Business & Society

Module description

This compulsory Business & Society Foundation module explores the interplay between business, ethics and society.

You’ll learn about the global and local values, culture and behaviours that have and will define the different disciplines involved in business studies, from economics to management. You will also explore the benefits and challenges to business of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

This Business & Society Foundation module will cover:

• business ethics
• capitalism
• industrial revolutions
• neoliberalism
• financial crises
• businesses shaping and serving society
• how to compare businesses across cultures
• business imperialism
• globalisation and corporate social responsibility
• intangible assets and human capital
• storytelling for brands
• entrepreneurship.

The lectures will put forward theoretical and conceptual questions, exemplified through business case studies. You will then explore these ideas more practically in your seminars, applying critical thinking and learning to work in teams and using feedback as a key for success.

You’ll sharpen your critical and analytical thinking skills, particularly through the use of theory, in order to prepare you for the evaluative expectations of a UK university environment.

Assessment details

You’ll be assessed for this Business & Society Foundation module through coursework (100%).

Educational aims & objectives

This Business & Society Foundation module will:

• provide an overview of key areas of knowledge that underlie teaching and learning in the UK in your discipline
• supplement your argumentation with analytical frameworks appropriate to business and economics.
• help you reflect on the foundations of and new developments in Western cultural and societal norms, and to make you aware of and sensitive to such norms
• further your ability to think systematically and analytically in such a way as to enhance your future success in a British academic environment and to enrich your ability to think about key debates in contemporary society that impact on and/or are impacted by your discipline and your future career path
• increase your ability, with appropriate support, to take responsibility for your own learning.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Develop a range of analytical and critical thinking skills relating to the target UG programmes and apply these to common debates in contemporary society that are related to common topics in disciplines within Business studies  

• Engage with a module in a way that demonstrates expected behaviours and interactions in business-related degrees and demonstrates both the ability to work autonomously and in a team   

• Develop strategies and apply a variety of technologies and tools to approach a clearly defined study topic and to extract and synthesise information from a range of topics and limited data set to address academic tasks. 

• Develop awareness of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals to understand the benefits and challenges to implement these in business. 

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.