Why Businesses Succeed: Sustainable Design

Description

Paul Hawken states in his book Natural Capitalism, "Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environmental and social degradation." In the fall quarter of this year-long program, we will examine the history of American business and management systems, and we will research several models in support of a sustainable "green" business design. Green businesses are companies that unabashedly embrace the goal of enhancing life on Earth as an integral part of their business strategy. We will seek to lay the foundation for a paradigm shift in business design and learn how the human resource is one of the most important to small business. Within this resource we will address the questions and issues of emotional intelligence.

In winter quarter, we will study marketing and define ecopreneurship while developing a toolbox of design for a sustainable "green" business. Quality business people show exceptional leadership by their explicit commitment and the significant resources they allocate to back up their commitments using triple botton line skills. Moreover, they are the leaders that open new products and services of sustainability within their communities and industry. One of the areas tackled will be "green" marketing and sales. We will also inspect the growth of sales and marketing as a vehicle for the sustainability process.

In spring quarter, we will learn how to plan, develop and start a sustainable "green" business. Each student will design and construct a model for a sustainable small business utilizing leadership tools for change and emphasizing the value of seeking customers who embrace sustainability. As a final project, all students will use software tools to construct a small business plan that will be professional enough for review by a lending institution or investors.