Module Paper (Future of Energy Business and Society) (3 pages)

SYLLABUS

Course Title: The Future of Energy, Business and Society

Required Text Materials

1. Sachs, Jeffery D., The Age of Sustainable Development, Columbia University Press, 2015

2. Yunus, Muhammad, A World of Three Zeros, PublicAffairs, 2017

3. Hawken, Paul,The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition, Collins Business Essentials, 2013

4. Klare, Michael T., Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet, The New Geopolitics of Energy, Holt Paperbacks, 2008.

5. Package of Case Studies and readings to be purchased from HBS. List will be provided.

RECOMMENDED READING:

· I recommend that you routinely peruse two weekly business periodicals: Businessweek http://www.businessweek.com/ and The Economist (London – www.Economist.com as well as the Wall Street Journal – www.wsj.com

Catalog Description

This course examines the interaction of energy, business and society. Students study issues involved in corporate social responsibility globalization, environmentalism, community involvement, socially responsible investing, resource limits, energy project development, doing business in less developed countries and bottom of the pyramid concepts. This course investigates the social, community and political road blocks encountered in new and existing business ventures.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Discuss, debate and understand the interaction of business and society and the importance of energy in the context of today’s global society and into the future.

2. Debate the obligations a business has to its shareholders, customers, employees, community and society at large.

3. Understand and apply the principles of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement

4. Understand and distinguish the need and barriers to business development in the developed and developing world.

5. Have an appreciation for doing business in the developing world and underserved communities.

6. Appraise the importance, roles, organization, management and challenges of non-profit institutions and charities versus traditional for-profit businesses.

7. Apply the role of leadership in finding the correct balance between the drive for profits and the obligations of a business to society.

8. Have an appreciation for the interaction between local communities and business and develop the ability to study and analyze business development issues faced by communities

Prerequisites

Knowledge of general business situations

Course Format

100% Online

Course Teaching and Learning Methodology

To accomplish course objectives, there will be a combination of formal lectures, presentations, live online discussions, assigned readings, weekly homework assignments case analyses, quizzes and final projects.

Expectations of Students

1. This is a course with largely qualitative subject matter and with an emphasis on discussion, debate and analysis.

2. Be sure to allocate enough time weekly to read the assigned material, follow the Powerpoint slides, complete the homework, take the online quizzes and participate in the discussions. The workload at times may be intensive.

3. Make wise use of resources provided including the required and recommended reading, the course instructor, other students, and current publications.

4. Regular student participation in class and online is very important aspect of this course and a key part of your grade.

5. Complete each section of the course by the required date. Late assignments will receive half credit if turned in within 7 days of the due date. No credit will be given for assignments turned in seven days past the due date.

6. All weekly assignments are due by midnight of the day preceding the start of the next class – normally this is Sunday midnight.

7. Homework assignments, quizzes, discussion participation, and written case analyses are the primary forms of evaluation. Each submission should be clear, concise and the use of appropriate grammar, form and bibliography are expected.

8. Excessive absences as well as lack of online participation will result in the student being dropped from the course. No communication from you for two consecutive class meetings for whatever reason is cause for me to initiate an administrative withdrawal. Please note that the withdrawal does not excuse course payment unless withdrawal is during the first week of class. Except in the case of extreme emergency there are no "incomplete" grades in this course.

9. Please do not attempt to work ahead. I will be modifying and updating the course as we go along. I might even change and update the course and subject matter the day before the next class.

10. Module Paper: This should integrate not only principles learned in this class but how they relate to the MBA in Leadership program. This paper is usually due before the last unit.

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Course Requirements

1. Case Study Discussion Class Participation

Every week there will be a live online class session for all students to discuss the case study assigned for that week. The participation grade will be based on the quality of what you contribute to the class and not on how much you say in class. Participation in the case study discussion requires the submission of a 1 to 2 page summary of the case highlighting the key issues. The live case discussion is normally scheduled on a Saturday or Sunday morning and lasts about 90 minutes.

2. Homework:

There are 11 homework assignments. Each assignment is explained in the homework assignment section of the unit.

3. Weekly Posts Commenting on the Reading Assignments.

I place a lot of trust in students to complete the large amount of reading week to week. The reading is very important in this course and is simply meant to introduce you to the topic at hand. Quite frankly I could devote a 12-week course to each of the topics we cover each week. The reading provides you with the background information for the week but we don’t have the time to discuss and reflect on each reading assignment in class. My experience is that the ESS students are a select bunch and they choose this program because they are interested in energy and sustainability matters and as such they want to learn and for the most part they do complete the reading assignment but not always……

Instead of a weekly quiz to test your completion of the reading assignment, I would like you to post a one to two page short post in the threaded discussion tab. The post should reflect on what you have taken from the week’s assigned reading and what the key takeaways were from each reading assignment. I will not be grading you on structure and formatting but be conscientious about good grammar and spelling. Please prepare the post in a word document and then cut and paste into the weekly post/threaded discussion post box.

4. Short Presentation

Each student will present two 10 minute online presentations on course related topics of interest.

5. Final Project

The final project will be to research and analyze a business development issue in your local community. The background and detailed analysis of the issues facing the developer and the community should be presented and alternative solutions should be analyzed. The project should include interviews with the developer and community officials and should include a detailed background of the situation. Leadership issues, good or bad, should be highlighted. Be sure to pick a development project that you can obtain adequate and detailed information about.

6. Module Paper:

· This should integrate not only principles learned in this class but how they relate to the MBA in Leadership program. This paper is due by the end of Week 11.

Reference Style

Please cite all references using APA style. You will find style tips at the APA online site located at http://www.apastyle.org/previoustips.html . Specific help in citing electronic sources can be found at http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html . A free link to the current APA Style Guide is available from Purdue University at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/001 . Additional help in the APA citation style is available at http://thewritedirection.net/apastyle.htm . A sample APA style paper may be found at http://dianahacker.com/writersref/ . Once there, follow the link to Model Papers, and download the APA paper. Use it as a reference on what your paper should look like. The most important formatting aspects are: cover page, Reference Page, appearance of the headers, and in line references. Finally, although with some flaws, it is a good idea to use the online Citation Machine available at http://citationmachine.net/ .

As a word of advice, please, do not wait until the last moment to complete your work. If you do, you run the risk of experiencing unanticipated problems that might prevent your from completing your work on time. Whenever possible, consider alternative schedules.

Course Schedule

There are twelve units to be covered during the term. Each week will cover one unit.

Week #	Section Title	Topics Covered
1	Globalization & The Present State of the World - Part 1	· Capitalism – the playing rules · State sponsored capitalism · Globalization · Business, Government and Society · Consumerism
2	Globalization & The Present State of the World - Part 2	· Population Growth · Poverty · Climate Change · Natural Resources · War/Terrorism/Ideological Struggles
3	Global Energy Usage, Supply and Forecasts for the Future	· Basic energy concepts · Global and US energy consumption · Worldwide Energy Resources · Predictions for future energy usage · What are our alternatives
4	What is the Business of Business?	· Profits Only? · Stakeholders analysis - or is it all about the shareholders? · The cost of business · Small business vs. big business · New business paradigms
5	Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)	· Corporate social responsibility guidelines · Being good for the sake of being good? · Mandated CSR – Banks and the Community Reinvestment Act
6	Bridges and Roadblocks to Economic Development	· Environmentalism · NIMBY · Resource constraints · Government opposition and lobbying · Community opposition
7	Wind Energy	· Renewable energy introduction · Wind energy basics · Wind project development and communities
8	The Oil of the Business Engine - Credit	· Getting money to the right places · Credit markets in the developed world · Lending in underserved communities · Credit in the developing world · Microlending
9	Socially Responsible Investing and BOP opportunities	· How shareholders can influence companies · Guidelines for socially responsible investing · Does socially responsible investing pay off? · Business opportunities in underserved communities · Bottom of the Pyramid Marketing · Designing for the developing world
10	Forces for Change Non-Profits, Big Givers, Social Entrepreneurship and NGO’s	· Non-Profit organizations and charities · The importance of non-profits · Non-profits, charities and NGO’s in the developed and developing world · Social Entrepreneurship
11	Climate Change	· What climate change will bring · The role of business · The role of government
12	Developing and promoting an expanded view of the business of business	· Presentations · The importance of leadership · Sustainability as a business philosophy