Aim - The aim of this course is to provide students with an advanced understanding of the theoretical, methodological, and empirical elements of social science research, in order that they may design, implement, and analyse research projects in a variety of contexts.
Aim: This course of study provides students with an enhanced capability to critically evaluate the ability of small business principals to manage all aspects of change in the context of developing business organisations.
Gain an enhanced capability to examine strategy and general management practice, principles and theory as they apply to the global pursuit of innovative and entrepreneurial business.
Aim - This course of study provides students with an enhanced capability to examine the conceptual underpinnings of human resource management in an international context, and to critically examine the proposition that strategically managing HR systems and performance in culturally different organisations, and organisations where there is significant diversity, can contribute to organisational success.
Aim
To identify, explore, and develop opportunities for creating wealth within the green economy.
Driving Question
How can an enterprise achieve superior business outcomes whilst achieving a net positive impact on the environment?
Learning Outcomes
- Identify the key strategic drivers behind the trend towards increased investment in the ‘green economy' and adoption of ‘green business’ practices.
- Identify and evaluate the opportunities for exploiting wealth-creating opportunities within the green economy:
- Critique special features, challenges, material risks and barriers to creating ‘wealth with green’ in the New Zealand and/or the student’s home nation.
- Explore the impact of indigenous ethics, values, and approaches to learning, enquiry, and environmental guardianship in relation to creating ‘wealth with green’.
- Design and evaluate an effective business plan for introducing a contribution to the green economy into the organisational context of a sponsor, or the student’s own enterprise.
- Evaluate contemporary consultancy, facilitation, and team work skills in the context of leading a successful intervention to create ‘wealth with green’.
Course descriptor and rationale
How is wealth created with the ‘green economy’? For instance, multinational General Electric saw sales of its Ecomagination products reach US$ 18 billion in 2009, with the company predicting revenue growth from these products at twice the rate of total company revenues over the five years to 2015 (Porter & Kramer, 2011). Furthermore, the global revenues for companies involved in the renewable energy markets are projected to rise to $US 300 billion annually by 2020 (UNEP, 2012). These two examples illustrate the significant and growing opportunity for investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs to focus on creating wealth from solving problems within the green economy (Vivid Economics and Energy Centre & University of Auckland Business School, 2012). This ‘smart green money’ trend is a strongly-developing theme extending beyond the earlier themes of environmentally-sustainable business development such as waste reduction, recycling, environmental compliance, and corporate social responsibility. In response to these opportunities, this proposal outlines the scope and audience for an applied elective offered as part of Unitec Institute of Technology’s teaching programmes.
Opportunities with the green economy
The opportunities for creating wealth from the green economy include:
- Investing wisely and profitably in ‘green’ and ‘ethical’ funds management schemes;
- Launching new products, services, and brands that are designed directly for the significant and growing market of green consumers;
- Improving the operations of a company and its supply chain to improve profitability through improving customer value and stakeholder ‘shared value’;
- Enhancing the market value of a company through identifying and managing ‘material risks’ within the context of environmental regulation, threats, and opportunities.
- Green trading, through making profits in the emerging emissions offset economy by investing in ‘clean technology’.
- ‘Marketising’ ecological services hitherto regarded as part of the commonwealth, ie ‘free’.
Course scope
The MBA course in ‘Wealth from Green’ will address questions including:
What are the key strategic drivers behind the trend towards increased investment in the ‘green economy'?
How can an investor, business owner, or entrepreneur exploit wealth-creating opportunities from the green economy?
What are the special features and challenges for creating ‘wealth from green’ within the context of the New Zealand economy?
What are the material risks and barriers to growing wealth in the green economy, and how can they be managed?
What social, political, and economic ‘levers’ can be ‘nudged’ to improve the adoption of green investments, products, processes and services?
Can the pursuit of 'green wealth' by private enterprise alone 'save the planet'? If not, what other actions are required by entities such as local and national governments, civil society, social entrepreneurs, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)?
What activities and regulations contribute to the destruction of ‘green wealth’? How can those activities be overcome?
Audience
The audience for the course is intended to include:
- Private and commercial investors seeking to 'do well financially, whilst doing good' through green and ethical investment;
- Company leaders, technologists, and business development managers seeking to position their company for profitable growth from the green economy;
- Innovators, entrepreneurs, and social entrepreneurs seeking to identify, develop, or grow new business opportunities in the green economy;
- Public policy-makers focused on ensuring that environmental legislation and regulation effectively nudges private-sector wealth creation in the green economy.
- Teachers seeking to improve their ability to embed principles of green growth and sustainable development into their teaching practice.
For more, see:
Mellalieu, P. J., & Marriott, J. (2015). Master of Business: Special Topic: APMG 8500 Wealth with Green [Proposal to MBus Programme Committee] (Memo). Auckland: Department of Management and Marketing, Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wx6cOrQg28qk7cbPBLA9s1SusuUthzV9LJ_dorZXkS4/edit?usp=sharing
A student's experience of 'Wealth with Green'
Mellalieu, P. J. (2015, November 12). “Wealth WITH green”: Lessons from an academic assignment. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/133046247283/wealth-with-green-lessons-from-an-academic