6B001E - The Impact Ecosystem: Business for Social Good 01 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2032 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: 6B001E
Module Title: The Impact Ecosystem: Business for Social Good
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Business Management
Faculty Sub Group: Business Management
Module Leader: Liam Newton
Module Team:
First Intended Intake: SEP 2026 Final Year of Intake: 2031
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 30 Credit Level: 6
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100078 - business and management
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2026
Valid To 31 Aug 2032

Module Aims

The main aims of the module are: 

  • To develop students’ understanding of ESG issues relevant to contemporary business practice, and how this impacts on a range of stakeholders. 

  • To build students’ systems thinking ability within the context of how business decisions impact on the wider global environment and the achievement of the UN SDGs. 

  • To develop students’ graduate attributes, particularly in terms of communication and negotiation ability

Content Summary

This module aims to develop students’ understanding of environmental, societal, and governance issues relevant to contemporary business practice.  In line with principles of ESD, the module promotes system thinking and aims to develop students ability to leverage the business knowledge and understanding from their level 4 & 5 modules to make sustainable and ethical business decisions that contribute to the achievement of the UN SDGs. 

The module will be framed around stakeholder analysis of a wicked problem (alternating on a yearly basis) linked to both the global business policy environment and the USW Accelerators, and involve students researching the problem, developing a policy position that addresses the problem while maintaining an environment suitable for business growth, and participating in a mock negotiation over the policy position.  The wicked problem to be analysed will be introduced by an industry partner, who will introduce the challenge at the start of the module and will award a prize to the best group at the end of the module. 

The module will incorporate a range of active pedagogies suitable for developing students criticality and problem-solving, including class discussions, debates, and a Hydra simulation embedded within the module delivery. 

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lectures 6
Practical Classes and Workshops 50
Groupwork 50
Guided Study 114
Formative Assessment 20
Summative Assessment 60
Total Hours Selected 300

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Apply knowledge of business concepts to an issue related to sustainability and the SDGs
LO2 Understand how global policy positions can impact on a range of stakeholders.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Report 1 Students will all be allocated a different country, and have to develop a policy position based on the solution to that wicked problem and how it will impact stakeholders within that country. This forms the first part of the assessment, taking the format of a 4000 word report, presented as a government report ready for publication, including appropriate presentation and use of graphics. 0 4000 60 No 40
Synchronous Onsite Oral Assessment Group Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) students will participate in a mock UN negotiation, negotiating on behalf of the country they have been allocated in order to develop a global consensus and policy position, taking into account the range of perspectives and impacts. Students’ performance in this will form the second element of the assessment. 30 N/A 40 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Report 1
Group Presentation (Synchronous Onsite)

Reading List

Essential 

  • Carroll, A.B., Brown, J.A. and Buchholtz, A.K. (2022) Business & Society: Ethics, Sustainability, & Stakeholder Management. 11th edn. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning 
     

  • Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S. and Spence, L.J. (2019) Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
     

  • Haski-Leventhal, D. (2021) Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: A Holistic Approach to Responsible and Sustainable Business. 2nd edn. London: SAGE Publications 
     

  • Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R. (2011) ‘Creating Shared Value: How to reinvent capitalism—and unleash a wave of innovation and growth’, Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), pp. 62–77. 

Supplementary 

 

  • Raworth, K. (2017) Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. London: Random House Business Books 
     

  • United Nations General Assembly (2015) Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution A/RES/70/1, 21 October 2015