What does it mean to be a successful entrepreneur? What does authentic success look like, to the individual, to the organization, to the larger community, and to the economy? Organizations fail or succeed according to their ability to adapt to fluid legal, cultural, political and economic realities. The management of organizations will be a central theme in this program, where the primary focus will be on business, economic, and community development through the lens of sustainability. Management is a highly interdisciplinary profession in which generalized, connected knowledge plays a critical role. Knowledge of the liberal arts or of technological advances may be as vital as skill development in finance, law, organizational dynamics or the latest management theory. An effective entrepreneur must have the ability to read, comprehend, contextualize and interpret the flow of events impacting the organization. Communication skills, critical reasoning, quantitative (financial) analysis and the ability to research, sort out, comprehend and digest voluminous amounts of material characterize the far-thinking and effective organizational entrepreneur.

The program will be foundational for forming business pathways to move toward greater cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability.  Throughout the program, we will ask: how might entrepreneurs innovate, challenge, and transform their cultures and their environments as well as themselves?  One of the goals of this program is to develop a set of competencies that will address this need in an increasingly challenging economic and business climate, as we also engage in developing a well-rounded education.  Critical reasoning will be a significant focus in order to explicate certain entrepreneurship principles and their application to the business environment. You will be introduced to the tools, skills and concepts you need to develop strategies for navigating your organization in an ever-changing environment. Class work will include lectures, book seminars, projects, case studies, leadership, team building and financial analysis. Expect to read a lot, study hard and be challenged to think clearly, logically and often. Students can expect to attain a diverse skill set, including entrepreneurship, economics, sustainable business practices, critical reasoning and the ability to integrate business within community development.

Texts will include Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management by Norman Scarborough, Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell, Asking The Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking by M. Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley. Seminar texts include The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox, The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift by Andres Edwards and David Orr, and The System: Igniting the Soul of Commerce by Elane Scott and Rick Stephens.