Title: Sustainability for the Business Manager
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Fall 2007
Course Syllabus
Instructors: Dr. Christopher S. Decker
Dr. Rebecca Morris
Mr. Rick Yoder
Class Meeting: Roskens Hall
Aim of the course: To give students understanding of sustainability and the need for businesses to be sustainable.
Class Meeting Time: Tue. 6-8:40 pm Room: Roskens Hall 108
Course Description: Students will learn about sustainability and related issues from both economic and business management perspectives through lectures, discussion and research. Sustainable businesses are defined here as those which consume resources and deliver products or services in a way that meets “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The course will prepare students to build the business case for why businesses should adopt sustainable practices. Lecture material will cover environmental economics and business case studies that illustrate the social and fiscal importance of sustainability. Students will write a case-study (suitable for publication) about sustainable business practices in a given company.
Course Objectives: Course Goals are as follows:
- To educate students about the strategic role of sustainability for business managers.
- To attract talented students to pursue sustainability-related careers.
- To give students the skills to build a business case for sustainability.
- To provide students relevant experience in business analysis, collaborative report writing, and presentation.
Course Audience: Undergraduate and graduate students in business, economics, engineering, and political science interested in sustainability, corporate social responsibility from both policy development and practical experience perspectives. Students should expect to devote at least 8 hours a week to the course. There are two prerequisites for the course: Microeconomics and Introduction to the Principles of Management.
Course Texts: Holliday, C.O., Schmidheiny S. and Watts P. (2002) Walking The Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development, Green Leaf Publishing,
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, CA.
Field, B.C and Field, M.K (2002) Environmental Economics: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill Publishing, New York, NY
Additional Reading: Readings will be assigned from papers or texts available on-line or posted on Blackboard.
Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (Little, Brown and Co., 1999; available free of charge on the web in pdf form at http://www.natcap.org/sitepages/pid5.php ).
Lester R. Brown, PLAN B2.0: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (W.W. Norton, 2003, available free of charge in pdf & html formats at http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/Contents.htm ).
Students will need to stay up-to-date with the latest news. Students should search online databases such as Business Source Premier for articles and journals. Useful full-text journals include Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Journal, Review & Executive, and Journal of Corporate Citizenship. In general the internet is a good source of information that should be explored, as long as one considers context and perspective.
Prerequisites: Microeconomics and Principles of Management
Evaluation:
Requirement Percent of Grade
Attendance and participation in class 5
Mid-Term Exam 25
Group Report (Case Study) 30
Presentation 10
Peer Evaluation and Executive Summary 20
Final Exam 10
Final Grade Assignment
A+ = 98-100% A = 93-97% A- = 90-92% B+ = 88-89%
B = 83-87% B- = 80-82% C+ = 78-79% C = 73-77%
C- = 70-72% D+ = 68-69% D = 63-67% D- = 60-62%
F = Below 60%
Assignments (Grading Components)
Attendance and Participation in Class: Students are expected to attend each class and participate in discussions. Students who display difficulty with attendance and/or participation will not be awarded full credit for this portion of their grade.
Group Report (Case Study): Students will pair up and write a case-study analyzing a business sustainability project. The case study should be written for publication in the Case Research Journal or included in a business management textbook. Students will also develop a one-page individual executive summary outlining the report’s findings. Students will also be expected to evaluate another group’s report and give feedback. Feedback and comments will be graded using two methods. Firstly the feedback you give to another group will be graded on content and usefulness. Secondly, you will be graded on the use of the feedback you receive. For example, if you receive feedback that suggests clarification about a suggestion you make you will be graded on your response to that feedback i.e. Have you clarified your point? Students are awarded a grade based upon, the feedback given, the use of the feedback you receive, the final group mark and executive summary.
Presentation: Students will present the findings of their report to the class. The group will receive an overall grade.
Peer Assessment and Evaluation: Students will be expected to evaluate the performance and contribution of each member of their group.
Americans with Disabilities Act (P.L. 101.336): In accordance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if you require any special assistance or adaptations to participate in this course, please contact your instructor immediately.
Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating on tests, having others perform or provide work for you, copying other peoples work, and plagiarism. Any breaches of academic misconduct will be reported immediately to the University’s Academic Misconduct Review Board. Please be aware that academic misconduct can result in the student being removed from the class and removed from the University.
Tentative Course Schedule
Week 1 - Introduction to the course
Instructor(s): Decker, Yoder
Topics
· Introduction to the course goals and organization, lectures
o Reinforce elements of academic misconduct
· Context for the course:
o Limits of Growth curves
o Define sustainability
o Growth of sustainability in marketing and public reporting
· The Growth of the Green Market and the opportunity that exists for business to grow in a relatively new market.
Learning Objectives:
· Identify the need for sustainable business lies with limited an expanding population demand on limited resources
· Introduce concepts which challenge traditional business management approach
· Demonstrate the growing acceptance of sustainability as core business strategy
Preparatory Reading:
· P. 25, p.33; discussions about what is meant by sustainability; Field, B.C and Field, M.K (2002) Environmental Economics: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill Publishing, New York, NY
· Pp. 8-31, “Foreward” and “The Business Case for Sustainable Development”; Holliday, C.O., Schmidheiny S. and Watts P. (2002) Walking The Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development, Green Leaf Publishing, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, CA.
· Chapter 1, “The Next Industrial Revolution”; Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (Little, Brown and Co., 1999; available free of charge on the web in pdf & html formats at http://www.natcap.org/sitepages/pid20.php ).
· Chapter 6, “Early Signs of Decline”; Lester R. Brown, PLAN B2.0: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (W.W. Norton, 2006, available free of charge in pdf & html formats at http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB2/Contents.htm ).
Week 2 – Environmental Economics
Instructor(s): Decker
Topics
· The Enivornmental Problem
· Review of market efficiency and welfare economics
· Externalities
· Common property
· Public goods
· The cost of pollution – by what measure?
o Efficiency standard, safety standard, & ecological sustainability standard
Learning Objectives:
· Identify the Environmental Problem and what this means for business now and in the future years
· To identify key externalities in business operations and why these costs should be internalized.
· Identify pollution and its costs, students will consider the various methods of measuring the cost of pollution.
Preparatory Reading:
· Text: Field & Field, p1-37 and p66-79
Week 3 – Environmental Analysis
Instructor(s): Decker
Topics
· Impact analysis (measuring the externality)
· Cost effectiveness
· Benefit-cost analysis
· Risk assessment & health risk assessment
· Discounting
· Real benefits and costs versus transfers
Learning Objectives:
· Identify situations that call for benefit-cost analysis and to be given the tools to conduct a benefit-cost analysis.
· Students will be able to predict the future value of a commodity or good using the discounting method.
· To give students the tools to conduct an impact analysis on a given externality.
Preparatory Reading:
· Text: Environmental Economics p137-174
Week 4 – Stakeholder Interests; Writing Case Studies
Instructor(s): Morris, Yoder
Topics
· How to write a case study
· Placing a value on the sustainability “value proposition”
· Stakeholder analysis: the importance of considering all stakeholders in business decisions
· How stakeholder value is created, maintained and destroyed
· What are the regulatory drivers?
· The virtue matrix – how company practice can become policy
· Assign business cases to students
Learning Objectives:
· To understand the basics in writing a business case study.
· To consider the external pressures upon a business originating from stakeholders.
· To identify company practices that become common practice or law.
Preparatory Reading:
Text: Competitive Environmental Strategy pp31-51
Article – Martin, Roger L., (March 2002) The Virtue Matrix: Calculating the Return on Corporate Responsibility, Harvard Business Review
Walking the Talk pp58-81
Week 5 – Economic Solutions via Environmental Policy
Instructor(s): Decker
Topics
· The traditional approach and welfare implications
· Standards
· Pigovian taxes
· Tradable permits
· Incentives to invest in new technology
· Voluntary pollution control
· Market considerations
· Government sponsored programs and their efficacy
· Broader stakeholder responses
· Review of literature
· Introduce cases in Holliday et al.
Learning Objectives:
· To identify pollution standards and how they can be enforced through various mechanisms such as taxes and permits.
· To understand what incentives exist for corporations to invest in new technology.
· To identify and understand the role of Government in the Environmental Problem.
Preparatory Reading:
· Text: Field & Field p183-189 and 233-257
Week 6 – How to Play the Game; Which Game?
Instructor(s): Decker, Yoder
Topics
· Ecological footprint
· Tragedy of the Commons
o Easter Island
· Prisoners dilemma & consumerism
· Communication – How to talk to audiences
Learning Objectives:
· Students will produce their own ecological footprint, though this they will understand the role each individual can play in reducing the reliance on non-renewable commodities.
· To understand what the tragedy of the commons and the prisoners dilemma are and to give an example of where they can be used.
· To be able to talk to various sections of society, with different mindsets, about a single topic and having all viewpoints satisfied with the outcome.
Preparatory Reading:
·
Week 7 – System Constraints
Instructor(s): Yoder
Topics
· Systems thinking
· Leverage points
· Interconnectedness & triple bottom line
· Ethanol, corn-growers & business decisions in Nebraska & Iowa
Learning Objectives:
· To understand how thinking is affected by the systems in which we live and to change the way we think we must change the system through a series of leverage points.
· Introduce the triple bottom line of economic, natural and social capital.
· To highlight the ethical dilemma Nebraskans and Iowans face with regards to ethanol production.
Preparatory Reading:
Week 8
Topics
· Mid-Term Exam
Learning Objectives:
Preparatory Reading:
Week 9 – NGO’s and Non-Financial measurements
Instructor(s): Yoder
Topics
· Drivers of change from society
· Global Reporting Initiative Evaluating non-financial performance measurement
· How do you measure sustainability?
· Mid-term exam review
Learning Objectives:
· To highlight the drivers of change that come from different sections of society
· To highlight and evaluate different methods of measuring sustainability
· Prepare students for mid-term exam
Preparatory Reading:
Text: Walking the Talk pp150-173
Hoffman, Andrew, J., (2000) Competitive Environmental Strategy – A Guide to the Changing Business Landscape, Island Press pp 105-126
Chtterji & Levine, (2006) Breaking Down the Wall of Codes: Evaluating Non-Financial Performance Measurement, California Management Review, Vol 48. Issue 2,pp 29-52
Week 10 – The Growth in the “Green Market”
Instructor(s): Yoder
Topics
· “Green Movement”- What this means for business. Opportunities and trends in a growth market.
· Making markets work for all.
· Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility
Text: Walking the Talk pp 241-266
Students are expected to access the Green Living – US September 2006 report produced by Mintel. This is available at http://academic.mintel.com
Learning Objectives:
· Identify the growing trend of “going green” in the consumer world and how business can incorporate this into their strategy.
· Demonstrate how markets work and how marks can be embraced to drive change in society.
· Highlight the link between competitive advantage and CSR and why companies should take a strategic view of sustainability.
Preparatory Reading:
Walking the Talk pp 241-266
Porter, Michael E. & Kramer, Mark R. (2006) Strategy Society – The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility, Harvard Business Review, Dec 2006.
Hawken et al (1999) Natural Capitalism Creating the next Industrial Revolution, Rocky Mountain Institute – Chapter 13 Making Markets Work
http://www.natcap.org/images/other/NCchapter13.pdf
Week 11 – Technology & Systems Impacts
Instructor(s): Yoder
Topics
· Technology and innovation: the importance of new technologies
o Jevons Parodox
o Technology & the Revenge of Unintended Consequences
· Diffusion of Innovations
Learning Objectives:
· To understand what Jevons Paradox is.
· To highlight the debate about innovating our way out of the Environmental Problem
· To understand key issues in the advancements of technology and the consequences innovation holds.
Preparatory Reading:
Text: Walking the Talk pp 193-217
Week 12 – International Perspective
Instructor(s): Yoder
Topics Part 1
· CSR on an international scale