Students in the MBA complete a variety of assignments: research, consulting projects, business plans, marketing proposals, strategic plans and many others. Listed below are a sample of the types of assignments our students have completed. We share these examples as exemplars because of the quality of the work and ability to capture the essence of sustainability.
Our Developing Human Resources course is focused around this question: How can we collaboratively develop organizational cultures and implement practices that support both human well being and successful performance – including successful sustainability efforts – at individual, unit, and organizational levels? For their final assignment, students select a human resource topic that is of particular interest to them, drawing on course concepts to inform their analysis. Laurie Caldwell’s paper advances our understanding of how to create inclusive workplaces.
Fully Incorporating Queers in the Workplace
by Laurie Caldwell
In Integrative Strategic Management there is a semester-long, capstone assignment to build a sustainable, organizational strategic plan focusing on long-term organizational efforts to optimize profit, people, and planet. The plan is based on data generated from a student researched, in-depth organizational and external environmental audit and student assessment. To produce a successful plan, all of the student’s accumulated Antioch course knowledge and previous professional experience will be utilized. Jerid Bethke submitted this strategic plan for John Deere & Co.
John Deer Strategic Investor Plan
by Jerid Bethke
In Finance I, students must research a business and make a case for a new business operation. In this business case, three students make the case for enhancing the operations of the Community Kitchen in Keene, NH.
The Community Kitchen: A Business Case for Gleaning
by Laurie Caldwell, Paul Farella, Geoff Riggs
Practicum is a facilitated, independent project. Students identify a focus, conduct research, identify a project and implement project management tools to create and meet the goals of the project. Activities include: brainstorming possible learning goals, conducting a review of the relevant literature, creating a reference list, specifying goals and expectations for a project, and preparing a strategic plan for the implementation of the project. Below is a variety of work students have done in connection with their practicum.
The Learning Report is a critical summary of the practicum research process. In this paper, Fiona Baker summarizes her research on calling and career.
In this powerpoint Levi Rogers demonstrates the best practices for presentations and how to build a powerpoint so the audience will listen. This method of powerpoint is design is what we advocate for in many of our courses.
Facilitating Large Scale Community Change Processes
by Kimball Cartwright
Social Entrepreneurship
by Rosie Gallant
The practicum process begins with students developing a backcast of their plans for practicum and how it fits in to their broader professional goals. Backcasting is a tool used by the Natural Step process and is seen as a helpful divergent process that allows people to look at current status through the lens of working backwards from a vision of wild success down the road. In this example, Accelerated MBA student Leon Cauthen nested his practicum project in a longer term goal on sustainable development.
Backcasting
by Leon Cauthen
For this assignment in the course Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Leading Change students are asked to research a topic of her/his choosing on some aspect of leadership, entrepreneurship, or leading change, using both sources from the course curriculum and others gathered using library resources.
An Exploration of Followership
by Rosie Gallant
Action Inquiry and Sustainability Leadership
by Richard Lawton
Organizational Complexity and Leadership
by Terry Robinson
A graphic visual aid was used for a case study presentation in Supply Chain class.
In the following two pieces, students were asked to write a marketing plan or a communications plan for the Marketing & Communication Strategy course. Each plan details a comprehensive strategy to promote a product or behavioral change.
Return on Community – Integrated Marketing and Communications Plan
By Maureen Wrinn
Hanover Idling Awareness Campaign - Strategic Marketing Plan
By Eric Merberg
Personal Reflection
By Stephen Lajoie
In Introduction to Sustainability each student wrote and refined a personal mission statement. For this assignment, students were asked to analyze a complex system challenge through the lens of their personal mission statements like this one by Anne Nordstrom.
Personal Mission Statement
by Anne Nordstrom
For the Ecological Economics course Steve Fairlamb shared the following about this project, “The research and practical goal of this project in the Ecological Economics course was to illustrate different methods for valuing a piece of land, from the standard market valuation of realtors and developers, to the valuation based on conservation and ecological services. Under a subdivision and development scenario, I found the utility service-costs to be unsustainable to the local community. Using Bob Costanza’s and other ecological-economic methods of conservation and replacement valuation, I highlight the ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, habitat/diversity, water filtration/flood control etc) provided by undeveloped land that go largely unaccounted (and unpaid) for that continue to be threatened or- globally speaking- stressed to breaking point.”
Steele Farm: Great Hill Road. 4/08 An Ecological Economics Analysis
by Steve Fairlamb
For more information, contact the instructor, Polly Chandler.
