<course image>BUS620
Environmental Perspectives in
Business Management

Course Schedule

Dr. Bob Kistler
Bethel University

Week1  |  Week 2  |  Week 3  |  Week 4  |  Week 5  |  Week 6  | Week 7

Session 1 - The Business Ecosystem Concept

Learner Outcomes (1, 2)

  • Understanding and applying Sustainability in the context of business management
    • CERES, Hannover Principles, ecological, spiritual sustainabilty
  • Extending basic concepts of ecology and ecological principles to business management
    • biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, individual, environment
    • diversity, stability, resilience
    • consumers, producers, and the concept of place (niche)
    • competition, predations, symbiosis, mutualism
  • Considering the dichotomy of sustainable development
    • signs of stress in un-natural capitalism

Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapter 1
    • Natural Advantage - Section 1, Chapters 1 - 5
    • Harvard Business Review - pp 1 -34, A Road Map for Natural Capitalism
  • Articles

Assignments

  • Find an example of how business as usual is damaging not only the environment, but the long term sustainability of the business as well. Describe the unsustainable practices and their impacts and identify the ecological and sustainability principles that are being ignored. Identify what could be changed in the praxis of the business to develop a more sustainable ethos.  Finally, evaluate why these changes have not been already integrated in the management systems of the business.  Share the case that you put together and your evaluation and thoughts in the Sustainability Forum in Blackboard. (1, 2)
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

 

top

Session 2 - Application of Ecological and Sustainable Concepts to Concentration

Learner Outcomes

  • Apply understanding of ecological systems to your concentration area (2, 3)
  • Assess and Evaluate how current norms and models might be transitioned to more sustainable models more in keeping with natural systems and principles

 

Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapter 2
    • Natural Advantage - Section 1, Chapters 1 - 5
    • Harvard Business Review - pp 35 - 58, Bringing the Environment Down to Earth
    • Earthscan Reader - Articles as appropriate for your concentration
  • Articles
    • Iansiti, M., & Levien, R. (2004). Strategy as ecology. Harvard Business Review, 82(3), 68-78. <BUL link >.
    • Longobardi, D. (2004). Thinking about ecosystems. (cover story). American Banker, 169(34), 1. <BUL link>.
    • Moore, J. F. (1993). Predators and prey: A new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review, 71(3), 75-86. <BUL link>.
    • Volery, T. (2002). An entrepreneur commercialises conservation. Greener Management International, (38), 109. <BUL link>.
    • Fan Shu-Yang, Freedman, B., & Cote, R. (2004). Principles and practice of ecological design. Environmental Reviews, 12(2), 97-112. <BUL link>.
    • Gartner, W. B. (2001). Is there an elephant in entrepreneurship? blind assumptions in theory development. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 25(4), 27. <BUL link>.

Assignments

  • Apply the principles of sustainability and ecology to the area of concentration that you have selected to pursue for this course: Technology, Social, Entrepreneurial, Non-profit, or Quantitative. Post your synthesis in the Sustainability Forum in your Concentration Group in Blackboard.
    • Find at least 5 articles, cases, or examples that examine the business ecology concept/relationship in your chosen area of concentration. (2)
    • Consider how and which principles can serve as model principles for your specific concentration area. Also remember back to the previous courses in the program you have taken so far.  Are there concepts or "ethics" that might either integrate or conflict with the ecological and sustainable "ethics" within your area of concentration. (3)
  • Begin the development of  a green business plan using the information and ideas you have synthesized above. Place your initial thoughts for your plan in the Green Business Plan Forum in Blackboard.  Name your Plan Thread with your last name-business name (e.g. Kistler - Green Fish). (4)
  • Collaborate with the other class members in your concentration.
    • Work with all the other members in your concentration group and select the best 5 articles, cases, or examples and jointly synthesize a set of principles of sustainability that could form the basis for a green ethic for management to use in your area of concentration. Develop these principles so that the applications to actual business practice is not only clear, but implementable.
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top

Session 3 - Resource concepts in business management

Learner Outcomes

  • Understand resource level ecological concepts (1)
    • consumption
    • populations, resources, energy, inflows, outflows, wastes, efficiencies
    • limiting factors, carrying capacity, models of growth
  • Apply ecological resource  concepts to the business ecosystem  model (3)
  • Differentiate sustainable from unsustainable resource processing in business and society (2)

 Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapter 3 & 4
    • Natural Advantage - Section 2, Chapters 6 - 10
    • Harvard Business Review - pp 59 - 84 Growth Through Global Sustainability
  • Articles
    • Hardin, Garret (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162:1243-1248.
    • Arrow, K., Dasgupta, P., Goulder, L., Daily, G., Ehrlich, P., & Heal, G. et al. (2004). Are we consuming too much? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(3), 147-172. <BUL Link >.
    • Bringezu, S., Sch¨tz, H., & Moll, S. (2003). Rationale for and interpretation of economy-wide materials flow analysis and derived indicators. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 7(2), 43-64. <BUL Link >.
    • Hawken, P., Daly, H., Holmberg, J., & Robert, K. (1997). A compass for sustainable development. International Journal for Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 4(2), 79. <BUL Link - Abstract only, Article - BUS620 eReadings >.
    • Lifset, R. (2000). Moving from mass to what matters. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 4(2), 1-3. <BUL Link >.
    • Palmer, A. R. (1999). Ecological footprints: Evaluating sustainability. Environmental Geosciences, 6(4), 200-204. <BUL Link >.

Assignments

  • Resources are the root of a business even in such areas as the knowledge sector. Resources are also all "linked" to other segments of the ecology and the economy. Why have we largely considered resources as a commons and as a result of combining the commons with the free marketplace have ended up with a tragedy of the commons largely due to a lack of understanding of ecological resource concepts.
    • Trace the flow of resources in an case or example used in one of the previous courses in the program. Analyze how changes might have been made to bring the resource flow more into line with ecological concepts and with the idea of a finite commons and not a cowboy ethic. (2, 3)
    • Post your synthesis in the Resource Commons Forum in Blackboard
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top

Session 4 - Application of Resource Concepts to Concentrations

Learner Outcomes

  • Apply understanding of ecological materials flows to your concentration area (4)
  • Assess and Evaluate how current norms and models might be transitioned to more sustainable models more in line with natural capitalism (3)

 Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapter 5, 6, & 7
    • Natural Advantage - Section 2, Chapters 6 - 10
    • Harvard Business Review - pp 85 - 104, It's not easy begin green
    • Earthscan Reader - Articles as appropriate for your concentration
  • Articles
    • Clark, W. C. (2003). Partnerships for the real world. Environment, 45(1), 3. <BUL link >.
    • Geyer, R., & Jackson, T. (2004). Supply loops and their constraints: The Industrial Ecology of Recycling and Reuse. California Management Review, 46(2), 55-73. <BUL link >.
    • Johnson, H. T. (2004). Confronting the tyranny of management by numbers how business can deliver the results. Reflections, 5(4), 1-11. <BUL link >.
    • Johnson, K. (2003). The color of grass, the color of money. New York Times, 152(52564), 1. <BUL link >.
    • Ottman, J. A. (2000). The systems that surround you. In Business, 22(4), 29. <BUL link >.
    • Smail, J. K. (2004). Global population reduction: Confronting the inevitable. World Watch, 17(5), 58-59. <BUL link >.

Assignments (4, 5)

  • Continue working on the green business plan that you initiated during week 2.  Add into your plan a comprehensive flow of ALL the resources used in the business. Append your Resource Flow Plan to your previous work in your Green Business Plan Forum Thread in Blackboard.
  • Collaborate with your concentration group
    • Select two other flow plans of members in your group and review the plans. Reply to their plan in their Green Business Plan Forum thread with your review.
    • Based upon the reviews, collaboratively select the best plan and as a group share your analysis of that resource flow plan in the Resource Commons Forum in Blackboard.
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top

Session 5 - Valuing Concepts in Business Management: Environmental Economics and Ethics

Learner Outcomes

  • Application of priniciples of environmental economics to business management (1, 3)
  • Application of concepts and principles of environmental ethics to business management (1, 3)
  • Consider the role of faith based principles like stewardship in business management (5)
  • Evaluate the role of environmental ethics and economics in business management (5)
  • Develop a model of just economics using the business ecosystem concepts (5)

 Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapter 8 & 12
    • Natural Advantage - Section 3 - 4, Chapters 11, 12, 17
    • Harvard Business Review - pp 105 - 130, Beyond Greening, Strategies for a Sustainable World
  • Articles
    • Bratton, S. P. (2003). The precautionary principle and the book of proverbs: Toward an ethic of ecological prudence in ocean management. Worldviews: Environment Culture Religion, 7(3), 253-273. <BUL link >.
    • Bratton, S. P. (2004). Thinking like a mackerel. Ethics & the Environment, 9(1), 1-22. <BUL link >.
    • Brown, L. R. (2002). Shaping an economy to sustain our FUTURE opportunity abounds in the new way of doing business. Mother Earth News, (191), 37. <BUL link >.
    • Reinhardt, F. (1999). Market failure and the environmental policies of firms: Economic rationales for "beyond compliance" behavior. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 3(1), 9-21. <BUL link >.
    • Timney, M. M. (2001). Eco-nomics:Toward a theory of value for public administration. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 23(1), 25-38. <BUL link >.
    • Weikard, H. (2002). Diversity functions and the value of biodiversity. Land Economics, 78(1), 20. <BUL link >.

Assignments

  • Develop a model of  "just" management for a real or hypothetical business based upon concepts of environmental economics, ethics, and stewardship. Prioritize the principles that form the basis of your model. Consider why such practices and ethics have not formed the basis for normative valuing in business. Post your model and synthesis in the Valuing Forum in Blackboard. (4, 5)
  • Collaborate with your concentration groups to select two or three representative readings that examine or synthesize ecological/environmental/environmental ethics/economics concepts/cases/examples in your concentration areas. Post these to the Week 7 Concentration Readings Forum in Blackboard (4, 5)
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top

Session 6 - Application of Value Concepts to Concentrations

Learner Outcomes

  • Apply understanding of valuing to your concentration area (3, 5)
  • Assess and Evaluate how current norms and models might be transitioned to more incorporate more ethical and environmental economy valuation (3, 4)

Readings

  • Selected readings from the texts:
    • Natural Captitalism - Chapters 9 - 11 as appropriate to your concentration
    • Natural Advantage - Sections 3 - 4 as appropriate to your concentration
    • Harvard Business Review -  pp 131 - 167 Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate
    • Earthscan Reader - Articles as appropriate for your concentration
  • Articles
    • Sonntag, V. (2000). Sustainability -- in light of competitiveness. Ecological Economics, 34(1), 101. <BUL link, BUS620 Course eReadings>.
    • Turner, P., & Tschirhart, J. (1999). Green accounting and the welfare gap. Ecological Economics, 30(1), 161. <BUL link, BUS620 Course eReadings>.
    • Li Xiaomei. (2004). Theory and practice of environmental management accounting. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, 3(1), 47-57. <BUL link>.

Assignments

  • Place the two components below in your Group Area in Blackboard.
    • Attempt to find a stated business ethic for several businesses or business component areas for your concentration area. Analyze one of these ethics statements in light of your understanding of environmental ethics, economics, and stewardship. (2)
    • Develop an sustainable business ethic for your business plan.  Consider how components like human resources, accounting, decision making, finance, technology, and organizational behavior along with "externalities" might be components of your ethic. (4, 5)
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top

Session 7 - Greening a business plan - concentration project presentations

Learner Outcomes

  • Demonstate leadership in the following areas to: (1) evaluate via an environmental management audit an existing business real or hypothetical business, (2) develop a sustainable business strategy to balance profit and environmental impacts, and (3) to validate how your proposed strategy provides the best business ecosystem solution.
 Readings
  • Selected readings from the texts:
  • Articles
    • **Note these readings will be submitted by the course participants at the end of week 5
    • See the Week 7 Concentration Readings Forum for the readings selected collaboratively by the concentration groups.

Assignments

  • Present to the class using appropriate technology and resources your completed sustainable business plan and your environmental management audit for that same business. Post your presentation to your Green Business Plan Forum Thread in Blackboard
  • Submit your final business plan and your validation of how your proposed strategy provides the best business ecosystem solution. Post your final plan analysis to your Green Business Plan Forum Thread in Blackboard.
  • Contributions to the Environmental Business Managment Discussion Forum (Green Business Talk) on three different days throughout the week.

top
Created in Dreamweaver MX

©Dr. Bob Kistler (WebMail)
Updated:  October 30, 2006