NBA 5190 - Sustainability as a Driver for Innovation in the Entrepreneurial Organization


Spring. 1 credit.

F. Keller.

This one credit eight-session course gives students an overview of the emerging sustainable business model. Using the teacher’s business as an example, along with appearances from other business leaders, the class focuses on principles of sustainability and how leaders are transforming their own organizations. While the U.S. version of capitalism has succeeded in providing unprecedented wealth throughout the 20th century, this class will evaluate the potential of “tweaking” capitalism to benefit not only the owners but the whole of society in a manner different than “trickle” economy. Using the Hegelian notion of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, this class will explore capitalism as practiced today as the thesis. The antithesis will be from environmental and social movement concepts. The principles of sustainability will be synthesized as the potential “new normal” for business in the future. Students will learn that in addition to traditional financial analysis, business decisions can benefit from taking into account the impacts of social capital and ecological capital as well. Students will learn using dialogue and presentations about actual cases and the logic of how the sustainable business model is being constructed.



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