MIS 44009/BAD 60095 Spring 2012 D. DuBois

                                     THE BUSINESS CASE FOR GOING GREEN:

HOW COMPANIES ARE FINDING PROSPERITY IN SAVING THE PLANET

Spring 2012

Thursday 5:30 – 8:15 pm

BUS ADM Room 110

MIS 44009 & BAD 60095

3 credits

INSTRUCTOR        

Name:                          Dr. David DuBois                  

Office:                         Business Administration Building, A412                              

E-mail:                         david.a.dubois.phd@gmail.com

Phone:                         330-612-2773

Office hours:               Thursday 5:00 pm

READINGS

Undergraduate (MIS44009).  The text for this course is Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage, by Chris Laszlo and Nadya Zhexembayeva, (Stanford Business Books), available through Amazon. In addition, you will be required to select and report two readings of your choice.  Sign up for these in class.

Graduate (BAD60095). The texts for this course are Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage, by Chris Laszlo and Nadya Zhexembayeva, (Stanford Business Books), and Reinventing Fire, by Amory Lovins and the Rocky Mountain Institute, both available through Amazon.

COURSE WEBSITE

Website:  We will use a Google site to exchange announcements, files, links, and other resources.  You are expected to regularly contribute to this site, with discussion entries, sharing articles and news, project updates, etc. Your participation in this site will be part of your grade.

OVERVIEW

This course will introduce you to the range of issues, ideas, and concepts involved with ‘going green’—helping organizations become more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.  For example, we will explore renewable energy, green buildings, transportation, food and health, the environment and waste management. We will explore how these issues are connected, and what opportunities for jobs, careers, and companies this new direction creates.  While our focus will be on business organizations and understanding the business reasons and drivers for why organizations are embracing this concept, we will also touch on the choices and impacts this will have on individuals and communities.

The basic premise of sustainability for organizations is that successful organizations are ones that can effectively balance the goals of profitability with environmental stewardship and social responsibility.  This is the triple bottom line of sustainability: People, Planet, Profit. 

The focus of this course is on understanding environmental challenges and identifying useful solutions that may also present profitable opportunities.   

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this course are the following:

   1.   Introduce you to the basic terminology, concepts, and issues of environmental sustainability—‘going green’, and the business opportunities it presents.

   2.   Provide an integrated perspective on how the variety of challenges are interrelated, and the ways individuals, organizations, and communities are responding to them.

   3.   Understand a model of individual and organizational behavior change.

   4.   Introduce you to the wide variety of new jobs, careers, and organizations that are emerging from the response to existing environmental challenges. 

COURSE FORMAT

This class will be taught in blended learning format. We will have some class presentations—by the instructor, guest lecturers, and by each of you.  When class meets we will combine some lecture with discussion, group exercises, and student presentations. A lively learning environment is available for everyone when we are engaged in a dynamic dialogue. Successful students will come to class having read all assigned material and having viewed video segments (when assigned).  When everyone is prepared, class is more enjoyable for all (including you!), and students learn more effectively.

GRADING

Final grades will be comprised of the following:

            Participation (peer grade)                                10%

            Participation (instructor grade)                       10%

Story Project                                                   20%

            Presentations                                                   20%    

            Final Exam/Paper                                            20%

            Project contribution & presentation                20%

                                                                        Total  100%

            Optional bonus project                                    10%    

CLASS PREPARATION / PARTICIPATION

Successful students arrive at class ready to discuss and apply assigned material. Active participation in class is an integral part of this course, both for class discussions and small group work. Arrive at class having thought about the material; bring your notes on chapters, video segments and readings, as well as a list of questions to ask. Use discussions to bring up your personal and work experiences that are salient to course material.  Be prepared to be called on to state main points of assigned material at any time!  Your responses will significantly impact your grade.

Recognize that class participation is a subjective thing – I can’t tally how many times you speak or the quality of what you say in some objective manner.  It's your responsibility to make sure I notice your contributions.  It’s your responsibility to take the initiative to speak (rather than my responsibility to call on you if you do not raise your hand – though I do this regularly.)  Class preparation/participation comprises an important portion of your grade in this course.

STORY PROJECT

The story project will consist of interviewing and writing up a 2 page story on one of the sustainability projects on campus.  The University Sustainability Manager, Melanie Knowles (email: mknowle1@kent.edu ) has a list of people and topics. The story will be due March 1. For the stories, you will pair up in teams of 2.

PRESENTATIONS

You will give two presentations during the course, in addition to your portion of the team project presentation.  The purpose of these presentations is to help you gain additional depth in an area of sustainability, and to provide opportunities for you to develop your presentation and discussion skills.

Topic Presentation.  One presentation will be on a topic, selected in agreement with the course instructor. The topic will cover 3-5 articles in one area, such as energy efficient buildings, renewable energy, local foods, etc.  The presentation will be a 5 minute Powerpoint.

            Graduate Students. You will present to the whole class 1 of the sections of your text, Reinventing Fire. This will be a 20 minute presentation, with leading a 10-15 minute discussion. You can elect to do this in teams, by consensus of the other graduate students.

News Presentation. This 2 minute presentation will consist of a brief summary of the *highlights* of an environmental sustainability (ES)-related article that appeared in the recent popular press (articles no older than 6 months past; from newspapers, internet news sites, magazines like Business Week or Newsweek). See the “Green in the News” resources at the end of the syllabus.

Presentation style has a significant impact on the effectiveness of your presentation.  I expect a professional presentation. Do not chew gum, read from the article or from note cards, use repeated ‘um’s or do anything else that makes you seem unprepared.  Do dress appropriately, look at and connect with your audience, “own” the material you are presenting, monitor your time, smile and present with energy. 

We will have 2 or 3 presentations each class period.  The presenter has 5 minutes to speak for articles, and 2 minutes for ‘Green in the News’ presentations.

FINAL EXAM / PAPER

There will be a final exam that covers the basic content of the course.  It will be a multiple choice test, about 25 questions that covers the full range of topics, readings, and presentations (e.g., guest lecture).

Alternately, you may write a 5 page, double-spaced paper to explore one of the issues, companies, or green jobs of your choosing.  If you elect this option, you MUST let Dr. DuBois know that you wish to pursue this option by the 4^th class session, and come to an agreement about the topic. 

Writing Guidelines

            Effective written and oral communication skills are highly influential in your life success.   Professional writing used in organizational communications is concise and well organized.  Communications that contain rambling paragraphs or lack clear sections are simply not effective (and often not even read!). 

            Format your writing for this class to make your message ‘jump off the page’. To do this, incorporate the following elements into your writing: make liberal use of “bullet points” – phrases that effectively summarize ideas (use appropriate terms and be succinct), subheadings, numbered lists, outlines, and Tables of Contents.  Be sure to write full sentences when needed, when your message cannot be clearly communicated in more abbreviated form; avoid complex sentences and lengthy paragraphs. Say a lot with little writing; use page space wisely and attractively; make every word count. Quality of writing is superior to great quantity of writing.

            For some of you this will come easily, because you already incorporate these elements in your writing. For others it will be challenging, for you are accustomed to being ‘long-winded’ because you have previously been rewarded with high grades when you turn in lengthy prose.  However, because it is not appropriate in a business setting, lengthy prose will earn low grades in this class!

Information from the KSU College of Business Administration

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A.     Students attending the course who do not have proper prerequisites risk deregistration from the class.

B.     Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on Flashline) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, January 31, 2010 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

C.     Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

D.     For Spring 2010, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, April 4, 2010.   Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade will be reported.

E. Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content.  If you have documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).