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Foundations of Sustainable Business

Fall, 2012
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Investigating how leading companies are making CSR core to their business strategy
• Identifying the roles and influences of different stakeholders on businesses—including shareholders, communities, customers, employees, NGOs, government and business partners
• Examining why stakeholders are becoming the brand managers for businesses today.
• Identifying where to find sustainability information related to a corporation’s business practices
• Understanding the new types of information that must be captured and analyzed to address sustainability issues and opportunities
• Identifying the sustainability issues that are critical to different industries
• Understanding why business collaboration with external partners is an essential part of sustainability
• Examining the evolving standards and reporting requirements in sustainability
• Examining the new decisions and tradeoffs businesses face in balancing social and environmental outcomes against profits

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to help students understand the evolving role of business in society. It will focus on why sustainability is an essential strategic issue for businesses today and in the future.

Texts

• Esty, Daniel, and Winston Andrew, Green to Gold, Yale University Press, 2006.
• Hart, Stuart A. Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity, Prentice Hall, 2007.
• Hittner, Jeff and George Pohle, “Attaining sustainable growth through CSR,” IBM Institute for Business Value, 2008.
• Erickson, Gary and Lois Lorentzne, Raising the Bar, Jossey-Bass, 2004.
• Lovins, Hunter, Climate Capitalism. Hill and Wang, 2011.
• McDonaugh, William and Michael Bruengart, Cradle to Cradle. North Point Press, 2002.
• Russo, Mike, Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainably, Responsibly, and Profitably, Stanford University Press, 2010.
• Additional readings TBD including selections from:
  • Wankel, Charles and James Stoner, Management Education for Global Sustainability, Information Age Publishers, 2009.
  • Environmentalleader.com, Businessgreen.com, Greenbiz.com, Sustainability: The Journal of Record.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, group discussions, videos, and student presentations. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, cases, group work, completion of homework, final exam and group presentations.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Foundations of Sustainable Business set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Orienting	The sustainability paradigm: This session explores the historical, scientific and ethical basis of sustainability as a critical normative compass for individuals, for society and for business.
Foundations	The business case for sustainability. We first develop the vision that can align profitability with a focus on reduction in environmental impact and engagement with stakeholders. What does it mean to run a sustainable business? How does sustainability differ from social entrepreneurship?
Stakeholders and Communication	Stakeholders and sustainability. We explore here the six foundations of the business case for sustainability: resource efficiency; design from nature; continuous innovation; employee productivity; partner synergies; customer engagement. These in turn arise from productive relations with nature, customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and business, NGO and state partners.
Frames for Decision Making	Topic deep-dives: water, carbon / energy, human rights, the built environment. How can business engage in solving local and global sustainability challenges? We will see the importance of good science as a basis for solutions, explore the ways in which businesses have found opportunities to meet critical human needs with a radically reduced footprint, and consider how companies can alter the frame through which customers and other stakeholders relate to the business.
The New Information Landscape	Sustainability information. Here the focus is on the explosion of new types of information being monitored in the sustainability space. We will look at CSR reporting, trade-offs in strategic decision making, and the development of metrics and standards.

Economics for Decision Making

Fall, 2012
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are to understand:

• The power and the limits of markets to promote sustainability
• Managing the commons
• Key micro-economic market models
• The cost and demand structure of the firm, and profit-maximizing decision-rules
• Ecological and neoclassical economic frames, outcomes and policies
• Information economics: asymmetries, moral hazard, contracts, make-buy decisions

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to provide students with the useful tool-kit that economics provides for understanding both the business firm and the market environment. At the same time, students will constantly confront the limits of the market to deliver sustainable outcomes. Students will also understand the ways in which poor economic analysis is often influenced by, and used to support, political ideology.

Texts

• Frank, Robert, Microeconomics and Behavior, McGraw Hill, 2010.
• Goodstein, Eban, Economics and the Environment, Wiley, 2010.
• Stiglitz, Joseph, Amartya Sen, and Jean-Paul Fitoussi, Mismeasuring Our Lives, New Press, 2010.
• Additional readings TBD, including selections from:
  • Heilbroner, Robert, The Worldy Philosphers, Touchstone, 1995.
    
    

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Economics for Decision Making set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Orienting for Sustainable Business	The Evolution of Economic Thought: This session lays out the history of economic thought, from the mercantilists through to the present day, emphasizing the interplay between the development of the market system and its analysts, and the tension between economics as a social science and economics as an ideology.
Foundations of a Shared Planet	Market Fundamentals. We begin framing the economic question of sustainable development on a finite planet. Then we will review the fundamentals of market interaction: supply, demand, elasticity. Because markets require access to the commons, externalities arise. We conclude with strategies for managing the commons—regulation, taxes, cap-and-dividend.
Stakeholders and Communication	Production Theory and Market Structure. Here we review the short and long run cost structure of the firm—determined by the productivity of labor and the availability of capital. We illustrate the standard model of profit-maximizing behavior under different market, and thus firm-demand, structures, illuminating pressures to externalize costs.
Frames for Decision Making	Neoclassical and Ecological Economics. This section of the course covers the economics of sustainability, focusing on how resource limits are understood by different economic models. We will also explore, and attempt to reconcile, economic and scientific perspectives on the prospects for business-as-usual growth across the 21st century.
The New Information Landscape	Economics of imperfect information. Since the 1970’s, much economic theory has focused on individual and firm behavior in the face of imperfect information. We will lay a foundation for future agency and governance discussions, looking at asymmetric information, moral hazard, contracting, and make-buy decisions.

Leadership I

Fall, 2012
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Developing a greater awareness of your sense of self
• Identifying your passions, strengths, and weaknesses as an individual and communicator
• Identifying the boundaries of others, setting your own boundaries
• Setting goals and managing failure
• Identifying and understanding different leadership structures
• Learning how to lead transformative efforts

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to prepare and empower students with the skills necessary to become transformative leaders in their future organizations.

Texts

• Pink, Daniel, Drive: The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us, Riverhead 2009.
• Price, Alan, Ready to Lead? A Story for Leaders and Their Mentors, Jossey-Bass, 2004.
• Kouzes, James M. and Barry Pozner, The Leadership Challenge, Jossey-Bass, 2008.
• Select readings from:
  • Card, Orson Scott, Ender’s Game, Doherty Associates, 1985.
  • Gentile, Mary, Giving Voice to Values, 2010.
  • Heen, Sheila, Bruce Patton and Douglas Stone Difficult Conversations, Penguin Books, 1999.
  • Obama, Barack, Dreams of My Father. Random House, 1995.
  • Plato, The Republic, Trslt. Grube, Hackett, 1992.
• Additional articles on transformative leadership from HBR and other sources.

Grading
The course will be a combination of experiential exercises, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, cases, group work, completion of homework, and group presentations. There will be no traditional exams in this class.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Leadership 1 set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Orienting	From The Republic to the Social Network. Starting with Plato’s Republic, we reflect on training for leadership, and the degree to which today’s companies are or should be run by philosopher kings and queens.
Foundations	Self awareness. We begin with a focus on developing a greater understanding of self through a number of experiential and reflective activities. How do issues of race and gender affect leadership?
	Transformative leadership. We will look at different leadership models and the differences between transactional and transformative leaders and organizations.
Stakeholders and Communication	Audience. We discuss here how empathy is developed, our ability to teach it to others, and its role in communication.
	Communication & Negotiation. The focus will be on developing the skills to communicate successfully with the world around you.
Frames for Decision Making	Understanding boundaries. We will learn how to identify our own boundaries in life and at work, set boundaries for ourselves, identify the boundaries of others and respect them.
	Converting challenges into change. We will focus on how to convert negative feedback and failures into positive opportunities for change.
The New Information Landscape	Millenial leadership. We will focus on generational leadership. Has the internet changed everything?

Accounting & The Integrated Bottom Line

Fall, 2012
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Understanding how the choices of what you measure affect behavior and outcomes
• Understanding why sustainability factors have traditionally been left out of accounting
• Identifying measurement systems that provide mechanisms to address various stakeholder motivations and resource expectations
• Identifying sources of potential risk
• Understanding the control procedures to minimize risk
• Using financial data to analyze decision alternatives and indentify consequences for profitability as well as relevant stakeholders
• Understanding the risks and opportunities derived from choices made about cost structure of a firm
• Understanding budgeting from a strategic and operational perspective
• Assessing how inputs lead to outputs (and outcomes)

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to teach students what should be measured and how it should be measured, and the role accounting plays in achieving strategic goals and managing stakeholder tensions.

Texts

• Simons, Robert, Performance Measurement & Control Systems for Implementing Strategy: Text and Cases, Prentice Hall, 1999.
• Zimmerman, Jerold, Accounting for Decision Making and Control – 6th Edition, McGraw Hill, 2008.
• We’ll also include some key articles such as:
  • Gentile, Mary “Giving Voice to Values,” (Accounting case studies) Yale University Press, 2010.
  • Libby, Theresa, and R. Murray Lindsey, “Beyond Budgeting or Better Budgeting?” Strategic Finance, August 2007, p. 46-52.
  • Rose, F. “Big Stars – Huge Explosions! 3% Margins” Fortune, October 26, 1998, Vol 138, Iss. 8, pp. 52-54.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case and causality analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and multiple exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Accounting and the Integrated Bottom-Line set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Orienting	Managing and Measuring: We begin with a discussion of recent catastrophic business failures—and consider whether bad information systems were to blame, or whether managers failed to heed the warnings provided by those systems. We also introduce basic statistical concepts: central tendency, variance, and the normal distribution.
Foundations	Causality and management. Measurement is only useful if it identifies the causal linkages between inputs and outputs. We will focus on performance measurement, non-financial performance management, understanding causality and evaluating how choices of what to measure affect behavior. We will highlight why sustainability factors have traditionally been left out of the accounting process.
Stakeholders and communication	Internal control and risk assessment. We will build an understanding of what impacts the quality of information being used to make decisions can have, as well as what managers can do to ensure the information produced by the organization can be relied upon. The focus will be on identifying and managing strategic risk – including environmental, social, stakeholder, etc.
Frames for decision making	Cost behavior and decision making. Here we focus on understanding the nature of costs and the consequences of different cost structures on short and long-term risks and opportunities.
	Budget creation and monitoring. The examination of budgeting from a strategic, operational perspective (planning and analysis). Also, we will consider the financial consequences of changing strategies, as well as how resource allocations impact various stakeholder groups.
The new information landscape	Activity analysis. We will focus on inputs and their affect on outcomes, activity-based costing, material flow cost accounting, GRI reporting, carbon accounting.

NYCLab 1 & 2

Fall 2012 – Spring 2013
3 Credits (each semester)

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for this course sequence are to understand:

• The value and limitations of a business consultant
• Team dynamics and leadership
• How to apply skills learned in other classes to a real world case

Student Outcomes:
Students will gain confidence in their ability to solve business problems, to communicate effectively, and to work in teams. These consultancies are also designed to clarify career goals and provide opportunities to build personal networks.

Texts

• Atkisson, Alan, The Sustainability Transformation, EarthScan, 2010.
• Galea, Chris (ed) Consulting for Business Sustainability, McGraw Hill, 2010.
• Greiner, Larry E. and Poulfelt, Flemming. The Contemporary Consultant – Insights from Experts, Thomson South-Western Publishing. 2004.
• Greiner, Larry E., Olson, Thomas H. and Poulfelt, Flemming, The Contemporary Consultant – Casebook, Thomson South-Western Publishing, 2004.
• Additional readings TBD.

Grading
Students will produce final written and oral reports. Grading is P/F, and a written performance assessment will be provided for each student from the team mentor. The most effective NYCLab project each year will be acknowledged by a vote of the faculty.

Course Outline:
NYCLab provides the opportunity, in teams of 6-7, for students to pursue consultancies for NYC area businesses, government agencies and non-profits. Each team is closely mentored by a faculty member. At the beginning of each term, the MBA program will solicit projects from area businesses; students teams will be assembled and matched with projects based on student interest and faculty expertise. Depending on the scope of the project, labs can run the full two semesters of the first year, or students can be involved in two consultancies, one each semester of the first year. Students will devote at least 6 hours of each residency to work on their NYCLab projects, and are expected to spend two hours per week during the inter-residency periods on project research.

Operations I

Spring 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are understanding:

• How to think from a systems perspective
• That a sustainable business is an organism in an ecology of commerce, impacted by individuals, culture, businesses and natural environment
• Key concepts for operations decision-making
• Resource productivity and cost control, and ecological design as a foundation for cost reduction
• How abstract financial controls can stifle living systems operations
• How statistical analyses inform operations decisions
• Current sustainable supply chain trends and tools including traceability, lifecycle analysis, responsible sourcing, total cost of ownership, etc
• The impact of stakeholders on supply chain issues including traceability and transparency

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to help students understand traditional operations / supply chain management and its weaknesses, and current strategies in greening operations and supply chains and the tools to enable them. Ecological design is stressed as a key sustainability strategy for promoting continuous cost reduction.

Texts

• Sterman, J.D., Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking & Modeling for a Complex World, Irwin-McGraw Hill, 2000.
• Knod, Edward M. and Richard Schonberger, Operations Management, McGraw Hill, 2001.
• Schendler, Auden, Getting Green Done, Public Affairs, 2009.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications
• We will also include some key articles and chapters from texts such as:
  • Arnold, J.R. Tony, and Stephen N. Chapman, Introduction to Materials Management. 5th Edition. Prentice Hall, 2004.
  • Coyle, John J., Edward J. Bardi and C. John Langley Jr.,  The Management of Business Logistics. A Supply Chain Perspective, 7th Edition. South-Western, 2003.
  • Esty, Dan and P.J. Simmons, The Green to Gold Business Playbook, Wiley, 2011.
  • Hawken, Paul, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism, Little Brown, 1999
  • Von Weizsäcker, Ernst, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, Factor Four: Doubling Wealth - Halving Resource Use. Earthscan Publications, 1997.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Operations 1 set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Systems Thinking	Business as a living system. We will introduce the concept of systems thinking and its approach to problem solving. We compare it to our current operation’s models to highlight gaps and inefficiencies.
	The basics of operations. We provide a foundational review of the value chain, capacity planning, forecasting demand, process design, inventory management (JIT, MRP, total quality management,) and more. We consider how statistical analysis supports planning and control.
Firm Costs and Finance	Resources and costs. This section will focus on cost control, reviewing concepts of resource productivity. We will explore ecological design and radical resource efficiency as key strategic elements for sustainable business. One focus will be energy: what are the advantages of energy efficiency and renewable technologies?
System Dynamics	Measurement and statistics. We will focus on statistical analysis for operations such as process control. We review basics such as sampling, the relationship of probability to statistics, bi-variate significance testing. We will explore new areas of measurement in sustainability including traceability and total cost of ownership.
Global Regulation and Structures	Trends in supply chain management. The focus will be on current trends in supply chain strategy including reverse logistics, responsible sourcing, outsourcing, design for environment, closed loop manufacturing and more. We will include trends in manufacturing and environmental law (such as REACH and WEEE) and the potential for new regulation.
Distance and Ethics	Tools for sustainable operations. We look here at new frameworks and tools in “greening” the supply chain including green sigma, lifecycle analysis, LEED, etc. We include a statistics segment on multiple regression.

Globalization and Emerging Markets

Spring 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are to understand:

• How globalization has redefined the stakeholder community: customers, employees, capital sources, and suppliers
• The economic drivers of globalization: not comparative advantage in trade, rather technology and transport creating a global labor market, undermining traditional geographic advantage
• The fundamentals of money, banking and the role of the central bank
• How these roles have rapidly evolved with technology, leading to an intertwined global system, with weak international financial governance
• Theories of financial fragility, policy responses, and business strategies
• The evolution and function of global economic structures
• Localization and models for local business networks

Student Outcomes:
The class provide students with an understanding of drivers of globalization, the demands this process places on business development, and the opportunities created as well for successful local business models. Students also develop knowledge of national and international financial systems, problems of financial fragility, business strategies to manage financial cycles, and governance systems for international trade and finance.

Texts

• McKibben, Bill, Deep Economy, Times Books, 2007.
• Papadimitriou, Dimitri and Randall Wray, The Elgar Companion to Hyman Minsky, Edward Elgar, 2010.
• Rodrick, Dani ,The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy, Norton, 2011
• Sorkin, Andrew, Too Big to Fail, Penguin, 2009.
• Wright, Robert and Vincenzo Quadrini, Money and Banking, Flat World Knowledge: 2009.
• • Mishkin, Frederic, The Federal Reserve After the Crisis, American Enterprise Institute 2010.
• Eichengreen, Barry, Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System, Oxford University Press, 2011.
• We will also include some key articles and chapters from texts such as:
  • Bhagwati, Jagdish, In Defense of Globalization: With a New Afterword, Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Stiglitz, Joseph, Globalization and Its Discontents, W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.
• Additional readings TBD.

Grading:
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, group presentations, completion of homework, and multiple exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Globalization and Emerging Markets set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Systems Thinking	Economic Drivers of Globalization. We begin with a history of globalization, and then focus on the proximal drivers of the recent wave: technology and transport costs. We also discuss the relevance of comparative advantage and more advanced trade theory, as well as traditional explanations for industry concentration and clusters.
Firm Costs and Finance	Money and Banking.  Here we review the basics of money and the banking system at the national level, and the traditional role of the central bank. We update our understanding of this role by examining the non-traditional strategies employed by the Fed in the wake of the recent crisis, and the new international nature of the financial system.
System Dynamics	Financial Systems and Fragility. Bard’s Levy Economics Institute is an international center for the study of financial fragility. We bring Levy’s expertise to bear to understand the underlying nature of financial systems, continuous “financial innovation”, potential policy responses, and the implications for business management in the coming decades.
Global Structures and Regulations	Global Structures. Here we focus on the national and global structures regulating trade and finance. How do these structures touch the day-to-day operations and HR requirements of businesses? We will also consider the ethics surrounding “payment for access” in different cultural contexts.
Distance and Ethics	Localization. Is local business more sustainable? We will focus on this question, and on  strategies to develop successful local businesses in the face of continuing globalization pressures. Comparative policy frameworks of different countries and communities will be explored.

Political Economy of Sustainability

Spring 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are to understand:

• The foundational relationship: system prosperity requires political stability and a social contract
• How rising inequality is a defining feature of globalizing economies, declining state power, and the limits of Keynesian demand management
• The evolution of business forms, as a function of economies of scale, financing demands, risk management, and political power
• The interaction between green business strategy and government policy
• The emergent role of NGO’s in governance, and business-NGO-government partnerships
• The Bottom of the Pyramid business model, and the ethical challenges posed

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to provide students with an understanding of the inter-relationships between business, government and NGO’s. Sustainable business is a step along a historical evolution of the business form, emerging in response to ecological and political-economic constraints that have simultaneously expanded the need for collective action, and reduced the effectiveness of state actors. Students will learn how the lines between the three sectors have blurred, that partnerships are a new feature of the business landscape, but that business has a uniquely powerful role to play in the drive towards sustainability.

Texts

• • Chandler, Alfred, The Visible Hand, Belknap, 1977.
• • Hawken, Paul, Blessed Unrest, Viking, 2007.
• • Huffington, Arianna, Third World America, Crown, 2010.
• • Powers, Richard, Gain, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux: 2009
• • Selections and papers, including:
  • Roodman, David & Jonathan Morduch, "The Impact of Microcredit on the Poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the Evidence," Working Papers 174, Center for Global Development, 2009.
  • Ravallion, Martin, "Troubling tradeoffs in the Human Development Index," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5484, The World Bank, 2010.
  • Ravallion, Martin, "Economic growth and poverty reduction: Do poor countries need to worry about inequality?," 2020 vision briefs BB08 Special Edition, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2007.
  • Banerjee, Abhijit and Esther Duflo, “Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty”, 2011
  • Needs to Know, Oxford, 2010.
  • Heilbroner, Robert, The Worldy Philosphers, Touchstone, 1995.
  • Novogratz, Jacqueline, The Blue Sweater, Rodale, 2009.
  • Levy Economics Institute, selected LIMEW reports.
  • Smith, Adam, Theory of Moral Sentiments (online).

Grading 
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, group presentations, completion of homework, and multiple exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Political Economy of Sustainability set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Systems Thinking	Inequality Rising & Business at the Bottom of the Pyramid. We begin with a look at the defining socio-economic feature of the 21st century: the rise of income inequality in both developed and developing countries, often aggravating race, ethnic and gender disparities. Levy Institute expertise will illuminate these trends. The economic drivers will be discussed concurrently in the globalization class; here we focus on the limits of Keynesian macro-policy, the decline of the welfare state, and the limits of state power. We end with a look at bottom of the pyramid solutions.
Firm Costs and Finance	Business History, Corporate Goals. In this section, we examine the rise of the global corporation, beginning with the industrial revolution. We explore how issues of scale, finance, risk, and politics have shaped corporate forms and business goals, leading now to the emergence of sustainable business.
System Dynamics	Politics and Policy. Sustainable business strategy is often entertwined with policy: subsidies, taxes, and regulations. Here we will explore the post-WWII evolution of American politics and evolving policy frameworks at the state, national and international level that have been at various times supportive or hostile to business sustainability. What are the trends for the coming decade?
Global Structures and Regulation	Business and Society. In the absence of strong national or global governance, critical partnerships among NGO’s, governments, and businesses are emerging. This section considers the different organizational structures, cultures and goals of these entities to explore the basis for successful partnerships.
Distance and Ethics	Ethics and Voicing Values. Here we work through Gentile’s approach to ethics training, with a special focus on the ethical challenges of operating in global markets.

Finance for Sustainable Business

Spring 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Identifying and critiquing normative theories of management’s role in the firm
• Conducting cash-flow and option-based valuation of real assets focusing on the long-term impact for all stakeholders
• Understanding how capital structure, payout, and compensation policies, as well as the market for corporate control affect firm value and managerial actions
• Recognizing the impact of agency conflicts and information asymmetries on firm performance and devise effective controls

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed help students apply financial theory and principles to the analysis of important business problems. Students should leave the course understanding in which situations the actions of stakeholder-focused managers and shareholder-focused managers will be the same and in which situations the actions could be different.

Texts

• Nelson, Julie A., Economics for Humans, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
• Allen, Franklin, Richard A Brealey, and Stewart C. Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance, McGraw Hill, 9th edition, 2007.
• Daily, Gretchen and Katherine Ellison, The New Economy of Nature, Island Press, 2002.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications such as:
  • Luehrman, Timothy A., “Using APV: A better tool for valuing operations”. HBR, 1997.
  • Mendonca and Oppenheim “Investing in sustainability: An interview with Al Gore and David Blood” McKinsey Quarterly, May, 2007 (pp11).
  • Jensen, Michael, “Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function.” Business Ethics Quarterly, April, 2002.
  • Kareiva, Peter, et al. Natural Capital: Theory and Practice of Mapping Ecosystem Services. Oxford, 2011.
  • Winkler, Adam, “Corporate laws or the law of business?: Stakeholders and corporate governance at the end of history.”
  • Wruck, Karen Hopper “Financial distress, reorganization, and organizational efficiency.” Journal of Financial Economics, October, 1990.
  • Hall (2003), “Six challenges in designing equity-based pay.” Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Spring, 2003.
  • Jensen (2003) “Paying people to lie: the truth about the budgeting process.” European Financial Management, September, 2003.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Finance for Sustainable Business set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction..

Module	Topics
Systems Thinking	Fundaments of financial management. This section will review discounting, interest, time value of money, cash flow asset valuation techniques, etc.
	Goal of the corporation. We will emphasize the different objectives of the profit maximization and shareholder maximization models. We will look at trade-offs, long and short-term views of a firm, perfect market assumptions, ethical considerations and more.
Firm Costs and Finance	Capital structure and payout policy. We focus on the impact that capital structure can have on firm value and managers’ ability to pursue value-maximizing policies. We will also provide a basic understanding of the irrelevance of dividends under perfect market assumptions and how the relaxation of those assumptions leads to potential importance of payout policy.
System Dynamics	Valuation. Introduction to the underlying assumptions of traditional NPV analysis and the insights offered by APV analysis. We willl discuss estimating cost of capital, focus on simple valuation exercises, and the challenges of internalizing externalities. We will also explore project valuation and finance, with special focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Global Structures and Regulation	Markets for ecosystem services. We will begin by identifying ecosystem service providers such as forests, climate, wetlands, etc. and characterize their roles and relationships. We will look at emerging markets in these areas, and the role of policy. More applications of regression analysis here.
Distance, Transparency and Ethics	Agency theory and governance. Here we focus on compensation policy, internal and external monitoring, the difficulty of monitoring managers with the single objective function of value maximization, M&A, and the rationale for acquisitions and diversification.

Operations II

Fall 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Recognizing the interrelationships among problems originally defined as occurring in social, environmental and economic domains
• Identifying weaknesses in industry business models—social, environmental, consumption, etc—and how they can be transformed into forces for good
• Understanding past, present and future examples of biomimetic solutions to product and service design
• Strengthening observation skills through deep pattern recognition
• Determining the benefits and weaknesses of global integration (across the supply chain)
• Understanding the impact of social media on product design
• Innovating through co-creation with customers and stakeholders

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to help students conceptualize the strengths of natural and human capital to sustainable design – from biomimicry to crowd-sourcing.

Texts

• Brown, Tim, Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, Harper Business, 2009.
• Howe, Jeff, Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business, Crown Business, 2009.
• Tapscott, Don, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Penguin, 2010.
• Benyus, Janine, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Harper Perennial, 2002.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of academic and journal publications

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and multiple exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Operations 2 set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
The Sustainability Advantage	Reinventing industries.  Sustainable business leaders know how to adapt industry models—from products to services, from consumption to co-ownership, etc. We will identify social and environmental gaps addressable by industry and how real-time data and advanced analytics within supply chains can turn these gaps into opportunities. More statistical applications.
Communication and System Design	Industrial ecology. How can we learn from nature? We will focus on biomimicry and look at how natural systems can aid in understanding how to design sustainable industrial systems. We consider here material and energy flow, dematerialization, life-cycle planning, product stewardship, and more.
Human Rights and Empowerment	Outsourcing and globally integrated operations. We look here at the evolving strategies and perspectives on outsourcing and the global operations of transnational corporations. We consider benefits and costs from financial, human rights, environmental impact, quality, and efficiency perspectives. We look again at geographically local production models.
Social Media	Social media and product design. We focus on crowd sourcing and co-creation with customers on product design and execution. What are the trends that support social media as an element of operations?

Customers and Marketing

Fall 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Understanding how to manage your brand when it is controlled by your customers and other stakeholders
• Estimating the potential benefits to the organization of pursuing a market opportunity
• Evaluating the indirect and direct effects of recommended actions on stakeholders
• Defining an addressable market and identifying underserved market needs
• Defining new consumer segments and their information demands
• Understanding strategies for using Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, mobile applications and other social media platforms for customer engagement

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed help students understand the “21st century consumer”—a consumer who demands more information, more personalization, more co-creation—and the technologies used to reach and engage him or her.

Texts

• Keller, Kevin and Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 14th edition, Prentice Hall, 2011.
• Bernoff, Josh and Charlene Li Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, Harvard Business Press, 2008.
• Sisodia,Raj, David Wolfe and Jag Sheth, Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, Wharton School Publishing, 2007.
• Shirky, Clay, Here Comes Everybody, Penguin Books, 2008.
• Bratton, Susan and Dave Evans, Social Media Marketing, Sybex, 2009.
• Additional material TBD including selections from:
  • Schor, Juliet, Plentitude, Penguin, 2010; Born to Buy, Scribner, 2005; and The Overconsumed American, Harper Perennial, 1998.
  • Smith, Adam, Theory of Moral Sentiments (online).

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Customers and Marketing set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
The Sustainability Advantage	Sustainable Marketing. One cornerstone of the business case for sustainability is customer engagement in business mission. Another is to meet human needs, not manipulate them. We will focus throughout this course on traditional marketing strategy, and how it does, or does not, relate to sustainable business. Here we review marketing foundations including the 4Ps, segmenting and positioning, and strategy.
Communication and System Design	Effective Communication. Given the vast menu of outreach opportunities, how do marketing managers make effective choices? This includes choice of vision, message, artistry, media. How is data used to drive successful decisions? More statistical applications.
Human Rights and Empowerment	The 21st century consumer. We focus on the consumers as omnivores of new types of information about brand and products. We’ll look at growing segments including the ethical consumer market, secondary markets, underserved markets, and more.
Social Media	Social media marketing. Here we will focus on how to effectively communicate through social media: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and emerging trends.

Leadership II

Fall 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Identifying specific challenges associated with leading sustainability initiatives
• Managing and developing strategies for overcoming resistance to change.
• Identifying the characteristics of successful leaders in multicultural environments
• Identifying team processes, norms, structure, and stages of development
• Understanding and evaluating the importance of “fit” between leadership and organizational systems
• Learning how to maneuver from individual performer to manager
• Understanding how to manage and lead virtual teams
• Understanding the ethical challenges of social media

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to prepare students to shape and change their organizations, identify the dynamics of the organization, and drive values through the organization.

Texts

• Senge, Peter, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts and Rick Ross, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization, Doubleday, 1994.
• Katzenbach, Jon R. and Douglas K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams, Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
• George, Bill, Authentic Leadership, Jossey-Bass, 2003.
• Covey, Stephen, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything, Franklin Covey, 2009.
• Select readings from:
  • Atkisson, Alan, The Sustainability Transformation. EarthScan, 2010.
  • Gentile, Mary, Giving Voice to Values. Yale University Press, 2010.
  • Van Lee, Reggie, Lisa Fabrish, and Nancy McGaw "The Value of Corporate Values. Strategy + Business," 2005, 39 (Spring), 1-14
• Additional articles on transformative leadership from HBR and other sources including:
  • Stayer, Ralph. “How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead.”
  • Inheriting a Complex World: Future Leaders Envision Sharing the Planet, IBM Institute for Business Value, 2010.

Grading
The course will be a combination of experiential exercises, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, cases, group work, completion of homework, and group presentations. There will be no traditional “exams” in this class.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Leadership 2 set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
The Sustainability Advantage	Leadership for sustainability. We will address the unique aspects of inspiring and leading sustainable change: how to play the role of change agent powerfully; how to unlock the power of values-driven leadership; and how an organization can define and develop these values together.
Communication & System Design	Managing Change. We will focus here on identifying causes of resistance,   including motivational factors, misinterpretations, fear, etc., and then managing this resistance to change
	Conflict resolution and negotiation. Tools, tactics, processes and strategies.
Human Rights & Empowerment	Delegation. We will examine the different skills necessary to transition from individual performer to change agent, to manager and leader. We’ll focus on identifying the personal challenges inherent in this transition and the gap in preparation from a business infrastructure perspective.
Social Media	Managing millennials. With millennials making up 50% of the workforce worldwide beginning in 2015, we will focus on the defining characteristics of their work and leadership styles, how best to manage and mentor them and strategies for working in virtual teams.
	Ethics, productivity and social media. We end with a focus on leadership ethics in an age of social media—Googling interviewees, blogging, Facebook posting—how they both enhance productivity and create new forms of risk.

Employees and Organizations

Fall 2013
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Understanding the economic frameworks for labor productivity and employee relations
• Indentifying the cultural differences among businesses, non-profit, government and academic organizations in order to collaborate successfully between them
• Developing strategies for employee engagement to maximize innovation in sustainability
• Developing the strategic fit between an organization’s internal competencies and resources with external variables and firm objectives
• Debating the tradeoffs between profit maximization, layoffs
• Understanding the limits of financial reward models for employees and the values and impact-driven approach demanded by millennials
• Utilizing social media technologies to develop a network of support for collaboration on projects and strategy

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed help students identify the strengths and weaknesses of incentive-based and values-based approaches to organizational behavior, and the strategies necessary to maximize the success of these varying approaches within and across different types of organizations.

Texts

• O’Reilly, Charles and Michael Tushman, Winning Through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal, Harvard Business Press, 2002.
• • Katzenbach, Jon R. and Zia Khan, Leading Outside the Lines: How to Mobilize the Informal Organization, Energize Your Team and Get Better Results, Jossey-Bass, 2010.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications including:
  • Frank, Robert, Microeconomics and Behavior, McGraw Hill, 2010.
  • Gentile, Mary, Giving Voice to Values. Yale University Press, 2010.
  • CGO Insights No. 20 Women Pursuing Leadership and Power: Challenging the Myth of the Opt Out Revolution, Deborah Merrill-Sands, Jill Kickul, and Cynthia Ingols, Feb. 2005.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Employees and Organizations set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
The Sustainability Advantage	Eyes on the Prize. Sustainable businesses have a natural advantage in their social mission: people work for money, but they also work to change the world. Both are important in attracting and retaining talent. We focus here on building effective organizations that can achieve both goals by giving the most to, and getting the most from, employees.
Communication and System Design	Human Resources Systems. How do small and large companies develop systems to maximize employee productivity? We will focus here on constraints imposed by external labor markets, as well as the design of internal management processes.
Human Rights and Empowerment	Employee engagement strategies for sustainability. We will focus on case studies of successful employee engagement including do-one-thing, 3P, ‘jams, green building and more.   We will examine both intrinsic reward models based on values, as well as traditional incentive models. How are team and individual reward systems structured?
	Building organizational congruence. We analyze the fit between strategy and organization, congruence frameworks, and managing the process of strategic and organizational change, including ethical considerations.
Social Media	Creating global networks through technology. We will examine how employees create and grow their professional networks of business support—inside and outside the organization—through social media networks. We will focus on understanding the importance of “nodes” or connectors within these networks and their importance to organizational communication, however informal.

Innovation

Spring 2014
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Understanding strategies and processes to empower individuals to innovate
• Leveraging (new) information and insight to act
• Understanding how sustainability can drive innovation
• Understanding the balance between “experience-based” and “data-driven” decision making
• Understanding how to leverage stakeholders for innovation
• Analyzing the processes and structure that support innovation
• Developing strategies for growing your brand through your stakeholders

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to help students understand how to unlock innovation within an organization, the different processes that drive it and the new technologies and collaborations that enhance it.

Texts

• O’Connor, G. Colarelli, Richard Liefer and Lois Peters, Grabbing Lightening: Building a Capacity for Breakthrough Innovation, Jossey-Bass, 2008.
• Howe, Jeff, Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business, Crown Business, 2009.
• Krishnan, M.S. and C.K. Prahalad, The New Age of Innovation. McGraw-Hill, 2008.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications including:
  • Atkisson, Alan, The Sustainability Transformation, EarthScan, 2010.
  • Gentile, Mary, Giving Voice to Values, Yale University Press, 2010.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Innovation set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Intrapreneurship & Entrepreneurship	Intrapreneurship. How can you be a successful intrapreneur—an internal change agent for sustainability? We will focus on the accumulation of soft power, the processes and communication requirements for success, and the willingness to fail.
Decision making: Experience-based vs. Information-based	Analytics, complexity and speed. We explore new capabilities for decision making based on today’s data-driven tools, including “smart” meters and sensors, real-time analytics, and more. More statistical applications. We’ll also look at advanced analytics and the future of computing for predictive analytics.
Getting to Scale	Innovation through sustainability. One of the business cases for sustainability is that the push for continuous innovation to reduce footprint induces innovation. Moreover, sustainability demands collaborations for innovation (new types of partnerships: with customers, competitors, supply chain partners, crowd-sourcing, etc.). How can this potential be translated into successful innovation and the growth of the sustainable business?
The Edge of Innovation	Discovery, incubation, acceleration. We focus on the building blocks of corporate innovation: discovery, incubation and acceleration. We will look at structured entrepreneurial programs, and other approaches to designing a management system that supports these elements by encouraging failure to boost learning.
Celebrating Success	Radical transparency. We discuss more collaborative governance and platforms for stakeholder engagement, enhanced traceability of ecosystem activities, data and analytics that extend transparency and mitigate risk, and how all this leads to an optimization of operations.

Strategy for Sustainability

Spring 2014
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Applying strategic frameworks for market, industry and competitive strategies
• Learning key theories and concepts being applied in the area of stakeholder engagement and cross-sector partnerships
• Exploring strategic trade-offs between growth and control
• Understanding and applying stakeholder engagement frameworks from the perspectives of business, NGOs, governmental agencies and academia
• Applying broader concepts of systems thinking, with potential environmental and social consequences of global development, to craft flexible long-term plans and scenarios

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to help students apply strategic approaches and frameworks to identify and execute new market opportunities and cross-sector and stakeholder partnerships.

Texts

• Kim, W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, 2005.
• Bamburg, Jill, Getting to Scale, Berret Koehler, 2010.
• Besanko, David, David Dranove, Mark Shanley and Scott Schaefer, Economics of Strategy, Wiley, 2009.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications including:
  • Buss, Richard, Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (4th Edition), Prentice Hall, 2011.
  • Schoemaker, Paul J.H. “Scenario Planning: A Tool for Strategic Thinking,” Sloan Management Review. Winter: 1995, pp. 25-40.
  • Davenport, Thomas H. “Are You Ready to Reengineer Your Decision Making?” Sloan Management Review. October 2010.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Strategy for Sustainability set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Intrapreneurship & Entrepreneurship	Competition and Cooperation.  One foundation of the sustainable business case is to exploit the opportunities that arise from cooperation around the shared vision. This means partnerships and networks. But what about competition? Here we introduce simple game theory to understand the dynamics of competition and cooperation, and also to learn how evolutionary psychology is providing new insights into the opportunities for and limits to cooperation. We will also examine normative theories for management’s role in the firm.
Decision making: Experience-based vs. Information-based	Strategic frameworks. We focus on strategic frameworks and analytical tools including strategy canvas, four actions framework, SWAT, competitive analysis, etc. We will also focus on the need for developing flexible plans and scenarios in a business environment changing more rapidly than ever before.
Getting to Scale	Networks and Partnerships. We examine strategies for identifying new partners and networks for market growth, including NGOs, academia, etc. We’ll also consider strategies and processes for stakeholder collaboration. We conclude with a discussion of the financing and management challenges faced by mission driven businesses as they seek to scale their impacts.
The Edge of Innovation	Reconstructing market boundaries. We focus on approaches to redefining traditional perceptions of industry and market opportunity and boundaries. We will examine new business models developed by new and existing players in multiple industries.
Celebrating Success	Keep finding the path. Strategy is a map to take people where they otherwise would not go. Here we focus on bootstrapping towards a vision, inspiring people to work with you as you travel to a high point, to a low point, to the next high point—on the journey to sustainability.

Business Pragmatics

Spring 2014
Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for the course are:

• Understanding how to start your own business—the nuts and bolts entrepreneurship
• Understanding sources of capital
• Learning how to develop networks and mentors for your personal and professional growth
• Learning how to assess and manage acquisition opportunities
• Understanding how intellectual capital can often hinder collaborations and innovation, particularly in sustainability

Student Outcomes:
The class is designed to be a practical course, going deeper on topics covered in the rest of the MBA program. We will help students dive into a number of areas critical to their future career development as well as focus more broadly on entrepreneurship and continued personal development after graduation.

Texts

• Bamburg, Jill, Getting to Scale, Berret Koehler, 2010.
• Hirsh, Michael, Michael Peters and Dean Shepherd, Entrepreneurship, McGraw-Hill, 2009.
• Elkington, John, Pamela Hartigan and Klaus Schwab, The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets that Change the World, Harvard Business Press, 2008.
• Strine, Leo E., Jr., “The social responsibility of boards of directors and stockholders in change of control transactions: is there any ‘there” there?”, Southern California Law Review v.75, 1169-1188, 2002.
• Gollin, Michael A., Driving Innovation: Intellectual Property Strategies for a Dynamic World, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
• Additional readings will regularly be assigned from a number of other books, academic and journal publications.

Grading
The course will be a combination of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and student projects. Active participation in class discussions will be essential. Grading will be determined by participation in in-class exercises, case analysis, group presentations, completion of homework, and exams.

Course Outline:
The Bard MBA curriculum is modular, with each module topic corresponding to a residency. The outline below provides the Business Pragmatics set of topics for each of the semester’s modules, with each set of topics corresponding to three to four weeks of conventional instruction.

Module	Topics
Intrapreneurship Entrepreneurship	Entrepreneurship: Starting a SME. We focus here on the nuts and bolts of starting your own business: choice of business form; boards; tax and labor issues. We consider a final time the skills and capabilities that differentiate entrepreneurs from their corporate counterparts and the steps to get your new idea off the ground
Decision making: Experience-based vs. Information-based	M&A assessment. We look at the rationale for acquisitions and diversifications, common pitfalls, stakeholder perspectives on M&A, and how to manage acquisitions.
Getting to Scale	Accessing capital. We focus on understanding the different sources of capital and the roles of various institutions from banks to insurance to microfinance. We will look at the benefits and drawbacks of each of the models.
The Edge of Innovation	Managing intellectual property. The role of IP is evolving. In some parts of the world, such as China, IP is often at risk, while in certain areas of innovation and growth, IP management can be a stumbling block to collaboration. We focus on how to manage your IP to promote collaboration but also protect your organization from theft.
Celebrating Success	Continuous personal development. We consider how to foster a personal and professional network for continuous growth in your career and as an individual. We look at the topic of mentorship and how to identify and work with mentors and mentees.

Capstone Proposal & Project

Fall 2013 – Spring 2014
3 Credits

Objectives:
The key learning objectives for this course sequence are to understand:

• The intellectual process of mastering a business problem
• How to develop and advance a fully researched business project

Student Outcomes:
Students will gain further confidence in their ability to solve business problems and to communicate effectively. Students will develop deep expertise in their area of concentration. Connections made in the research and development process will deepen students’ networks, and will provide opportunities for career development.

Texts

• Readings TBD

Grading
Students receive P/F credit for each semester, as well as a written performance assessment from their mentor on their proposal. The highest quality final projects will be acknowledged by a vote of the faculty.

Course Outline:
The Capstone Proposal course is offered in the fall of the second year. Singly or in teams of two or three, students develop a 20-page narrative for a project proposal: a business start-up, an intraprenuerial project in their workplace, a consultancy, a research project, or a deeply developed business plan. Students work with an advisor throughout the fall and spring. In the final fall-semester residency, students present their proposals to faculty.
The Capstone Project is conducted during the final semester of the program, as students pursue these projects. The projects are presented to the school in the final spring residency.