University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

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Business Sustainability

Table of postgraduate units of study: Commerce

Errata
item Errata Date
1.

The following unit is not on offer in 2019:

INFS6022 Systemic Sustainable Development

18/3/2019

The information below details the unit of study descriptions for the units listed in the Table of postgraduate units of study: Commerce.

Timetabling information for the current year is available on the Business School website. Students should note that units of study are run subject to demand.

Business Sustainability

Achievement of a specialisation in Business Sustainability requires 30 credit points from this table comprising:
(i) 6 credit points in foundational units of study *
(ii) 6 credit points in compulsory units of study
(iii) 18 credit points in elective units of study
* Students can complete any available foundational unit of study to meet this requirement.

Units of study for the specialisation

Foundational units of study

Students can select any foundational unit for this specialisation.

Compulsory units of study

WORK6033 Organisational Sustainability

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Intensive Prohibitions: ECOF6110 or CLAW6028 Assessment: tests (30%), assignment (30%), final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Organisational sustainability is a critical part of contemporary managerial practice, focusing on organisations' economical, social and environmental impact. This unit critically evaluates the intentions, practices and outcomes of organisational sustainability initiatives. By applying relevant theoretical frameworks, students are encouraged to enhance their understanding of the role and responsibilities of management, the impact of organisations on employees, and the wider societal and environmental implications of contemporary organisational trends. With an emphasis on the human dimensions of organisational actions, this unit builds on foundational units of study in Management, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management.

Elective units of study

IBUS6012 Business Innovation and Sustainability

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 3 hr lecture/seminar per week Assumed knowledge: IBUS5002, or completion of at least 24 credit points Assessment: individual assignment (60%); group assignment (30%); presentations (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Businesses are increasingly challenged for their sustainability. This unit centres on addressing significant business and societal challenges by balancing sustainability and innovation. Topics include current and future challenges of innovation and sustainability for business. This unit is structured around learning from seminar and practice. Students are required to work in a way which delivers sustainability.
INFS6022 Systemic Sustainable Development

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x 3hr seminar per week Assumed knowledge: Understanding the major functions of a business and how those business functions interact internally and externally so the company can be competitive in a changing market. How information systems can be used and managed in a business. How to critically analyse a business and determine its option for transformation. Desirable Experience as a member of a project team. Assessment: assignment 1 (10%), assignment 2 (40%), assignment 3 - report (40%), assignment 3 - presentation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
In this unit of study students will engage comprehensively and critically with the challenges and opportunities presented to businesses by the United Nation's agenda of sustainable development. This UN agenda outlines a systemic development concept for the period 2016-2030 covering four critical dimensions: economic development, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and good governance. The key idea of this framework is the mobilisation of key all societal actors in the public and private sectors, in order to achieve a transition from 'business-as-usual' thinking towards a sustainable development path. As the principal engine for economic growth and job creation, but also the principal consumers of natural resources, businesses have a critical role to play in this process. Critically, businesses will have to develop and deliver many of the new technologies, organizational models, and management systems that are required in this transition. Against this background, in this unit of study you will analyse how business leaders and managers can transform their companies towards systemic sustainable development. You will learn to apply relevant theoretical frameworks based on the practices of pioneering companies, and critically question the feasibility of the UN agenda in light of the competitive nature of business.
ITLS6008 Production and Operations Management

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 8 x 3hr lectures, 4x 3hr tutorials Corequisites: ITLS5000 Assessment: quiz (30%); group presentation (20%); final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Production and operations management designs, operates, and improves the processes and systems through which products are made and delivered. Firms can improve their productivity and gain competitive advantage through effective and innovative production and operations management. This unit offers a thorough examination of various production and operations management concepts from a supply chain perspective. The key teaching topics include operations planning hierarchy, resource management, capacity planning, quality management, retail operations, sustainable/green operations, and reverse logistics. Students learn about the successful production and operations management practices that have helped organisations improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their supply chains and create competitive advantage.
ITLS6103 Sustainable Transport Policy

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 11 x 3 hr lectures/tutorials, 1x full day field trip Assessment: individual report 1 (20%), individual report 2 (25%), group presentation (20%), final exam (35%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Transport policy decisions shape contemporary life around the world and the connections between transport and land use are instrumental in designing effective policy in this domain. The unit provides an introduction to the context for policy making, how decisions are made, relationships with short- and long-term strategic planning, and how policy has become intertwined with broader sustainability concerns. The unit will then develop the student's ability to assess contemporary issues in sustainable transport policy such as liveable environments, climate change, the role of the built environment in sustainable cities, social inclusion, parking policy, human health and safety, active travel, the challenges of low density transport, the regulation of public transport, fare policies for public transport and other contemporary issues. Each issue will consider the problem and assess the success of existing policy and/or the need for new policy and what this might look like. The unit is particularly suited to students with broad interest in transport, urban planning, and environmental/sustainability issues.
PHYS5031 Ecological Econ and Sustainable Analysis

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Arunima Malik Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1.5-hour lecture interspersed with hands-on exercises per week, and 1 hour seminar per week. Assessment: Essay, presentation and critical writing task (100%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study introduces contemporary topics from Ecological Economics and Sustainability Analysis, such as metrics for measuring sustainability; planetary boundaries and other natural limits; comparisons between ecological and environmental economics; valuing the environment; intergenerational discounting; global inequality with a focus on the climate change debate; and links between theories of well-being, human behaviour, consumerism and environmental impact. This unit includes guest lecturers from industry and research and an excursion. The lectures for this unit include interactive activities and group-exercises on a range of concepts related to Ecological Economics. The unit sets the scene for the more detailed and specific units PHYS5032, PHYS5033, and PHYS5034.
PHYS5032 Techniques for Sustainability Analysis

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Arne Geschke and Prof Manfred Lenzen Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 2.5-hour lecture including tutorial per week Assessment: Two assignments based on weekly homework sheets (80%), quizzes (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Minimum class size of 5 students.
This unit of study offers a practical introduction to quantitative analysis techniques including multiple regression, uncertainty analysis, integration, structural decomposition, and dynamic systems modelling, with a strong emphasis on demonstrating their usefulness for environmental problem-solving. This unit will show students how mathematics can be brought to life when utilised in powerful applications to deal with environmental and sustainability issues. Throughout the unit of study, example applications will be explained, including climate modelling, ecosystem trophic chain analysis, linking household consumption and environmental impact, identifying socio-demographic drivers of environmental change, and the uncovering the effect of land use patterns on threats to species.