Sustainable Management Control

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Nathalie Crutzen

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The general objective of these sessions is to analyze how the implementation of a sustainable strategy (or sustainable management policy) would require companies to manage, control and measure their sustainability performance.
This course proposes an introduction to and opens discussions (via pre-readings, videos, lectures and examples) to sustainability management control systems as well as sustainability accounting and reporting (What? How? Challenges? Critical perspectives? Examples?).
For example, this course:

• Illustrates that businesses need to link, and ideally integrate, their performance on sustainability to traditional management control systems
• Underlines the need to embed sustainability issues within employee performance frameworks and remuneration packages

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills to:

• Discuss key challenges and frameworks related to sustainability management control
• Critically analyze the impacts of sustainability on management control systems and identify new requirements
• Be ready to collaborate in the implementation of a sustainability management control system
• Consider complex situations in planning, budgets preparation, performance measurement systems
• Analyze and debate the importance of performance management and control in sustainable strategy development and implementation
• Understand and apply to concrete case studies specific tools such as the sustainability balanced scorecard

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students are expected to master some basics in financial and managerial accounting, financial analysis and corporate finance.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Interactive pedagogical approach based on several teaching methods :

• Active preparation of the course (pre-readings and preparation of the conferences)
• Academic lectures (including illustrative videos and company examples)
• Reading and oral presentation of key scientific articles
• In-class readings, discussions/debates and critical analyses
• Team work on a business case & oral presentation
• Coaching sessions on the business case
• Conferences with guest speakers

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

• Face-to-face lectures and conferences
• Coaching sessions for team work
• Distance learning (reading, team work)

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

Recommended or required readings

Information about recommended and required readings will be presented during the lectures. The slides and relevant documents will be posted on Lol@ but students are expected to take notes during the lectures, presentations and conferences.

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Any session :

- In-person

oral exam

- Remote

oral exam

- If evaluation in "hybrid"

preferred remote


Additional information:

First session :

• Oral presentation of a business case (team work): 50%
• Oral presentation of a scientific article (individual): 50%

• Clear situation analysis
• Critical and exhaustive analysis
• Key recommendations and original and concrete propositions
• Oral presentation - originality and quality

• Content: key points identified and summarized
• Clarity: structure and flow of ideas
• Slides: amount/quality of information
• Creativity and quality of oral communication skills

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Official language: English. The attendance to the lectures and conferences is compulsory.

Contacts

Prof. Nathalie Crutzen : ncrutzen@uliege.be
Teaching assistant:
Cécile Caputo : c.caputo@uliege.be