Course Descriptions

2011 program entry

Course Sequence - Accelerated Program
Course Sequence - Weekend Program

Introduction to Sustainability
Competency Area: Natural Systems
This survey course focuses on understanding the theoretical foundation of sustainability with a focus on complex ecological systems as essential to the origins of the concept. Beyond systems, students will explore the history of sustainability, and its emergence as a "contested concept," which helps to explain its multiple interpretations across different individuals and organizations. Upon gaining the theoretical and historical perspective, students will explore how sustainability is applied in organizations through the lens of organizational sustainability. Students complete assignments designed to help them to understand the challenges and myriad interpretations of sustainability in a variety of organizations, as they begin to develop their own interpretations of sustainability.
3 credits

Teamwork and Diversity
Competency Area: Collaboration & Group Dynamics
Effective teamwork is essential in today's organizations, and working effectively with human diversity is at the heart of successful teamwork. Students develop awareness of the dynamics of workplace diversity within a global context. Within this context, they apply models of group dynamics to better understand group experience and practice leadership behaviors to best address group needs. They develop skills in task productivity, collaborative decision-making, managing conflict, self awareness, and giving and receiving feedback.
3 credits

Finance I
Competency: Finance & Economics
Prerequisite: Students need to show evidence of competency in Managerial Accounting. Students have two options: 1) completion of Antioch's online Intro to Financial Accounting course or 2) completion of Antioch's online Intro. to Financial Accounting test option with a "b" or better.
Prerequisite: Excel Proficiency
Managers in organizations need a variety of financial and other sources of information for design, decision-making, implementing, and assessing the success of their operations. This course expands upon the standard notions of a single bottom line to include alternative measures, assessment, and information that provide a broader contextual understanding to managerial controls and success. Students begin writing a business plan.
3 credits

Earth Systems in Organizations
Competency Area: Natural Systems
Prerequisite: Intro to Sustainability
This course employs a systems approach to understanding the intersections of business and earth systems, also known as the evolutionary corporation. The Earth systems of atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and pedosphere are analyzed through field trips to local organizations, readings, and discussions. Students work closely with one organization to research and problem solve an organization's earth system challenge.
3 credits

Developing Human Resources
Competency Area: Management & Decision Making
Human beings and the organizations they work in depend on one another. Effective managers know how to foster workplace culture, practices, and relationships that support learning, satisfaction, and strong performance among employees, who in turn commit their knowledge, skills, and energy to the organization's success. This course provides an overview of principles for effective and sustainable human resource practice for managers. We then focus on specific aspects of that practice, including hiring, onboarding, performance development, dealing with unsatisfactory performance and knowledge management. Students will also conduct independent research projects on relevant human resource topics, policies, and issues.
3 credits

Finance II
Competency: Finance & Economics
Prerequisite: Finance I and Excel Proficiency
This course provides students with a solid understanding of basic finance concepts including business organization and taxes, the global financial environment and time value techniques and applications. The course will then turn its focus to financial analysis and planning, capital budgeting, capital leveraging, and structures. Students will have the opportunity to assess short and long-term impact of financial decision-making by comparing and contrasting traditional and sustainable models. Students will complete business plan that was started in Finance I.
3 credits

Ecological Economics
Competency Area: Finance & Economics
Prerequisite: Students need to show evidence of competency in Micro Economics. Students have two options: 1) completion of Antioch's online Intro to Economics course or 2) completion of Antioch's online Intro. to Economics test option with a "b" or better.
Ecological economics addresses the complexity inherent in the process of determining how we decide, utilize, and prioritize resources in a way that does not jeopardize the future well-being of the natural and human systems. The course will survey the breadth of current application tools for measuring impacts on sustainability. Within this context, historical neo-classical tools will be viewed for their ability to measure a sustainable direction. Growth, development, and commerce take on new meaning when examined through the lens of sustainable economic models. Given that new meaning, the challenges inherent to measuring change provide students with the opportunity to deepen their applied understanding of sustainability theory.
3 credits

Supply Chain and Green IT Operations
Competency Area: Management & Decision Making
This course provides an enhanced understanding of key concepts in supply chain management. The systems approach and a process orientation are explored at the individual-firm level and from the perspective of collaborative relationships among participants in logistics supply chains. Case studies are used to explore the impact supply chain and operations management has on businesses today. The course provides opportunities to investigate individual supply chain topics such as approaches to planning and managing inventory across supply chains, value creation through alignment and realignment of supply chain capabilities, the distinction of supply and value chain in sustainable businesses, integration of technology and supply chain performance metrics. The course will introduce student s to a variety of operations management techniques as they relate to "green" business practices and green technology.
3 credits

Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Leading Change
Competency Area: Leadership & Self Development
This course integrates key concepts from ecological and organizational thinking to examine the interdependence of human and natural systems. The primary focus is on how we apply these concepts to understand and create sustainable models and professional practice that support organizational, community and natural environments. The course will examine large scale patterns and processes in human ecology across space and time, systems dynamics, and how humans follow and alter their social and ecological environments.
3 credits

Integrative Strategic Management
Competency Area: Systems & Strategic Thinking and
Competency Area: Natural Systems
In this capstone course, students will merge ecological and organizational theory to develop strategic systems thinking management approaches. Students will develop skills to evaluate sustainability procedures and policies in a variety of complex systems - biological, ecological, environmental, organizational, social, political, and/or economic. Students will explore the field of Human Ecology as way to advance their strategies for solving complex organizational and environmental challenges. Case studies in managing IT resources, market competition, board development, social entrepreneurship and others will be used to demonstrate integrative strategic management approaches and solutions.
3 credits

Marketing & Communication Strategy
Competency Area: Systems & Strategic Thinking
This course explores marketing as an essential component of an organization's broader communication strategy in the context of organizational sustainability - defined through the "triple bottom line." Specifically, sustainability marketing initiatives will be addressed through the lens of "authenticity," driven by an organization's mission and purpose. The course combines both theoretical and practical elements and is intended to facilitate students' understanding of specific marketing strategies and tactics as nested within a broader organizational marketing strategy and communication strategy. Students will read a variety of literature and will work with an organization in a "consulting" capacity, while simultaneously developing a marketing plan.
3 credits

Practicum
Competency Area: Purposeful Systemic Change
The 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. Students complete this course by implementing their strategic plan and conducting the project or activity. In the weekend program practicum is a two semester course with Practicum Strategy & Research in the Fall II semester and Practicum Implementation in the Spring II semester. In the accelerated program practicum is a 6-week course that combines research, strategy and implementation.
3 credits

Total Credits: 36