Postgraduate Course: Organising for Social Change - Executive Education (BUST11235)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | There is growing interest in understanding how social innovation - about new approaches that are neither market, government nor traditional charitable approaches to enduring problems of social exclusion - which is arguably a major contributing factor to many of our most pressing social and environmental problems. These new approaches include 3rd sector organisations (social enterprises, low-profit corporations, co-operatives, community interest corporations, benefit corporations and other forms) and hybrid networks of government, industry, and 3rd sector organisations. Responding to these social and environmental challenges, requires an understanding of the underlying causes of these problems and how designing and implementing solutions can pose specific challenges in terms of organisational design, management, oversight, and feedback. This course seeks to provide students with greater insight into those challenges through a critical re-evaluation of environmental challenges, social issues and case studies of innovative responses. |
| Course description |
Academic description:
Social innovation - new approaches that are neither market, government nor traditional charitable approaches to enduring problems of social exclusion - are increasingly relied upon as catalysts for addressing difficult social and environmental issues. The aim of this course is to develop student knowledge and understanding about the organising challenges faced by organisations and social entrepreneurs that engage in the work of social innovation. In this course, students will gain a broader and deeper theoretical and contextual understanding of current and future opportunities and challenges in the field of social impact by drawing upon a range of concepts including complexity theory, systems thinking, strategy, and governance. Through theoretical and case-based work, students will develop transferable skills directly applicable to 3rd sector, government and private organisations engaged in social innovation initiatives.
Outline content:
1. Why social innovation? The history and context of the role of 3rd sector organisations and social innovation in building and reinforcing civil society and democratic norms. What are the current and future trends within the 3rd sector?
2. Assessing social impact. How can we measure ideas such as social capital and social impact? What are the implications of how we measure and how we frame these issues for communicating with crucial stakeholders.
3. Complex systems and systems thinking. Social problems are invariably embedded in complex systems. Developing effective responses requires an understanding of this complexity through conceptual tools such as systems thinking and how problems such as environmental damage and social inequality are outcomes of dysfunctional systems.
4. Governance. These are structures and processes that determine ¿who decides¿. The value of a governance perspective is an understanding that responsible decisions and behaviour depends as much or more on a system that incentivises responsibility, than the virtue of individuals themselves.
Student learning experience:
In this course, you will develop an understanding of concepts such as complex adaptive systems, systems thinking, and risk to gain an appreciation for and knowledge of the role of organizational structures and governance processes for improving overall efficiency, sustainability, and impact in private, public, and 3rd sector organizations. Your will take in this ambitiously broad ranging content through a series of podcasts for onboarding prior to lectures, and then in workshop lectures where we will engage conceptual and practical case study discussions to deepen your understanding of these issues, their application, and their underlying connections and relations.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of opportunities and challenges facing social innovation organisations and networks.
- Display an ability to reflect upon one's experience and its significance to learning.
- Be able to critically analyse the stakeholder environment of an organisation engaged in social enterprise.
- Demonstrate the ability to gather, synthesise and analyse information to develop a compelling argument.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Winston Kwon
Tel: (0131 6)51 5980
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Criss Cojocaru
Tel:
Email: |
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