View Specification DocumentManaging Sustainability in a Complex World MGT4110
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: Adam Smith Business School
- Credits: 15
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 1
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course provides students with an understanding of how organisations can responsibly negotiate the complex demands of a rapidly changing world characterised by sustainable development challenges, including climate change, resource constraints and inequalities (see 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). Particular emphasis will be placed on strategic planning for a sustainable future.
Timetable
6 x 1.5 hour lectures
3 x 1.5 hour seminars
3 x 1.5 hour and 1 x 2 hour workshops
Requirements of Entry
Entry to an Honours programme in Business and Management or a GPA of 12 in the level 2 courses listed below for students taking an Honours programme in another subject:
■ MGT2010 - Business Decision Analysis
■ MGT2011 - Fundamentals of Human Resource Management
■ MGT2012 - Services and Operations Management
■ MGT2014 - Entrepreneurship
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
1. Oral assessment & presentation; Group; 22-25 minutes (12-15 minute pre-recorded presentation and 10 minute live Q&A ); 50%; ILOs 1-2.
2. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1250 words; 50%; ILOs 3.
Course Aims
This course aims to challenge students to apply the business knowledge they have been developing in previous courses in a socially and environmentally responsible way through experiential learning and learning by doing. Students will work in groups on identifying and developing a sustainability project. This course, therefore, aims to bridge the big picture perspective of the grand challenges facing society in the 21st century and the local perspective of what individuals, businesses, governments and supra-national organisations can do to navigate through them.
This course provides students with an overview of all 17 SDGs and demonstrates the interconnections and trade-offs between selected SDGs.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Identify and describe unstructured, and complex problems related to sustainability at multiple levels (individual, organisational, industry, nation state, and global).
2. Carry out a critical analysis based on independent research including the assembly of a strong evidence base from various credible sources.
3. Work individually and collaboratively to create verbal, written and visual artefacts that document the different stages of the problem-solving process in consistent, clear and persuasive ways.