MGN536 Risk, Trust, and Governance in the Digital Age
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | MGN536 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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Unit Outline: Semester 1 2027, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | MGN536 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
Overview
Developing expertise in risk management equips you with the ability to analyse complex challenges and support sustainable organisational performance. This unit strengthens your capability to integrate and evaluate risk management frameworks, assess uncertainties across human, organisational, and technological systems, and design evidence-informed mitigation strategies. You will critically examine ethical and governance principles relevant to contemporary workforce governance, with particular attention to algorithmic management, responsible automation, and emerging digital technologies. You will also analyse broader digital challenges—including trust, privacy, ethics, governance, and regulation—through a case-based approach. By engaging with contemporary risk and trust issues, you will develop practical capabilities for risk management and governance in diverse organisational settings.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Evaluate uncertainties in human, organisational, and technological systems, and use digital capabilities to produce accurate, ethical, and contextually appropriate outputs that inform advanced risk assessment. [KS 1.2, HO 2.1]
- Evaluate and justify options for implementing risk mitigation strategies that balance social, ethical, and organisational considerations, enabled by generative AI outputs. [KS 1.2, HO 2.2, SE 5.2]
- Analyse and interpret legal, ethical, governance, and sustainability principles in relation to risk management, including algorithmic management, automation, and emerging digital technologies, to assess their implications for organisational trust. [SE 5.1, 5.2]
- Demonstrate self-reflection and professional communication skills in evaluating organisational risks, building trust, and using generative AI responsibly and ethically in professional practice. [PC 3.1, 3.2, TS 4.1, SE 5.1]
Content
This module equips you with the knowledge, analytical tools, and practical strategies needed to understand why organisations face risk, how to manage it effectively, and how to navigate the emerging ethical and digital challenges shaping contemporary risk landscapes:
Why are organisations at risk?
• Understanding and assessing risk
• Internal, External, and Emerging sources of risk
How can we manage risk and what should we do when facing risk?
• Identifying and managing different types of risk (external, internal, emerging, unknown)
• Evaluating and managing risk from different stakeholder perspectives
• Developing business continuity capabilities
Emerging risks in the digital age:
• Critically analyse ethical, legal, and governance issues in digital contexts
• Develop strategies for managing organisational trust
• Evaluate controversies across disciplines related to algorithmic management and use of Generative AI in organisationss.
QUT Business Capabilities (Postgraduate)
The content and assessment in this unit are aligned to a selection of the following set of QUT Business Capabilities, also known as Assurance of Learning Goals (AoLs). Developing these capabilities will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT and equip you with the knowledge and skills to succeed in your chosen career.
Knowledge & Technical Skills (KS)
1.1 Demonstrate and apply advanced, integrated discipline and professional practice knowledge, including relevant research principles and methods, to address complex and evolving business challenges.
1.2 Leverage digital technologies, data-driven tools, technical and research skills to organise, interpret and extend discipline and professional practice knowledge to investigate digitally enhanced business environments.
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HO)
2.1 Critically investigate complex, real-world business problems by analysing, evaluating, and synthesising discipline and professional practice knowledge.
2.2 Exercise creativity and intellectual independence and make evidence-based decisions and judgements in planning, designing, and executing strategic responses to address real world business challenges.
Professional Communication (PC)
3.1 Use information and digital literacy skills to communicate effectively and professionally in written forms, using appropriate technologies and media for diverse purposes, audiences, and business contexts.
3.2 Use information and digital literacy skills to communicate effectively and professionally in oral forms, using appropriate technologies and media for diverse purposes, audiences, and business contexts.
Teamwork & Self (TS)
4.1 Exercise self- reflection and accountability in applying knowledge and skills to support continuous learning, adaptability and effective professional growth.
4.2 Apply collaborative capabilities to work effectively in diverse teams and across complex, interdisciplinary business environments.
Social, Ethical & Global Understanding (SE)
5.1 Demonstrate ethical reasoning and apply legal and governance principles to critically evaluate and respond to complex business decisions and practices.
5.2 Apply socially responsible and sustainability-focused thinking to analyse business issues and reflect on the broader impact of organisations in national and global contexts.
Learning Approaches
The teaching and learning strategies applied in this unit are intended to maximise your involvement and engagement with the concepts that are being presented and to provide opportunities for you to develop thinking and practical skills in a supportive environment. The unit incorporates a range of interactive learning activities and online learning resources to ensure adequate time is devoted to skills development and theory while also familiarising students with self-directed learning, which will become an important aspect of working life once students’ graduate. Learning activities are structured to provide a dynamic learning environment to promote critical and analytical applications of theory and frameworks to real world cases, and to provide guidance that steps students through the assessment tasks set for the unit.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Students will receive feedback in various forms throughout the semester, which may include:
• Informal: worked examples, such as verbal feedback in class, personal consultation
• Formal: in writing, such as checklists (e.g. criteria sheets), written commentary
• Direct: to individual students, either in written form or in consultation
• Indirect: to whole class
Assessment
Overview
Assessment in this unit is structured around authentic risk management work outputs, including the developing of corporate threat register entries, developing risk management templates for projects, and exercising risk management and crisis management decision making techniques.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Risk Assessment Report
The purpose of the first assessment is for you to investigate and evaluate a specific threat to an organisation. You will be assigned an organisation and context to research, and you will complete and submit a corporate threat register template. You will also provide supporting research and evidence to explain your threat register entry and the potential vulnerability you have identified.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative
Business Capabilities (AoL goals): KS (1.2), HO (2.1), PC (3.1), SE (5.2)
Assessment: Risk Management Presentation
The purpose of the second assessment is for you to develop an understanding of the challenges involved in applying risk models and standards to a real-world context. Building on the risk analysis you completed in Assessment 1, you will design a risk management plan (Part A) tailored to the context of your assigned organisation. Through this work, you will strengthen the organisation’s preparedness for managing disruptions to operations and corporate management, enhancing its long-term sustainability. You will create a comprehensive risk management plan and deliver a presentation (Part B) demonstrating how your plan can be used by the organisation to manage risk more effectively.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assessment item requires your attendance at your scheduled tutorial/session.
This assignment is not eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative
Business Capabilities (AoL goals): KS (1.2), HO (2.2), PC (3.2), SE (5.2)
Assessment: Reflective Journal
You are required to write an individual reflective essay that critically engages with the ethical, legal, and governance challenges arising from the use of generative AI in organisational risk management. Your reflection should be based on your experiences in earlier assessments (i.e., risk assessment and risk management plan), practical exercises designing/refining AI prompts, and unit content on managing merging risks and organisational trust in the digital age. Demonstrate self-reflection by identifying how your thinking about risk, AI, trust and ethics has developed over the semester. Your reflective journal will need to include reflection outputs from specific tutorial activities to evidence the development of your thinking across the unit. See canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
Formative or Summative: Summative
Business Capabilities (AoL goals): TS (4.1), SE (5.1)
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resources will be provided on the unit Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the learning and teaching activities in this unit.
Standards/Competencies
This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.
QUT Business Capabilities (Postgraduate) 2027
HO (2.1): Critical Analysis
Relates to: ULO1, Risk Assessment Report
HO (2.2): Independent Judgement and Decision-Making
Relates to: ULO2, Risk Management Presentation
KS (1.2): Technical and Technological Skills
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation
PC (3.1): Professional Communication (Written)
Relates to: ULO4, Risk Assessment Report
PC (3.2): Professional Communication (Oral)
Relates to: ULO4, Risk Management Presentation
SE (5.1): Ethical and Legal Understanding
Relates to: ULO3, ULO4, Reflective Journal
SE (5.2): Global Social Responsibility
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation
TS (4.1): Self-Reflection and Accountability
Relates to: ULO4, Reflective Journal
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.BS12 Master of Business
- Leverage digital technologies, data-driven tools, technical and research skills to organise, interpret and extend discipline and professional practice knowledge in digitally enhanced business environments.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation - Critically investigate complex, real-world business problems by analysing, evaluating, and synthesising discipline and professional practice knowledge.
Relates to: ULO1, Risk Assessment Report - Exercise creativity and intellectual independence and make evidence-based decisions and judgements in planning, designing, and executing strategic responses to address real world business challenges.
Relates to: ULO2, Risk Management Presentation - Use information and digital literacy skills to communicate effectively and professionally in written forms, using appropriate technologies and media for diverse purposes, audiences, and business contexts
Relates to: ULO4, Risk Assessment Report - Use information and digital literacy skills to communicate effectively and professionally in oral forms, using appropriate technologies and media for diverse purposes, audiences, and business contexts.
Relates to: ULO4, Risk Management Presentation - Exercise self- reflection and accountability in applying knowledge and skills to support continuous learning, adaptability and effective professional growth.
Relates to: ULO4, Reflective Journal - Demonstrate ethical reasoning and apply legal and governance principles to critically evaluate and respond to complex business decisions and practices.
Relates to: ULO3, ULO4, Reflective Journal - Apply socially responsible and sustainability-focused thinking to analyse business issues and reflect on the broader impact of organisations in national and global contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation
BS68 Graduate Diploma in Business
- Apply technical, digital, and research skills to organise, interpret, and evaluate discipline knowledge and practice to investigate business issues in digitally enhanced environments.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation - Critically investigate real-world business issues and challenges using analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of interdisciplinary knowledge, including theory and practice.
Relates to: ULO1, Risk Assessment Report - Exercise innovative thinking and intellectual independence to make informed decisions and judgements in planning evidence-based responses to complex and evolving business contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, Risk Management Presentation - Use information literacy skills to communicate effectively in written forms and through appropriate digital media, tailored to diverse professional and organisational audiences.
Relates to: ULO4, Risk Assessment Report - Demonstrate self-reflection and accountability in applying knowledge and skills for continuous learning and effective professional practice in dynamic business environments.
Relates to: ULO4, Reflective Journal - Demonstrate and apply knowledge of ethical and legal principles and practices of business in responding to complex business issues.
Relates to: ULO3, ULO4, Reflective Journal - Apply socially responsible and sustainability-focused thinking to analyse business issues and reflect on the broader impact of organisations in national and global contexts.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, Risk Assessment Report, Risk Management Presentation