Course Catalogue

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This course introduces students to the theory and practice of employee-owned enterprises (EOEs), which place significantly more emphasis on community wealth building, in comparison to traditional corporate businesses, and represent a pathway to addressing the growing international wealth inequality and the cost of living crisis, by inspiring the students to consider becoming EOE entrepreneurs themselves.

The course curriculum will shed light on the unique democratic governance, member-based ownership, and ethical operational models, contrasting them directly with the profit-maximisation of traditional firms. A central theme will be the analysis the documented resilience of co-operative EOEs during economic crises, their mechanisms for equitable wealth-sharing, and their role in fostering sustainable local economies and secure employment. It is also understood that the nature of cooperative differs greatly based on the socioeconomic conditions that they exist in. Therefore the course will pay special attention to provide the students with room to compare and contrast literature and case studies that would allow them to understand the role of these variables on the performance of EOEs. 

A flipped classroom approach delivered through workshops rather than traditional lectures to enable active, collaborative learning:

Practical Classes and Workshops: 2hrs x 10 weeks on-campus, will be run by the lecture and one GTA. The workshops will be supplemented by offline pre and post workshop Moodle activities.

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

Recommended:

Students to be in their final year of their Business and Management Honours. 

None

None

1. Oral assessment & presentation; Group; 15 minutes; 60%; ILOs 4-6.

2. Set exercise; Moodle activities; Completion of pre and post lecture preparation through Moodle based activities; 40%; ILOs 1-3.

The overarching course aim of this course is to equip learners with the knowledge to understand, critique, and innovate within the field of employee owned enterprises (EOEs) moving from theoretical models to the design of viable new cooperative ventures.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Describe the foundational principles, governance structures, and operational mechanisms that distinguish international Employee-Owned Enterprises (EOEs) from traditional investor-owned firms.

2. Apply frameworks for comparing EOEs and investor-owned firms to real-world case studies from different national contexts.

3. Analyse how the distinct characteristics of EOEs shape their value proposition, contribute to economic resilience, and influence patterns of wealth-sharing.

4. Critically evaluate existing EOE proposals and ventures, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and contextual factors affecting their viability.

5. Design a principles-led group proposal for a new EOE venture that integrates understanding of governance structures, economic implications, and critical evaluation of existing models.

6. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively within a team to develop, refine, and present a coherent proposal for a new employee-owned venture.