Students

AFIN8011 – Business and Global Environmental Change

2023 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-intensive, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Grace Lepone
grace.lepone@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(Admission to MActPrac or MFin or MSusDev) or ACST603 or ACST6003 or AFIN6012 or AFIN613 or AFIN6013 or ECON649 or ECON6049 or ECON991 or ECON8091
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit is designed to give students a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability challenges facing organisations, and to highlight business risks and opportunities that are emerging as a consequence of global environmental change. Furthermore, the unit is designed to enable students to challenge the status quo of "business-as-usual" and to search for innovative solutions to some of the pressing issues impacting organisations, including changes in ecological parameters through climate change, more frequent and/or severe extreme weather events and natural resource scarcity. The unit seeks to use frame-breaking approaches to problem solving and the development of organisational strategies.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explain the range of challenges organisations are facing resulting from changing environmental conditions.
  • ULO2: Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of policy development related to sustainability and climate change.
  • ULO3: Consider the rational and process for undertaking a greenhouse gas/carbon emission and energy audit.
  • ULO4: Use a framework to help identify the innovation and response needs of an organisation.
  • ULO5: Work productively in a group to prepare and present a research project.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Individual Reflective Writing 10% No Week 11
Individual Research Report 50% No Week 13
Quiz 10% No Week 5 in Class
Group Report 30% No Week 10 in Class

Individual Reflective Writing

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 6 hours
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 10%

 

Students will be required to complete an individual reflective writing piece.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the range of challenges organisations are facing resulting from changing environmental conditions.
  • Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of policy development related to sustainability and climate change.
  • Consider the rational and process for undertaking a greenhouse gas/carbon emission and energy audit.
  • Use a framework to help identify the innovation and response needs of an organisation.

Individual Research Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 50%

 

Students will undertake research on an agreed topic and produce a research report. The report should not exceed 3,500 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the range of challenges organisations are facing resulting from changing environmental conditions.
  • Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of policy development related to sustainability and climate change.
  • Consider the rational and process for undertaking a greenhouse gas/carbon emission and energy audit.
  • Use a framework to help identify the innovation and response needs of an organisation.

Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 3 hours
Due: Week 5 in Class
Weighting: 10%

 

Please use the quiz result as an indicator of whether you are progressing satisfactorily in the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the range of challenges organisations are facing resulting from changing environmental conditions.
  • Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of policy development related to sustainability and climate change.

Group Report

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 19 hours
Due: Week 10 in Class
Weighting: 30%

 

Students will form groups to work on a research project and produce a group report.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the range of challenges organisations are facing resulting from changing environmental conditions.
  • Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of policy development related to sustainability and climate change.
  • Consider the rational and process for undertaking a greenhouse gas/carbon emission and energy audit.
  • Use a framework to help identify the innovation and response needs of an organisation.
  • Work productively in a group to prepare and present a research project.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Face to face block workshops 

Learning materials to be provided on iLearn

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook