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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - GEB6457
Tracking Number - 2203

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Current Status: Approved, Permanent Archive - 2010-06-28
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: College approved 4/6/10; Grad Council approved 4/19/10; held for submission of objectives; rec'd 6/22/10; SCNS liaison notified 6/22/10; submitted as 6xxx; assigned 6457. SCNS Approved. Post in Banner. Effective date 8/1/2010


Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2009-09-29
  2. Department: Management
  3. College: BA
  4. Budget Account Number: 140500
  5. Contact Person: Dr. Alan Balfour
  6. Phone: 9741785
  7. Email: abalfour@coba.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: GEB
  9. Number: 6457
  10. Full Title: Ethics, Law and Sustainable Business Practices
  11. Credit Hours: 3
  12. Section Type: D - Discussion (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: N
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: N
  16. Is this course repeatable?:
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 0
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Ethics, Law & Sustain Bus Prac
  19. Course Online?: C - Face-to-face (0% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites: GEB 6445
  23. Corequisites: None
  24. Course Description: Examines ethical and legal responsibilities of business for triple bottom line performance of prosperity, social justice, and concern for the natural environment.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed for program/concentration/certificate change
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? One section of 15-50 per year.
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? Yes, 3 or more times
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) Ph.D. in Management or closely related field or J.D.
  29. Objectives: We are faced with many social and environmental problems today from growth management and pollution to global warming, and we face them on many levels: local, state, national and international. The source of many of these problems can be traced to economic activity, population growth, technology and our collective failure to adequately address these problems.

    Business has played a major role in contributing to these problems, but business can, and must, also play a major role in resolving them. Climate change – whether it is a natural phenomenon, man-made or both – will have a major impact on corporate strategy and decision making in the future. Corporate managers and board members are giving increasing consideration to their environmental and social impacts. Most major corporations now issue annual environmental reports in which they discuss their environmental plans and programs and document their current environmental performance. Now there is a global movement pressuring corporations to publish annual sustainability reports in which economic, environmental and social performance are presented in a single integrated document. However, there remains much to be done as our quality of life hangs in the balance. Are we up to the task?

    Answers to these questions are complex. The term “sustainability” can refer to several contexts. We talk about environmental sustainability which can refer to the ability of a country, state or area to live within its natural regenerative resources without degrading the quality of life of its society. It can also refer to the very capacity of the planet itself to sustain life. We will address some of these areas generally, and business in particular. When we talk about business sustainability, we look at factors that play a role in corporate longevity (corporate culture and ethics, transparency, corporate strategy regarding sustainable development, etc.) but we always remember that we can’t have one without the other. (It’s pointless to strive for business sustainability with a narrow economic focus if the planet or an area cannot support it!) Sustainability for business requires strategic focus on the triple bottom line which includes environmental stewardship, social equity integrity and economic responsibility. We now realize that these factors are completely intertwined and crucial to corporate longevity. Recent events have illustrated the fate of corporations that fail to adequately address all three.

    This course will expand on the stakeholder analysis method learned in Social, Ethical and Legal Systems. Exploring resolution of issues of such magnitude presents challenging ethical questions. It also requires prioritizing competing stakeholders. This class will open your eyes and heighten your awareness of the far-reaching impact of various corporate actions and help you make decisions when the rules aren’t clear.

  30. Learning Outcomes: Student should be able to:

    1. Describe the concepts of sustainability in general, and business sustainability in particular;

    2. Apply stakeholder analysis as a factor in corporate decision making;

    3. Discuss the social and environmental impact of enterprise;

    4. Describe the major challenges in becoming a sustainable enterprise;

    5. Discuss current Issues and future trends;

    6. Describe vairous corporate strategies for achieving sustainability goals;

    7. Discuss various corporate sustainability leaders and companies;

    8. Discuss various global and regional sustainability reporting initiatives and standards;

    9. Describe various resources available to businesses attempting to become more sustainable;

    10. Discuss and apply the Triple Bottom Line Theory.

  31. Major Topics: Session 1: February 11, 2010:

    Introduction to the topic: Sustainability- definitions

    Why is it important?

    Syllabus and Project Review

    Making a Business Case for Sustainability

    Has a lack of focus on sustainability issues had an adverse impact on the public’s trust?

    Session 2: February 18, 2010:

    Topic: Climate Change

    As University of Michigan geophysicist Henry Pollack notes in his new book “A World Without Ice” (Avery), “Ice asks no questions, presents no arguments, reads no newspapers, listens to no debates. It is not burdened by ideology and carries no political baggage as it crosses the threshold from solid to liquid. It just melts.”

    Speaker: Dr. Mark Stewart – 6:00PM

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    Climate Change, Sustainability & the New Technology Revolution: Forecasts for Climate Change Impacts on Florida

    Climate Change: The Uncertainties, the Certainties and What They Imply About Action/Schelling

    A New Agenda for global Warming/Stiglitz

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock - Chapter 1: Sustainability as a Strategic Issue (Pages 3-22)

    Hitchcock - Chapter 2: Change Agent/Sustainability Director (Pages 25-36)

    HBR – What Every Executive Needs to Know about Global Warming (Pages 21-39)

    Assignment Due : No written assignment due.

    Session 3: February 25, 2010:

    Topic: Carbon

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/Carbon_Productivity/index.asp

    http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/extravagant_gesture.htm

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock – Chapter 3: Services and Offices (Pages 39-54)

    Hitchcock – Chapter 4 – Manufacturing (Pages 55-82)

    HBR – Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World (Pages 99-123)

    HBR – Bringing the Environment Down to Earth (Pages 41-64)

    Assignment Due: Review the following and complete a personal carbon calculator for #1 and #3. Bring results to class. (Writing assignment #1/10 pts.)

    1. http://www.clearwater.org/carboncalculatorv3.xls - The Carbon Calculator

    2. http://carbonfund.org/site/pages/individuals/individual_business_carbon_offsets

    3. http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/personal_footprint/

    *In-class exercise: Creative Design

    Session 4: March 4, 2010

    Topic: Carbon Markets, Carbon Tax

    Speaker: Sandra Kling, PhD candidate in Environmental Science and Policy-

    “Carbon Markets and Policy”

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    McKinsey – Cutting Carbon, Not Growth

    Trading Our Way Into Trouble

    Greenhouse Gas Accounting – review terminology

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock - Chapter 5: Sustainability in Government Agencies (Pages 83-126)

    Hitchcock - Chapter 6: Senior Management-How to Lead the Sustainability Effort

    (Pages 127-152)

    HBR – Competitive Advantage on a Warming Planet (Pages 125-148)

    Assignment Due: Find a current article (June 2009 – present) on carbon trading, carbon markets or waste. Prepare a written comment and bring both to class. (Writing #2/10 pts)

    *In-class exercise: Carbon Wedges

    SPRING BREAK – March 11, 2010

    Session 5:March 18, 2010

    Topics: Energy and Green Building

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    McKinsey – An Electric Plan for Energy Resilience

    McKinsey – Making the Most of the World’s Energy Resources

    The Economist – The Power and the Glory

    Yes They Could- So They Did – NYT

    Making the Business Case for High Performance Green Buildings/ USGBC

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock – Chapter 7: Facilities-How to Save Energy and Water, Improve Productivity and Reduce Waste (Pages 153-166)

    Hitchcock – Chapter 8: Human Resources: How to Support the Change Process and Bolster Employee Commitment (Pages 167-182)

    HBR – Building the Green Way (Pages 1-20)

    Assignment Due: Find a current article (June 2009 – present) pertaining to an energy issue (corporate energy reduction strategies, new technologies, products, etc.) or green building. Prepare a written comment and bring both to class. (Writing #3/10 pts)

    In Class: Kilowatt Ours/film

    Session 6: March 25, 2010

    Topics: Waste – Purchasing - IT

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    McKinsey – How IT Can Cut Carbon

    http://www.recycle.cc/tips.htm (explore)

    http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?a=110237&c=28534 (review sustainable purchasing policy)

    http://tourismintelligence.ca/2008/02/22/sustainable-purchasing-policies-does-your-business-have-one/

    http://uabf.asu.edu/buying_green

    *http://www.epa.gov/epp/

    *http://www.hshieldsconsulting.com/downloads/green_purchasing.pdf

    (19 pgs)

    *http://www.greenbiz.com/view-term/all/Purchasing

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock – Chapter 9: Purchasing-How to Determine What to Buy and How to Work with Suppliers (Pages 183-202)

    Hitchcock – Chapter 10: Information Technology-How to Save Energy, Reduce Waste and Facilitate the Transition to a Low-Impact Operation (Pages 203-216)

    Assignment Due: Find a current article (June 2009 – present) pertaining to a waste issue (corporate waste reduction, new technologies, products, etc.) Prepare a written comment and bring both to class. (Writing #4/10 pts)

    Session 7: April 1, 2010

    Topics: Sustainable Leaders and Marketing

    Speaker: Janet Harrison, Xerox 6:00 PM

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    Barrier/Motivation Inventory #3: Why Consumers Buy Green; Why They Don’t.(3 pgs)

    McKenzie-Mohr, Doug/ Quick Reference to Community Based Social Marketing

    The Trapese Collective. “How to Inspire Change Through Learning.” Do it Yourself: A

    Handbook for Changing our World. (19 pgs)

    The 6 Sins of Greenwashing

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock – Chapter 11: Environmental Affairs: How to Support the Move Beyond Compliance and Eco-Efficiencies to Sustainability (Pages 217-244)

    Hitchcock – Chapter 12: Marketing/Public Relations-Whether and How to Promote your Sustainability Efforts (Pages 227-244) (Even if the best planning and building design is achieved, it is all at risk of failure if the occupants of the buildings are practicing resource intensive behaviors such as leaving everything on, purchasing resource intensive products and misusing building systems and controls.)

    HBR – The Case of the Environmental Impasse (Pages 175-202)

    HBR – What Asbestos Taught Me About Managing Risk (Pages 149-174)

    Assignment Due: Choose a leader in business sustainability (person or business) to profile in class. (Please do not use any we have covered in class to date.)

    Session 8: April 8, 2010

    Topic: Standards, Certifications and Performance Measurement Tools

    Putting It All Together: Corporate Sustainability Plans

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    McKinsey – Banking on Carbon Assets

    Donella – The Laws of the Earth and the Laws of Economics

    Sterns Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change

    General Readings:

    Hitchcock – Chapter 13 Accounting and Finance

    HBR – A Roadmap for Natural Capitalism (Pages 65-97)

    Sustainable Accounting – Fiqueroa-Perez and Head

    Assignment Due: Standards reports (Writing#5/10 pts)

    In class – Sustainability plans critique

    Session 9: April 15, 2010

    Topic: International Sustainability

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    McKinsey: Promoting Energy efficiency in the Developing World

    General Readings:

    Assignment Due:

    Film: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia

    *Begin In-class Sustainable Development exercise

    Session 10: April 22, 2010

    Topic: Putting It All Together: Sustainability Plans

    Finish Simularia

    Topic Articles and Web Sites:

    General Readings:

    Assignment Due: *Sustainable Development Exercise Calculations

    Session 11: April 29, 2010

    Papers and Presentations:

    Assignment Due: All papers must be complete and submitted to Blackboard online before 5:00PM today. Power point slides must be emailed to shanna@usf.edu by the same time.

  32. Textbooks: Joseph J. DesJardins, Business, Ethics and the Environment Imagining a Sustainable Future, 2007, Pearson Education, and Natural Capitalism, available online at http://www.natcap.org/
  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: Natural Capitalism, available online at http://www.natcap.org/
  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: See syllabus
  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: See syllabus
  36. Attendance Policy: See syllabus
  37. Policy on Make-up Work: See syllabus
  38. Program This Course Supports: Master of Science in Management MSM and Master of Business Admin (MBA)
  39. Course Concurrence Information: Other graduate programs in the College of Business and elsewhere throuhout the University.


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.