MBA in Sustainable Management

The AU Online MBA in Sustainable Management (Green MBA) is comprised of 10 intensive 6-week courses, followed by an individualized capstone project that is completed over two 6-week terms. The program can be completed in 18 months from anywhere in the world.

Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute

Akio Morita School of Business

Course Descriptions

BUS 510
Global Economics (4 units)

Economics is an important subject that affects the way we live. The aim of this course is to help students understand the nature and organization of our society, the arguments underlying many of the great public issues of the day, and the operation and behavior of business firms and other decision-making entities by dealing with the principles of economics useful to MBA students.
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BUS 520
Human Resource Management (4 units)

This course focuses on the philosophy, tone and culture that is generic to the function of human resource management within a modern business setting. The course covers compliance issues, personnel, selection process, motivation of employees and the importance of orientation. Performance and evaluation will also be studied, along with training development, labor relations and issues regarding safety, health and wellness.
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BUS 530
Managerial Accounting (4 units)

Given that the increased globalization of business practices, the expansion of international financial markets, and the emergence of electronic commerce together have contributed to the growth of international business, focus in this course is on the basics of international accounting and financial reporting including regulatory requirements, analysis of accounting for multinationals, area studies of accounting and financial reporting standards, and an evaluation of the international accounting harmonization effort.
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BUS 535
Triple Bottom Line Accountability and Management (4 units)

The Triple Bottom Line Accountability and Management course is an expanded version of accounting for corporate activity. Contemporary society has moved away from the mere financial bottom line to a higher level of social responsibility where we account for the true social impact of our business activity. Through this expanded version of accounting and accountability, social and environmental impact is added to the equations. Thereby the report of corporate activity and management comprehensively reflects a true bottom line. The three prongs of the true bottom line become clear: economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. This course provides the basis for business students to go forward and determine the true social effects of the businesses they are working for and to manage for the future.
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BUS 540
Marketing (4 units)

Marketing frequently requires major changes in how organizations conduct business in a global marketplace. It is a necessity for today's business leader to be aware of the implications of marketing strategies and how they are employed in different countries with different cultures. This course focuses on identifying and meeting the needs of specific target markets through close interaction with managers from other areas, such as promotion, finance, accounting and human resources.
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BUS 545
Green Marketing & Environmental Product Design/Recycling (4 units)

Green Marketing & Environmental Product Design/Recycling is a course structured around the traditional "4Ps" of marketing and explains how marketing mix decisions can and do influence environmental outcomes. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on the conversion of consumption systems to a sustainable paradigm that represents a circular use of resources, not the linear approach (materials >products >consumption >disposal) that leads to the pollution of ecosystems. The major theme of the course is that marketers can reinvent strategy and craft "win-win-win" solutions, where customers win (obtaining genuine benefits), organizations win (achieving financial objectives), and ecosystems win (ecosystem functioning is preserved or enhanced).
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BUS 555
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & Ethics (4 units)

Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics is a comprehensive study of the core issues for business in the questions of sustainability, social responsibility and ethics. The course introduces the student, not only to relevant issues, but the views of corporate stakeholders. Approaches for presenting and carrying out a program of sustainability are presented, including strategic planning, targets, goals and alternative approaches. A prinicipal part of the course is devoted to the ethics of business and issues of transparency, including discussion of the social impact of non ethical and non transparent business practices. Case studies, a team project and practice assignments assist in presenting these themes on a practical level. The course concludes with information and discussion on trends in sustainability and business ethics. A principal goal for the course is to show that community engagement and the maximization of profit/shareholder value are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing.
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BUS 565
Sustainable Enterprise Development and Leadership (4 units)

Sustainable Enterprise Development and Leadership is a course which provides a comprehensive and practical analysis of what sustainable business development is and how companies can use it to make a significant difference. Sustainable development involves articulating, integrating and achieving social, economic, and environmental objectives, and initiatives to protect humankind and the natural world from destructive behaviors. Sustainable business development is a holistic management approach which includes the entire value added system from the origins of raw materials ,to production processes, to customer use, to product end of useful life. Sustainable outcomes are those that balance the performance objectives of the present with the needs and expections of the future. To acheive these outcomes, there must be a profound change in strategic thinking, leadership and the management of businesses.
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BUS 570
Innovation and Entrepreneurship (4 units)

The foundation of business enterprise still rests with the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the individual or small groups of individuals who complement the global marketplace with ideas, innovation and drive. This course focuses on the creation, development and management of a new enterprise and the challenges of entrepreneurship, as well as the implementation of new and innovative ideas within existing business entities. Additionally, there will be great emphasis on the creative and innovative side of entrepreneurism.
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BUS 590
Managerial Finance (4 units)

This course covers material essential to a comprehensive understanding of financial management for effective managerial decision making. Topics will include, but not be limited to, concepts and principles underlying financial statement analysis, time value of money, the cost of capital, risk and return, and stock and bond valuation.
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BUS 600
Capstone Project in Sustainable Management (4 units)

BUS 600 is a capstone course in the MBA in Sustainable Management curriculum and as such will be the next to last course the students take in the program. As a capstone course, the focus will be the application of what students have learned in their previous courses. To accomplish this, students will be required to analyze a number of case studies which deal with issues such as supply chain management, stakeholder dialogue, social entrepreneurship, sustainable marketing, ethics, governance, and the business need for sustainability.
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BUS 610
Capstone Project in Sustainable Management (4 units)

BUS 610 is also a capstone course in the MBA in Sustainable Management, and is the last course students will take in the program. The course serves two purposes. The first is to take the subject beyond the narrow confines of an organization and to more it to a universal stage. To accomplish this, students will study Kisho Kurokawa' marvelous book, Each One A Hero: The Philosophy of Symbiosis. The second purpose of the course is give students the necessary tools to go into organizations, and into society as a whole, as experts in the field of sustainable management and to educate others in the importance of the subject. This aspect of the course is extremely important as organizations look for ways to reinvigorate internal management development activities to factor into those activities the role of corporate responsibilities in sustainable issues.
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