Availabilities:

Location Domestic International
Coffs Harbour Session 1 Session 1
Gold Coast Session 1 Session 1
Lismore Session 1 Session 1
Melbourne N/A Session 1
Online Session 1 Session 1
Papua New Guinea - IBSU Enga N/A Session 1
Papua New Guinea - IBSU Port Moresby N/A Session 1
Sydney N/A Session 1

Unit Summary

Unit type

UG Coursework Unit

Credit points

12

AQF level

7

Level of learning

Intermediate

Unit aim

The influence of culture and society on the creation of knowledge, truth and morality provide the foundation to explore a broad range of ethical theories. These theories are applied to diverse contemporary issues including human rights and corporate governance. The unit explores the ethical roots of the ecological crisis and examines the contribution of the sustainability concept to the search for a solution.

Unit content

Introduction
Case study - Interface & sustainable business
Culture and ethics: Case study - Traidcraft as an ethical organisation
Consequential ethical theories: Case study - Supersize me
Non-consequential ethical theories: Case study - Enron
Applied business ethics: Case studies - Shell Oil in Nigeria, Enron
Environmental ethics: Case study - Ethical agriculture
Sustainability & environment: Case study - Rocky Mountain Institute
Social & cultural sustainability: Case study - Learning from Ladakh
Economic sustainability: Case study - Guitang Sugar
Sustainable organisations: Case Study - Coopers Brewery
Contemporary ethical & global sustainability issues: Case Studies - Danone, Homeless World Cup
A global sustainable society: Case Study - Gross National Happiness in Bhutan

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

GA1: , GA2: , GA3: , GA4: , GA5: , GA6: , GA7:
On completion of this unit, students should be able to: GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 describe major ethics and sustainability tools and concepts
2 utilise critical reasoning skills to identify solutions to ethical problems
3 examine sustainability policy and practice at multiple levels
4 evaluate the social, environmental and economic impact of business on stakeholders
5 explain the importance of diverse cultural influences to ethics and sustainability
6 analyse contemporary global ethical and sustainability issues.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. describe major ethics and sustainability tools and concepts
    • GA3:
  2. utilise critical reasoning skills to identify solutions to ethical problems
    • GA1:
  3. examine sustainability policy and practice at multiple levels
    • GA4:
  4. evaluate the social, environmental and economic impact of business on stakeholders
    • GA4:
  5. explain the importance of diverse cultural influences to ethics and sustainability
    • GA7:
  6. analyse contemporary global ethical and sustainability issues.
    • GA3:

Prescribed texts

  • No prescribed texts.
Prescribed texts may change in future teaching periods.