Courses taught in English

Module Name: 86973 Current Issues in Sustainability Management, 5 ECTS, Seminar
Attendance is mandatory.
Method of Examination: Class participation (70%) and a reflection report (30%)
Language: Englisch/German
Lecturer: Julia Pfannenmüller, Katrin Schwarzfischer

Content
The debate seminar “Perspectives on Sustainability Management” aims to strengthen students’ critical reflection skills through sustainability debates and the use of AI in opinion-forming. In the seminar, we first use the climate change simulation tool “EnRoads” to identify which topics are particularly relevant for sustainable development. Using “EnRoads” and systems theory frameworks, we demonstrate that supposedly “simple” solutions are often more complex and must be viewed from a systemic perspective. Using the climate simulator, we identify four thematic areas that are particularly relevant to sustainable development but are also subject to ambivalent debate: the circular economy, the expansion of renewable energy, the price of CO2, and growth versus green growth. On these topics, scientifically grounded fundamentals are conveyed, including through guest lectures. Scientifically grounded principles on these topics are conveyed, including through guest lectures. To explore different perspectives on various topics, we create roles that may hold opposing positions on polarizing issues (e.g., for the topic “Expansion of Renewable Energy”: a liberal Minister of Economic Affairs, a retiree with oil heating in their home, the CEO of a medium-sized company, and a sustainability manager at an international corporation). Students are randomly assigned a role and prepare arguments for the position associated with that role. These arguments must be researched explicitly using ChatGPT and SciteAI, as well as through social media. In the style of a debate club, students discuss one of the topics in their assigned roles. To this end, debating and rhetorical techniques are taught in advance. In addition to their debating performance, students are expected to place their discussion topic within a systems-theoretical and interdisciplinary context in a term paper.

Learning Objectives and Competencies
By the end of the seminar, students will be able to apply soft skills such as structured teamwork and professional presentations; analyze and reflect on sustainability issues from various perspectives; conduct methodologically sound and structured debates; apply their academic research skills; and use AI tools critically and constructively;

Module name: Sustainability management: Issues, Concepts and tools, 5 ECTS, Vorlesung
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Markus Beckmann
Method of Examination: Written Examination
Language: English

Contents

Sustainability management is a multi-faceted concept that encompasses many topics and issues. These range from climate change to the fight against poverty. The purpose of this lecture is to gain a deeper understanding of such critical issues in sustainability management. To this end, the lecture does not only shed light on selected sustainability trends and the background of these challenges. More importantly, the course also aims at a systematic understanding of relevant management tools and novel instruments across all corporate functions to cope with these sustainability issues. The three sustainability issues addressed in this class will be climate change, resource scarcity, as well as poverty and underdevelopment. For each of these issues, we will first engage with background details, their positive and negative consequences, and their potential challenges and opportunities for businesses. Following, we will address broader concepts in sustainability management that aim at addressing the sustainability issue. In a third step, we will then introduce concrete tools and instruments that is how-to knowledge for implementation. To illustrate, in the case of climate change, we look at the science, politics, economics, and effects on companies. We then look at concepts such as putting a price on carbon or decarbonizing value creation. Regarding management instruments, tools such as carbon accounting, carbon compensation, and carbon efficiency measures will be di cussed. Best practice and worst practices serve to illustrate the practical implementation of these instruments.

Learning Objectives and skills
Students

• acquire advanced knowledge and skills in corporate
  sustainability management
• learn to relate current societal challenges and trends with
  corresponding sustainability concepts and management tools
  in selected problem areas
• acquire and advance critical thinking and discursive skills with
  regard to societal and stakeholder communication
• advance their analytical and pragmatic decision-making skills
  in situations of high complexity
• deepen their understanding of the business firm as a problemsolving entity

Module name: Management and organization theories through the lens of mission-driven organizations, 5 ECTS, Seminar
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Markus Beckmann
Method of Examination: Presentation & Seminar Paper
Language: English

Contents

This course takes a closer look at management and organization theories. In particular, we use the specificities of a social business i.e. a business that pursuits a social mission while generating profits, to gain insights into why organizations exit, how they function and how they interact with each other. We will address theories such as transaction cost theory, agency theory or theories of entrepreneurship.

Module name: Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility, 5 ECTS, Lecture
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Markus Beckmann
Method of Examination: Written exam
Language: English

Content
This course combines several perspectives on normative issues in business. First, we take a moral psychology perspective to understand how morality helps us solve certain problems, but also creates pitfalls in the modern world. Second, we develop an ethical framework for navigating contentious issues and supporting the search for constructive solutions. Third, we apply this framework to analyze how (why) social and environmental goals are (not) achieved at the macro level. We will pay particular attention to the role of markets and their regulation. Fourth, we take the perspective of the individual firm and ask whether and to what extent firms need to integrate moral issues into their value creation processes. In this context, corporate social responsibility can serve as a means to implement these moral issues. We will therefore take a closer look at CSR, its origins, development and instruments. We conclude the course by discussing various applications and cases.

Learning objectives and skills
After successfully completing this course, students will have developed
the ability to:

• Evaluate the origins, development, and effectiveness of CSR strategies and instruments in addressing selected ethical and sustainability challenges.
• Explain key concepts from moral psychology and analyze how moral intuitions and biases influence ethical decision-making in business contexts.
• Apply ethical theories and frameworks, such as social dilemmas, to navigate complex moral challenges in business, evaluate competing arguments, and construct well-reasoned ethical judgements.
• Assess how markets and regulatory mechanisms facilitate or hinder the achievement of social and environmental goals at the macro level.
• Critically examine the extent to which firms should integrate ethical considerations into their value creation processes and evaluate the implications of different approaches.

Module name: Sustainability Management & Corporate Functions, 5 ECTS, Vorlesung
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Markus Beckmann
Method of Examination: Written Examination
Language: English

Content
This lecture provides an advanced perspective on Corporate Sustainability Management. The lecture starts with a short recap of sustainability management basics (What is sustainability? Why is sustainability increasingly important for business? What are key concepts of sustainability management?) Following this brief recap of the concepts of sustainability and sustainability management, we take a closer look at selected corporate functions such as strategy, marketing, or supply chain management. For each function, we look at the key drivers for corporate sustainability, relevant management tools, best-practice cases, and will discuss risks and opportunities involved in corporate management.

Learning objectives and skills
Students will acquire:

• advanced knowledge in sustainability management, especially in the selected functional areas
• discursive and reflective competencies in regards to societally relevant questions
• practical insights for implementing sustainability in real-life applications
• insights on potential challenges during the implementation of sustainability management