Social Enterprise and Sustainable Development

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Sybille Mertens de Wilmars

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Course description
The economic and financial crisis, the growing inequality and the prospects of climate change are arguing for a fundamental change in the economic system. Through their activities and the choices they make, some enterprises are more directly inspiring for this transition. They are called "social enterprises". They fit totally in the perspective of sustainable development when they feature, sometimes as a priority, the social and environmental concerns in their economic objectives. This is usually expressed in their interactions with their stakeholders (employees, suppliers, consumers, financiers, civil society, etc..) This course provides students with a reading for their critical analysis of firm behavior vis- à-vis its main stakeholders. It also gives a good introduction to new inspiring business practices experimented in social enteprirses.
Content
1 - Systemic crisis and transition

• Triple crisis
• Sustainable development
• Transition management

• Definition
• Diversity of the business world
• CSR, externalities, stakeholders
• Social enterprises

• Regulation, multinational firms, NGOs
• Public production, privatisation, liberalisation, nonmarket sector

• Solvent demand and exclusion
• Asymetry of information and trust goods
• Collaborative economy

• Revenues, property and power 
• Financing-mix and sustainable development goals
• Socially responsible investment

• Evolution of work forms
• Self-management

• Links between Economic activity and environmental degradation
• Circular economy

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this course , students will be specifically able to :

• Develop a critical reflection on our current production modes
• Translate sustainable development into concrete terms of relations between the company and its stakeholders
• Search and process information concerning the relationship between the company and its stakeholders
• Evaluate the potential for innovation and the risks ofsocial enterprises models

• ILO 4 - know and understand the social issues within organizations
• ILO 5 - know and understand the political issues influencing organizations
• ILO 8 - analyze and understand the relations between the main functions in a firm, the law context and the social issues in order to solve a concrete management or economics problem
• ILO 9 - research autonomously and methodically for the information needed to solve a problem linked to professional practice and to propose, following analysis, concrete solutions in a critical manner
• ILO 12 - assess critically political, economic and business information at national and international levels
• ILO 13 - develop a global vision
• ILO 16 - communicate in writing
• ILO 17 - identify ethical and responsible behavior in organizations and the opposite

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

• Students must have completed an introductory course in economics and, if possible , in microeconomics and public economics
• Students must be able to express themselves in French or English and must be able to read fluently French and English.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Learning activities include

• Conceptual and theoretical presentations by the teacher (powerpoint)
• Readings and discussion in class
• Case studies prepared in the classroom

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

The course is organized into two parts. The first part of the course recalls the theoretical rationale of the entreprises and justify the great diversity that exists in this field (private, public, SMEs, large companies, multinationals, with profit or social purposes) . This part also describes the conceptual and theoretical foundations of sustainable development and transition. The second part is devoted to the analysis of relationships between enterprises and their key stakeholders. The analysis is complemented by cases presented by students.

Recommended or required readings

• A bibliography containing books and reference articles will be suggested for each topic. These documents will be made available (Lol@ or Louvrex Library).
• Movies, company visits,
• The course will use the virtual interface Lol @, on which will be mailed: PowerPoint presentations of the various sessions, the cases presented by the students .

Assessment methods and criteria

The overall assessment will combine two elements:

• Writigs of short essays in preparation of course sessions (10%)
• Presentation of a social enterprise case (30%),
• An oral examination to assess the ability of students to enrich his argument with presentations of the course and further reading. The student is asked to respond orally to two questions from a list of twenty questions submitted during the last class. (60%).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

This course takes place every Monday 4pm-6pm, from february to may (room to be confirmed). 

Contacts

Sybille Mertens Cera Chair- Center for Social Economy HEC-Management School - University of Liège - B33/box 4 - 4000 Liège Tel : + 32(0) 4 366 27 51 - smertens@ulg.ac.be