainability and Responsible Ownership – 3 credits
The module focuses on identifying and organizing environmental, social, and economic sustainability requirements to analyse the current sustainability state of its industrial enterprise. It also covers the role of complexity competencies for prioritising appropriate tools to manage sustainability requirements according to varying types of enterprises. The module includes ways to organize work in multi-disciplinary teams to distinguish between strategically-driven and operationally-driven sustainability requirements in the operationalisation of sustainable product development.

System Thinking for Sustainability and Responsible Ownership – 3 credits
The module introduces the perspective of the circular business ecosystems to renew the business model. The role of system thinking competencies of the owners and managers will be discussed to address the most common choices and decisions that business owners and managers face when shifting from a linear business model to a circular enterprise ecosystem. The module embraces the importance of working with and addressing concerns of multiple stakeholders to overcome sustainability barriers, avoid sustainability trade-offs. It also provides knowledge for fostering a shared collaborative advantage. It addresses communication practices and how to re-frame them across generations to promote systemic value creation.

Implementation of Sustainability and Responsible Ownership – 3 credits
The module introduces the perspective of giving voice to values as a critical element in responsible ownership. It focuses on the importance of building ethical competencies of owners and managers to build good governance and ethical workplace cultures. The module also presents sustainable innovation as a key element and process of responsible ownership for an enterprise and its supply chain. The mapping of the current state of policy development and compliance for the enterprise's sustainability and responsible ownership will be highlighted. The implementation of and practices for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS) will be also discussed.

Connection to Research and Practice
This course builds on the research excellence and practical relevance of the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership, bridging the core competencies of JIBS faculty on sustainability and responsible ownership. The participants will have a unique opportunity for applying the most relevant theoretical concepts to examples, cases, and experiences from private businesses. The course is tailor-made for business owners, professionals, and practitioners, working in or with privately held firms and family businesses, as well as for next-generation family business members and successors interested in the sustainable transformations of their businesses.

Förkunskapskrav

Bachelor’s degree and extensive leadership experience in a private business. Other applicants with a Bachelor’s degree or extensive business experience might be accepted to the course based on clear motivations for participating in a course on Sustainability and Responsible Ownership. English proficiency is required (English 6 or equivalent).

We request all candidates to provide us with an application letter (min 300, max 500 words) written in English. This letter clearly describes the motivations for taking a course on Sustainability and Responsible Ownership.

In particular, the application letter contains:

• your personal and professional reasons for taking the Sustainability and Responsible Ownership course.
• description of your leadership experience in a private business (e.g. as owner, member of the board, manager, or member of a family business).

The application letter should be submitted as a PDF.

Utbildningsnivå: Avancerad nivå
Kurskod/Ladokkod: JSOR22
Kursen ges vid: Jönköping International Business School Last modified 2023-01-20 07:49:14