COURSE SYLLABUS & OUTLINE
Organizational Change for Sustainability
Instructor: Amit Jain, MBA, CSM, LEED AP Dates: 9/23 to 12/15
Days/Time: Mondays 6:30pm to 9:30pm (Hybrid course) Quarter: Fall 2013
Course Description:
Economic growth in the context of environmental and social responsibility is the great challenge of our time. Organizations of all kinds around the world are struggling to coherently articulate a response to this critical issue. This course offers a framework for exploring one’s personal response to this challenge. How can we propel change, both in our own lives and within organizations? This course introduces techniques for aligning sustainability aspirations and language with an
organization’s goals, as well as presenting methodologies that foster culture change and help individuals to participate in transforming companies into more sustainable organizations. Case studies will provide real-world examples of successful and not-so-successful organizational
development efforts. Learn useful tools for leading an organization’s sustainability program and for incorporating anticipated resistance to change into change efforts.
Perhaps growth is not about expansion, but about transformation, not about cycles of growth but about cycles of metamorphosis. The problem is measurement. We measure symptoms of productivity, like material flows, decisions made, revenue raised, distance covered and energy transformed… But we rarely measure outcomes, such as equity, happiness, peace, and
mindful awareness. Electing to measure what we can does not necessarily mean that we measure what matters.
How do these questions inform our work? How do these issues inform building organizations and community development? How is this profitable? How and where can we find models and modes of development that are truly effective? If an economy is a small piece of a culture, of humanity, then how do we understand and evaluate the actual performance of organizations, and our own performance within organizations, our culture, and humanity at large? In this course we will discover and introduce tools and mindsets for reframing these questions and our points of view.
Objectives
• Provide a platform for guided experiential learning and collaboration in the real-world analysis of organizations sustainability missions and their implementation. Increase our understanding of how to properly evaluate the value of eco-system services in context of traditional business analysis, i.e., an introduction to LEED, LCA, and other benchmarking systems and
methodologies.
• Learn to critically examine organizational issues through the lens of sustainability,
and understand a variety of tools that can be used to address them, including benchmarking and rating systems, as well as a wide-ranging variety of points of view Investigate how to become an effective change agent for sustainability in a corporate, non-profit or other type of organization.
Teaching Philosophy and Course Format:
This course will be based on a concrete, real-world approach to evaluating the performance of organizations, including quantifiable metrics. As such, while there are tangible systems that students will be exposed to, the course is not as much about answers as it is about
questions. We will favor Interactive discussion and group activities over lectures. Students will learn from each other as well as from the instructors. We certainly hope to offer a wealth of information, but we will introduce issues and serve as resources. Our approach will be Socratic, but open-ended. We will pose challenging questions without having all the answers, and hope to share our experience and broaden our own perspectives as well as yours. Guest presentations from other working professionals and case studies will enliven the discourse.
Feedback: We expect that students will arrive from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we will try to accommodate different learning styles. Each group of students is unique, and the instructors will try to respond to their needs and perspectives. Throughout the course, please present honest feedback suggestions. We plan to provide a forum where all comments and suggestions are welcome, whether on the content, speed, workload, mix of lecture and participatory exercises, or any other aspect of instruction.
Assignments: 1) Eco---Autobiography 2) Forming a Shared Vision 3) Apply a sustainability Benchmarking system (egg. LEED, LCA, BREEAM, Natural Step, etc.) To a project or organization. 4) Collaborative Case Study/Project (2-4 projects within group- need to see each individual reflected.)
There will be three assignments and a final project. The first assignment is related to personal environmental impact, the second will be a group exercise, and the third is
a quantitative assessment. The final project will be both more substantial and more flexible.
Final Project: We will offer a complete description and discussion of the options for this project during the first and/or second sessions.
Laptop/Tablet policy: As part of an effort to minimize paper use in the course, students are welcome and encouraged to bring laptops/tablets to class for referencing readings and
taking notes. Please be respectful and only use these devices for course related material during class. There will be some exercises and discussions that will be computers down.
UCLA Extension Contact for this Course: Joshua Gill – Jgill@unex.ucla.edu
Student Records: Students can access and update student records online
by visiting: www.uclaextension.edu and clicking on MyExtension on the left navigation bar, selecting Student's Course Essentials, and following the directions to log in. Student’s
Course Essentials letsyou v iew your grades, request an official transcript, change credit
status on a current course, obtain enrollment verification, update your personal Information, and much more.
Student Conduct: By enrolling in this course, all students are expected to have reviewed the Student Conduct and Sexual Harassment information provided in the current Quarterly
catalog (print or online) under “General Information.”
Accommodations: If you need any accommodations for a disability, please contact the UCLA Extension Disabled Student Services at: (310)825---7851or via
e---mail access@uclaextension.edu Grading and evaluation:
Course grades will be based on active
participation, completion of assignments, quality of final project and demonstrated application of course concepts. There is
no curve. Each student is evaluated on an individual basis, and theoretically it is possible for all students to get an A in the class. There will be an exit survey that will include a self---evaluation, which will be taken into account in the grading process.
Note: Course outline and materials may change during the course. Students will be notified of Any changes and all changes will be made in reasonable timeframes.
Make---ups:
Attendance and participation are critical in this course, if a student needs to miss a class, he /she should notify the instructor ahead of time, and needs to submit a
make---up. Acceptable make---
ups include attending an educational sustainability event or conference and doing a brief 1---2 page
write---up. Networking events are acceptable, if a student chooses to attend a networking event, th e write---up should include descriptions of the people the student interacted with.
Course Outline
Date Lecture Topic Course Materials
Week 1: 9/23 (Physical meeting)
Introduction
None. This session will be an introduction to the course--- format,
Materials, subject matter, approach, etc.
Where we are now: The pulse of the class; the pulse of the World: the scary truth.
Week 2: 9/30 (Online) Where are we now?
Increase Sensitivity (Responses)
Mind maps/Boundaries/Relationships/Scalability
Peter Senge: Supply Chain (Boundaries/Water>Watershed ) Individual>Position statement on
boundary--- JM Keynes Timeboundary----
Time---What you now know/no static but dynamic
JM Keynes: Selections
Peter Senge: selections from The Fifth Discipline Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine
The Sustainable Economy (Harvard Business Review) By: Yvon Chouinard, Jib Ellison, Rick Ridgeway
Share draft Eco---Autobiographies and complete Assignment 2: Forming a Shared Vision
Form Teams for draft and progress discussion in class in
Week 3 Identify Issues>Select Metric -- Social Media: Tumblr and FB
Week 3: 10/7 (Online)
Corporate Responses
Organization, Mission, Fundamentals, Process
Paul Hawken/Ray Anderson/et al.
Individual Missions/Individual Eco---Autobio Redux
(Dan Cohrs Eco---Bio: From Harvard to Rentech Inc.)
Paul Hawken: Selections: Growing A Business, Natural Capitalism, Blessed Unrest
Ray Anderson: Selections
The Sustainable Economy (Harvard Business
Review) By: Yvon Chouinard, Jib Ellison, Rick Ridgeway
Assignment 2: Forming a Shared Vision Draft and progress discussion
Week 4: 10/14 (Online) Measuring Success: Overview LEED,
B---Corps, GRI, CSR, Natural Steps, ISO Communicat ing Values
Case Studies:
• Bruce Mau--Massive Change--- his work, firm, projects, exhibitions, network, websites
• Janine Benyon--- AskNature.org • Paul Krugman and/or Joseph Steiglitz
Assignment 2: Forming a Shared Vision Presentations of final assignment with graphics
Week 5: 10/21 (Physical meeting) Case Presentation: Mujeres de la Tierr a
Case Presentation: Irma Muñoz-- Eco Autobiography and Mujeres de La Tierra
Team Work Sessions
Week 6: 10/28 (Physical meeting) Case Presentation: Eco---Districts and Archit ecture 2030
Case Presentation: Mark Klein— Eco---Districts and Architecture 2030
Team Work Sessions Week 7:
11/15 Case Studies: Case Studies and Applications Presented Week 8:
11/21 Case Studies: Case Studies and Applications Presented Week 9:
12/6 Desk Critique Project Work and Desk Critique Week 10:
12/13 Conclusion
Final Project Presentations with
Jury
It is estimated students will spend approximately 8 hours o utside class each class completing assignments, readings and studying for exams.
Course Syllabus Subject to Update by the instructor