Unit rationale, description and aim
Business enterprises have a significant role to play in ensuring that human rights are realized. The purpose of this unit is to critically analyse human rights compliance in supply chains, business transactions and business operations. The unit will develop the knowledge and skills required to evaluate the concepts of corporate social responsibility and stewardship, and explore how mechanisms for scrutiny, oversight, due diligence, capacity building and awareness raising can advance human rights compliance. The unit will explore and analyse non-State-based grievance mechanisms, and also how artificial intelligence and automation can achieve compliance by and through design.
The aim of the unit is to equip you with knowledge of business operations which you will use to view all of the things you learn in the human rights program.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Describe the circumstances in which business must ...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically evaluate materials that demonstrate how...
Learning Outcome 02
Critically evaluate materials tendered by Australi...
Learning Outcome 03
Content
Topics will include:
- Business varieties and legal personality
- Corporate social responsibility
- Stewardship
- Compliance through law and legal policy
- Compliance through non-legal means
- Effectiveness of non-judicial grievance mechanisms
- Compliance in supply chains
- Case study: modern slavery compliance
- Compliance in transactions
- Case study: artificial intelligence and “compliance through design”
- Case study: privacy
- The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Rights at Work
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit seeks to model the appropriate use of psychological evidence in criminal matters, critical analysis of its use, and the important standards and ethical obligations that are relevant to using such evidence. Accordingly, three proposed assessments comprise an authentic scaffold aligned with the unit’s learning outcomes.
First, students demonstrate knowledge of the circumstances in which business must show fidelity to human rights and how they organize their transactions and operations to do so, through a quiz.
Second, students will critically evaluate materials that demonstrate how business do and do not comply with human rights through preparation of a case study.
Finally, under examination conditions, students will be presented with hypothetical cases and invited to identify and describe the varieties of human rights issues raised by these hypotheticals and develop ideas for resolving them.
Overview of assessments
Online multiple choice quiz: Require students to ...
Online multiple choice quiz: Require students to demonstrate their ability to write a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of psychologists and psychiatrists in criminal cases.
20%
Case study: students will be presented with a hyp...
Case study: students will be presented with a hypothetical and invited to identify and describe the issues that may be useful in advancing a resolution of the case and explain why.
40%
Exam, requiring critical evaluation of a number o...
Exam, requiring critical evaluation of a number of human rights policy matters
40%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit comprises 150 hours of study in total. It will be taught over a 12 week semester, with one 2-hour lecture followed by a 1-hour tutorial each week. Other study components might include on-line webinars, podcasts, readings, discussion forums etc. The balance of the hours is comprised of private study.
Our strategy is to encourage students to actively engage with unit content and their peers; to provide a clear link between lecture content and tutorial practicum to develop skills that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Within an integrated learning framework, lectures will provide core content relating to the topics identified above and begin the process of exploration, which will be followed by detailed explanation and further investigation in tutorials. Through direct interaction between students and teachers, students are encouraged to engage in critical analysis of the foundational knowledge they acquire; to test that knowledge by applying it to factual situations; to produce solutions supported by legal authorities and arguments; and to reflect on their learning. Each component is intended to build on knowledge and skills and progressively scaffold student learning.
The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple preparatory and practice opportunities to guide in-class and out-of-class study. Technology assistance in the form of online learning resources, notices, assessment information (including online submission, marking and return of results/feedback), is student focused, affording greater accessibility and flexibility to the learning experience.