Introduction to Responsible Organisation

The course Introduction to Responsible Organisation offers first-year students a comprehensive introduction to the principles of responsible business and management. You will discover why and how organisations play a crucial role in the creation of social, environmental, and economic value, and explore the ethical, responsible, and sustainable dimensions of professional management. Through a mix of thought-provoking lectures, assignments, real-life cases, and insights from experienced professionals, you learn to identify and analyse the complex interactions between organisations and their external environments. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge, frameworks, and tools that professional managers can use to run profitable, responsible, and sustainable organisations.

Learning Goals

After following this course, you are able to:

1. Explain why organisations play a crucial role in the creation of social, environmental, and economic value.
2. Describe the three dimensions of professional management - ethics, responsibility, and sustainability - and compare their characteristics.
3. Distinguish between different management modes, and recognize the role of ethics, responsibility, and sustainability in each of them.
4. Apply practical and theoretical frameworks relevant to the three dimensions of professional management and the different management modes.
5. Identify and describe the relationships of organisations with their external environment, such as their relationships with stakeholders, socio-economic developments, and technological changes.
6. Demonstrate active engagement and thorough preparation for course activities, including assignments, lectures, and guest lectures.

Young Innovators Project

Alongside the lectures, students work in teams on the Young Innovators project, run with the regional network organisation Lifeport MKB. Each team is matched with an organisation in the Nijmegen region, builds a company profile, designs an interview protocol, visits the organisation, and reports on what it found. The 2026-2027 edition describes how it ran this year.

Assessment

This course uses two assessment components. The digital exam determines the final grade and consists of forty multiple-choice questions, marked with a guessing correction. Alongside the exam, a participation requirement is assessed on a pass/fail basis: students complete six weekly quizzes and the four group assignments of the Young Innovators project. Both components need to be completed successfully in order to pass the course.