To be accepted to the course and to submit a research proposal

The student must have passed the courses:

• OL641E - Organising and Leading Sustainable Organisations (7,5 credits).
• OL652E Leadership and Organisation for Sustainability - Research Methods (7,5 credits) or OL642E Organisation and Leadership - Research Methods (7,5 credits).

The student must also have obtained:

• at least 7,5 credits in the course OL643E - Project Management and Sustainability.
• at least 3 credits in the course OL644E - Sustainable Development: Individual, Organisational and Network Perspectives
• at least 4 credits in the course OL645E - Social Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation and Sustainability

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

The aim of the course “Master Thesis with a focus on Leadership and Organisation for sustainability” is to develop students' abilities to conduct an independent study revealing significant contribution to the field and practice of leadership and organisation in the context of sustainability.

The thesis work is carried out in pair. Each pair must work independently. The thesis work starts at the research proposal submission. Students in pair must organise and lead their research process that is supported by supervision, manuscript submission, research seminars and support workshops as follows:

Research proposal submission and seminar:

• The pair must develop and submit a research proposal in the form of a report. The submission of a research proposal report is compulsory and each student must have fulfilled all entry requirements when submitting his/her research proposal in pair.
• The research proposal report must include a background for the study to be conducted, a preliminary purpose and research question, a suggested methodology and method plan and an evaluation of the feasibility of the study. The research proposal enables each pair to be given a supervisor. No written feedback is given of the proposal itself but it serves as a basis for the supervising process.
• At the occasion of the research proposal submission, that is compulsory, students may at their discretion attend a research proposal seminar to get feedback on their proposal. Peer students and teachers’ feedback will be given to students who desire to attend and actively participate to the research proposal seminar. Only one research proposal seminar is proposed during the course, i.e. at the first submission possibility. Students who submit a research proposal but decide not to participate at the seminar cannot require their research proposal to be commented in other manners by peers or other teachers than the supervisor. Students who do not submit a research proposal at the first submission cannot require a seminar to be organised when submitting later in the advancement of course.

50% seminar:

• Students may at their discretion attend a 50% seminar to get feedback on their on-going 50% manuscript. Feedback is at that occasion given by a panel of teachers. Other students also briefly comment on the manuscript. The 50% manuscript may in most cases present the research problem, a draft of the theoretical framework, methodology and methods.
• Neither the submission nor the active participation at the seminar is compulsory. Students cannot hand in a 50% without participate and be active to the 50% seminar. Only one 50% seminar is organised during the course; the date is in line with the first submission possibility of the research proposal. The 50% seminar is fully at the discretion of the students so that a pair who decides not to submit nor participate at the seminar cannot require their 50% manuscript to be commented on in any other manners by peers or other teachers than the supervisor.

75% seminar submission and seminar:

• Students must submit a 75% manuscript. The manuscript must, in most cases, present the research problem, a developed theoretical framework, a developed methodology and a developed method and possible empirical material. This manuscript is reviewed by the teaching team and by an external reviewer to evaluate the level of advancement in the thesis work. No systematic feedback is given on the 75% seminar beyond the supervision process.
• Students may at their discretion attend a 75% seminar to get feedback on their on-going 75% manuscript. At that occasion, the feedback is given by an external reviewer as well as by a designated opponent pair selected among the students presenting their 75% manuscript. Students who decide not to participate at the seminar cannot require their manuscript to be commented on in any other manners by peers or other teachers than the supervisor. Only one 75% seminar is proposed during the course; the date is set in line with the first submission possibility of the research proposal.

100% seminar:

• Students must submit a 100% manuscript. The 100% manuscript must include all parts required in a research process (problem, theory, methodology and methods, empirical material, analysis and conclusions) even if the conclusions and few minor aspects are still under process.
• Each pair must present a 100% manuscript of their thesis at the 100% seminar that is compulsory, and assessed with the scale A-U as part of the examination. At the 100% seminar, the research is presented by the authors and opposed by another student, as individual, selected among students who defend their thesis
• To access the 100% seminar, students must have submitted a research proposal and a 75% manuscript. The participation at these seminars is however at the discretion of the students.

Supervision:

• Each pair has possibilities for supervision with its assigned supervisor. Each pair gets similar supervision resources (number of hours). The supervising time ends automatically at the end of the second semester. A thesis pair whose thesis has obtained the grade as U (fail) and is under the re-examination process, does not get extra supervising resources.
• Beyond the above guideline, a pair may get an extension of their supervising time (not the amount of hours) if their research plan requires it. The extension is to be accepted by the supervisor and the course responsible. A written documentation must be provided by the students/pair for a decision to be taken by the supervisor and the course responsible.

Support workshops:

• Along the thesis course period, methodological and methodical support workshops are organised at the students’ discretion to be able to discuss methodological and methods issues in their thesis.

Knowledge and understanding

After a successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• 1- independently identify and critically formulate a relevant and current research problem in the context of organisation and leadership with a focus on sustainability.
• 2- define, describe, classify, compare, interpret and explain the models, theories, perspectives in organisation and leadership relevant to the identified problem.
• 3- define, describe, classify, compare, interpret and explain the methodology and methods relevant to the identified problem.

Skills and competencies

After a successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• 4- coherently and logically design, plan and conduct an advanced study in the field of leadership and organisation within a defined time frame.
• 5- independently review and relate complex scientific, social and ethical aspects of leadership and organisation to existing projects and processes, in discussions at seminars.
• 6- coherently discuss the ethical behaviours in the research approach especially in regards to data collection, data analysis and report.
• 7- coherently discuss theoretical and empirical results in a written academic/scientific report with references to the field leadership and organisation and other relevant fields to the research problem identified.
• 8- coherently and logically present and discuss his/her own work and constructively critique fellow students' work at seminars.

Judgement and approach

After a successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• 9- develop a cognitive capacity to independently identify a problem in the context of organisation and leadership with a focus on sustainability as well as to analyse this problem, draw and report conclusions in a coherent manner.
• 10- develop a cognitive capacity to access and critically review current research in the fields of organisation and leadership, project management, social entrepreneurship and social innovation.
• 11- develop a cognitive capacity to critically use his/her understanding of the current research in the fields of organisation and leadership, project management, social entrepreneurship and social innovation to analyse a problem and solve it via the generation of new alternatives/knowledge applicable to a specific situation.
• 12- develop a self-understanding of his/her methodological standpoints and their implications on his/her capacity of analysis and of decision-making.
• 13- identify his/her individual need for further knowledge and recognise the importance of continuous development of his/her competence.

The course is based on:

• An independent work in pair. The independent work is developed to support learning in regards to the learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 stated above.
• A supervision process between the thesis pair and the supervisor. The supervision process is developed to support learning in regards to the learning outcomes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 stated above.
• A 100% seminar when students must present and defend their research as well as oppose another thesis. The supervision process is developed to support learning in regards to the learning outcomes 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 stated above.

All learning objectives are also enhanced by the following seminars and workshops:

• A support seminar series, to enable students to present, discuss their ideas and their progress with diverse persons including teachers, other students and external teachers. This is based on peer-review. The participation at these seminars is at the discretion of the students.
• Methodological support workshops give students the opportunity to actively discuss the application of their methodological and methodical knowledge acquired in the course OL642E or OL652E in their thesis work. The participation at these seminars is at the discretion of the students.

The course is evaluated through 2 main examinations as follows:

• The thesis; 13 credits; graded with the A-U scale. Being the accumulation of the master programme, criteria for the thesis work relate closely to the learning objectives of the programme as well as of the other courses in the programme. The thesis more specifically assesses the learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12 stated above. The thesis is first evaluated on the A-U scale following guidelines in line with learning objectives. The grade is then translated into points as follows: A (Excellent)=130; B (Very good) =120; C (Good) =105; D (Satisfactory) =85; E (Pass)=75; U (Fail)=0.
• The 100% seminar; 2 credits; graded with the A-U scale. The 100% seminar includes students’ presentation of their thesis work and an individual opposition on another thesis. The 100% seminar is compulsory and is developed to support learning in regards to the learning outcomes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 stated above. To access the 100% seminar, the pair must have submitted a 75% manuscript to their supervisor and the course responsible. The 100% seminar is first evaluated on the A-U scale following guidelines in line with learning objectives. The grade is then translated into points as follows: A (Excellent)=20; B (Very good) =15; C (Good) =10; D (Satisfactory) =8; E (Pass)=4; U (Fail)=0.

To pass the course:

The student must obtain the grade A, B, C, D or E at the thesis and the 100% seminar.

Both examinations above and their translation into points are added to reach a total amount of points. The compilation of the grade over the entire course then respects the following scale:

• 141-150 = A (Excellent);
• 126-140 = B (Very good);
• 110-125 = C (Good);
• 93-109 =D (Satisfactory);
• 79-92 = E (Pass);
• 0-78 = U (Fail).

The course literature accumulated via the courses included in the Master programme "Leadership for Sustainability" (OL641E, OL642E, OL643E, OL644E and OL645E) is highly recommended but must be complemented as follow:

• Students must select and evaluate relevant and high-quality literature in regards to their research problem.
• Students must select and evaluate up-to-date literature in regards to their research problem.

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).

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.

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