Entry requirements

Bachelor's degree, consisting of 180 credits +

English 6 from Swedish secondary school

or

English level 2 from Swedish secondary school

Main field

KSLOA Leadership and Organization

Progression level in relation to degree requirements

The course is included in the main area Leadership and Organisation at advanced level 91-120 credits.

Course contents

The course Organising and Leading Sustainable Organisations examines how organising and leadership practices influence sustainability work in contemporary organisational contexts. The course addresses economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability, and introduces equality as an important aspect of how sustainability is understood and practised in organisations.

The course introduces a limited number of central concepts from organisation theory and leadership studies and applies them to sustainability challenges faced by organisations. Attention is given to how organisations deal with uncertainty, competing demands, and questions of responsibility when working with sustainability. Sustainability is approached as an ongoing process that involves learning, sensemaking, and practical decision-making rather than the implementation of fixed solutions.

Leadership and organising are explored primarily as collective and relational practices within organisations. The course examines how leadership, collaboration, and participation shape sustainability initiatives in practice, including how equality and inclusion may enable or constrain organisational change. Cultural and cross-contextual perspectives on leadership and organising highlight global and local dimensions of sustainable development.

The course is based on student-centred learning through lectures, seminars, and case-based discussions in which students actively work with theory in relation to practical sustainability challenges, reflecting on real-world dilemmas, trade-offs, and ethical tensions. The course introduces AI as a support for searching, structuring, and critically discussing material and cases, with attention to its possibilities, limitations, and ethical use in academic work and organisational practice.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student will be able to:

1. Describe and explain central concepts and perspectives in organisation and leadership studies relevant to sustainability, equality, and contemporary organisational challenges.
2. Analyse how organising and leadership practices influence sustainability challenges in organisations and in cross-sectoral collaborations, including issues of participation, equality, and responsibility.
3. Critically reflect on sustainability as a complex, value-based, and contested process involving uncertainty, trade-offs and ethical considerations.
4. Apply theoretical perspectives to empirical cases in order to examine organising, leadership, and collaboration in sustainability work, and use AI-based support critically and ethically where relevant.
5. Reflect on their own role, assumptions, and learning process in relation to organising and leading for sustainability, including the responsible use of AI in academic and professional contexts.

Learning activities

The tuition will be carried out through lectures, and student-centred learning activities such as seminars, and case-based work, both individually and in groups.

Assessment

The course is evaluated through two examinations as follows**:**

One case-based project, in groups (3,5 credits) (UG) (learning outcomes 1,2 and 4)

One individual written paper (4 credits) (UA) (learning outcomes 3 and 5)

All learning outcomes are individually assessed.

To pass the course all examinations must have a passing grade A-E alt G. The course grade is determined by the grade on the individual written paper.

Course literature

• Child, J. (latest edition). Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice. John Wiley & Sons.[electronic resource, selected chapters]
• Ditlev-Simonsen, C. D. (latest edition). A Guide to Sustainable Corporate Responsibility. From Theory to Action. Springer Nature. [electronic resource, selected chapters]
• Dugan, J. P. (latest edition). Leadership Theory: Cultivating Critical Perspectives. John Wiley & Sons. [electronic resource, selected chapters]

Articles and other material will be provided electronically

Course evaluation

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

Interim rules

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

Additional information

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format.

The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text