5 credits
The various environmental crises facing the planet threaten the human race. Therefore, a primary challenge for business is to conduct itself in a responsible manner through sustainable decisions. That means more than anticipating continuous profitability. Independent scholars in this seminar course explore what it means to be sustainable from an environmental perspective and examine the implications for business regarding resource consumption, materials processing and disposal, and the impacts of how the products are made and distributed. Independent scholars analyze natural systems and how their condition influences doing business in a global economy. They also examine the long-term implications for conducting business globally and fine-tune critical-thinking skills by formulating an original research topic, which they discuss with their peers. Independent scholars accomplish course objectives by examining current information through extensive use of recent journal articles and papers as well as classic articles and papers related to the field of study.