• University of Exeter

Discovering Business in Society

Discover how businesses function and interact with the wider socio-economic environment. In association with ACCA.

14,256 enrolled on this course

business people at a table
  • Duration

    8 weeks
  • Weekly study

    5 hours

This introductory course will guide your discovery of how businesses function and interact with the wider socio-economic environment.

Tensions brought about by competition for resources, the legal and moral frameworks for business activity, and the complexities of knowledge management in organisations will present you with core challenges in the future. Together we’ll explore these dimensions alongside an assessment of the specific business impact of global governance, resource depletion, demographic change, and the power of repeated technology and communications revolutions.

Improving your core knowledge of these new contexts for business activity will ensure you’re better placed to embark upon the next phase of your learning. For those currently in business it gives the chance to reflect, contribute to discussion, and gain recognition for experience.

Questioning anew the contexts for future commercial and organisational success is imperative; this is the purpose of Discovering Business in Society.

Your learning will be guided by senior staff from the EQUIS-accredited University of Exeter Business School. Passing the exam will lead to exemption from the ACCA paper F1, Accountant in Business.

You can find out more about what to expect from this course in two posts on our blog - one asking whether corporations are too powerful, the other examining how the world can change in 50 years.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

Who is the course for?

There are no pre-requisites for the course.

Who will you learn with?

I am Dean of the University of Exeter Business School and a Professor of Economics. I am a fellow of the CEPR and a Member of the UK's Competition Commission.

Who developed the course?

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a Russell Group university. It combines world-class research with very high levels of student satisfaction.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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