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The Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Management Practices at
Penn State Great Valley can help you go green.
This four-course graduate certificate can help you manage new or existing sustainable practices in your organization. Gain a competitive advantage by understanding how adopting the ‘triple bottom line’ can enhance your organization’s long-term viability. Courses are offered in convenient, seven-week sessions with hybrid-delivery options.
- Courses are designed for professionals who hold an MBA and want to update or expand their knowledge and expertise
- Courses also can be taken as a first step toward an MBA at Penn State Great Valley
- Courses are graduate-credit based and are taught by graduate faculty in the MBA program in collaboration with the Consortium for Sustainable Business Development
Applying is easy. To enroll:
Please submit transcript and résumé to the Admissions Office, Penn State Great Valley, 30 E. Swedesford Rd., Malvern, PA 19355. For admissions questions, contact Millie Ingersoll at mxi4@psu.edu or 610-648-3282.
Current Penn State graduate students in all programs are also welcome to enroll in the certificate. To apply, visit http://gradsch.psu.edu/portal/ and choose Certificate Admission.
Graduate Course Offerings:
Students in the Sustainable Management Practices program may complete up to four courses (12-credits). Courses are each 3 credits and may be applied to the MBA program if admitted as a degree-seeking student. Courses are offered in convenient, seven-week sessions with hybrid-delivery options, and students do not need to follow a particular course sequence.
REQUIRED COURSE:
Cornerstones of Sustainability (BUSAD 802.101), 25% online
(August 27-October 15, 2012, Monday/Wednesday)
This graduate course provides students with an overview of the social, environmental, and organizational sustainability challenges facing 21st century business leaders. The course seeks to develop students’ critical capacities for reflection and action based on a systems thinking framework. Topics include: the history of the sustainability movement; an overview of pressing environmental and social issues; and alternative perspectives on the local and global economy. The course addresses local and global issues surrounding sustainable management and reviews the major frameworks of sustainability that provide the scientific foundations and economic principles of how sustainability can help organizational leaders to achieve a natural competitive advantage. Students will apply theoretical and practitioner frameworks to real-world cases.
SELECT THREE (3) OF THE FOLLOWING COURSES:
Finance and Investment for Sustainable Growth (BUSAD 824.301), 50% online
(October 23-December 11, 2012, Tuesday, 6-9 p.m.)
This graduate course provides students with an in-depth exploration of the theories and the applications that financial professionals can leverage to simultaneously earn a profit and have a positive impact on society. The specific financial sectors examined include: Capital Markets (to address environmental issues), Commercial Banking (to create sustainable economic development), Project Finance (to reduce poverty and create infrastructure development), and Investment Management (to understand and employ socially responsible investing).
Triple Bottom Line Accounting (BUSAD 809.301), 50% online
(typically offered in spring)
This graduate course expands the traditional financial and managerial accounting topics to encompass economic, social, and environmental impacts. Students will investigate the strategic linkages between sustainability and the value of the organization; define true costs and become familiar with alternative cost measurement systems; and assess the impact of social risk. Other topics include the design and implementation of management performance evaluation and reward systems that align with social and environmental, as well as economic goals, and global reporting standards and best practices.
Social Entrepreneurship & Community Leadership (BUSAD 582.101)
August 27-October 15, 2012, Monday/Wednesday, 6-9 p.m.
This graduate course uses entrepreneurial skills to craft innovative responses to social needs. Entrepreneurs are particularly good at recognizing opportunities, exploring innovative approaches, mobilizing resources, managing risks, and building viable, sustainable enterprises. Entrepreneurial skills are just as valuable in the social sector as they are in business. Social entrepreneurship aims at social impact but does not exclude economic wealth creation; therefore, it is not limited to the non-profit sector. Despite a sustained economic boom in this country, numerous social problems remain and some seem to be getting worse. The course will focus on introducing business leadership and entrepreneurship principles to both profit and non-profit organizations whose products and services are designed to create social value.
Sustainable Products and Service Development (BUSAD 879)
(tentatively scheduled for Summer 2012)
This graduate course explores the creation and development of sustainable products and services. The course merges theory and practice; investigates the linkages between products and services; examines historic, current, and future examples of sustainable products and services; and guides students toward practical tools of inquiry and application that will serve them in their careers. The emphasis is on the process of new product innovation, development, and commercialization. The term “product” will be treated in its most general sense in which service may be an important component or the “product” might be entirely a “service.” For example, a software product may have no other function than to provide a service. We will examine how requirements for sustainable development affect the process of product development and will assess how sustainable products contribute to the firm’s competitive advantage and to its entrepreneurial opportunities. Various sustainability frameworks for integrating the environment and societal externalities in traditional product design process will also be studied.
Systems Thinking (SYSEN 507)
(tentatively scheduled for Spring 2013)
Systems thinking is the practice of seeing systems in the broad, rather than decomposing them into smaller pieces that lose the essential properties in which we are most interested. Systemic thinking allows us to identify the underlying structures, patterns, and cycles that influence the systems around us so that we can pinpoint the causes of recurring problems and find the points of leverage that will make lasting improvements. This graduate course provides students with the tools to understand and describe complex systems and to identify emergent properties, feedback mechanisms and their effects. Students will understand the difference between systematic and systemic approaches, the pitfalls of reductionism and the necessity for holistic system understanding and description.
Positive Organizational Behavior and Well Being (MGMT 507), 50% Online
(typically offered in spring)
Survey of organizational behaviors for enhancing positive emotions, engagement in work, personal meaning in life and accomplishments, and positive working relationships with others.
Questions? Contact us at gvmba@psu.edu or 610-648-3248.