NGO Education Survey

Developing Social Policy - SOC810

This unit introduces and advances major topics in social policy – the policies that governments make to improve individual and public welfare. The idea of social policy can be narrow, involving giving cash benefits and social services to the most needy. But our understanding of social policy might be broader, and encompass the provision of social infrastructure – health, housing and education services. Sometimes, social policy can be 'disguised' in other policies entirely, such as the policy of life-long employment promoted in industrial Japan, minimum wages in Australia, and guaranteed prices for food staples. This semester, we consider how different social policies shape different welfare states. The unit will have three parts. The first part engages with key concepts of social policy and the welfare state. The second part outlines three historical welfare models (Australia, Sweden, and the United States) and offers tools for classifying welfare states. The third part looks at the contemporary political and social dynamics surrounding welfare states. Across the semester, we keep a focus on welfare policymaking in Australia and recent social policy changes.

MGSM820 Marketing Management

This unit enables students to apply appropriate tools, techniques and frameworks to make informed management decisions around the marketing function. This includes identifying markets and segments, understanding consumer behaviour, strategic targeting and positioning and the latest approaches to product, pricing, distribution and communications. Above all, this unit teaches students how to think about the marketing function in relation to the business as a whole, in order to create and deliver sustainable value for an organisation and its stakeholders.

MGSM850 Strategic Frameworks

This unit analyses the theories behind, and practical applications of, strategic frameworks used to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. You will learn why organisations change their strategic direction, the importance of those changes, and the process that leads to such key decisions. Importantly, there are no “universal solutions, only differing perspectives which can help you make competitively sustainable strategic decisions.

MGSM868 Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility

With the changing expectations of consumers, employees and regulators, being best in the world is no longer enough. Businesses are now also expected to be best for the world: to be socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable and ethical. For financial, moral and other reasons, business leaders need to know how to be more strategic about their CSR, create shared value and how to manage work with their internal and external stakeholders. It is essential to look into the organisational strategy, value chain, and core operations in order to shift from a nice to have sideshow CSR to a strategic CSR. Strategic CSR is about tying CSR to the company’s competitive advantage and to what it is best at, while working from a multi‐stakeholder perspective and a long-term focus. In this unit we will look into what strategic CSR is and what it involves in theory and in practice, including: corporate behaviour and identity, stakeholder management, engaging employees in CSR, measuring social impact, auditing and reporting, CSR marketing and more.

MGSM869 Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship means using business knowledge and tools as well as entrepreneurial principles to address social and environmental challenges. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognises a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organise, create, and manage a venture to make social change. The unit will focus on the knowledge and practices of social entrepreneurship and social sector leadership. It will provide students with knowledge and tools on creating social change and shared value; managing resources; measuring and communicating social impact; multi-sectorial collaboration; and understanding business models for social enterprises. The unit will include class presentations, guest speakers, case studies, group consultancy exercises and multimedia.

MGSM870 Organisational Behaviour

Organisational Behaviour (OB) is a multi‐disciplinary field that uses insights from psychology, anthropology, philosophy and sociology to study human behaviour in organisational settings. In this unit, students critically examine insights into human behaviour to better manage and improve organisational performance and capability, with an emphasis on ethical management and a global mindset. The unit covers the micro perspectives of OB (such as individual foundations, perceptions, attitudes and motivation); mezzo (such as groups, communication and team dynamics); and macro (such as organisational culture, change, power and leadership), as well as ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Public Policy and International Law - POL827

This unit examines the ways in which both customary and treaty-based international law impact directly and indirectly on public policy. It considers the international law of the sea, the International Criminal Court, the laws of war, and critically analyses obligations entailed in signing on to human rights treaties. The unit covers the incorporation of international law into domestic law in the Australian context, giving rise to another 'head of power' under which the Commonwealth Parliament can legislate. The unit evaluates current debates and policy issues which have international law implications, including terrorism, refugees, torture and the use of force.

SOC825 Activism and Policy Design

This unit examines the broader process of policy development, focusing on how different actors attempt to influence policy development. The unit covers a range of actors, from political parties, Ministers and the bureaucracy to social movements, business lobby groups and community organisations. The unit considers how these groups shape policy making and policy outcomes.

Social Care and Human Services - SOC863

This unit introduces students to research on care and human services. It reviews developments in the theory of care and in the policy, practice, organisation and funding of services. The unit is particularly suitable for policy analysts, program managers, service managers and professionals working in the human services, but will also be of interest to those who seek knowledge to make the world a more caring place.