| Unit name | Social Entrepreneurship |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MGRC30001 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Edwina Zhu |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Organisation Theory EFIM20026 or International Business Management EFIM20003 or Consumption and Consumer Behaviour EFIM20046 |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a global movement to create new agendas to address unprecedented environmental and social challenges for contemporary society. Social entrepreneurship blend institutions and logics from business, charity, and civil society to seek solutions to a more sustainable future and more systemic social impact. In this unit, you will deepen your understanding of a series of cross-disciplinary theories and concepts such as alternative business models, hybrid organising, social impact and innovation, and so forth. You will also develop transferable problem-solving skills in this unit, such as using business models to solve social/environmental problems.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
You will draw upon the knowledge you have learnt in this programme regarding managing organisations across different sectors and diverse contexts, to build up your understanding of social entrepreneurship that has been practised in a global-wide context and straddling the public, private and third sectors. This unit will enhance your intellectual, analytical, critical and employability skills for your career development by inspiring you to not only embrace existing social entrepreneurial solutions but also visualise and innovate your own answers to social/environmental problems.
An overview of content
You will be introduced to a series of cross-disciplinary concepts and theories, including social entrepreneurship; social innovation; hybrid organising; stakeholder involvement; sustainable business strategies; cross-sectoral collaboration between state, business and civil society; and debates around social/environmental problems as business opportunities.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will help you think creatively about social and environmental issues, connect these issues with entrepreneurship, apply your business and management knowledge to innovate alternative enterprise models that contribute to a sustainable future. You will take up global citizenship through tackling ‘wicked’ problems and embracing the spirit of social entrepreneurship.
Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the notion of social entrepreneurship and recognise the differences between social and business enterprises.
2. Critically appraise the use of market-based mechanisms and multiple-actor involvement to address social/environmental issues.
3. Engage with cross-disciplinary theories and concepts to evaluate the overall challenges and opportunities in social entrepreneurship.
4. Demonstrate the capacity to innovate and communicate social entrepreneurial ideas to a range of stakeholders.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)
The formative task will be individual poster presentation. Students will analyse an existing social enterprise’s social/environmental mission, business model, approach to involving multiple actors as well as advantages and potential challenges of this social entrepreneurial practice in aid of the theories and concepts introduced in this unit (ILOs 1, 2, 3). Students will refine a draft idea for the academic poster in the seminar with tutor and peer feedback and submit a five-minute pre-recorded presentation. The recordings will be accessible to the whole class on Blackboard for the best poster competition.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)
The summative assessment will be 3000-word individual coursework (100%). The student will compile a case study on social entrepreneurship by writing up an analytical report based on their poster presentation and then proposing a new or improved social entrepreneurial idea to address the relevant social/environmental problem. This assignment aims to test students on their ability to identify, synthesise and critically evaluate evidence related to core concepts of social entrepreneurship (ILOs 1, 2, 3), and on their ability to innovate and communicate social entrepreneurial ideas to solve real-life issues (ILO 4).
When assessment does not go to plan
The re-assessment weightings on this unit will be the same as the original assessment. Students who do not pass the unit overall will be reassessed with a single piece of assessment weighted at 100%, covering all Learning Outcomes for the unit.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MGRC30001).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
