General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Gonzalo Romero is an Associate Professor of Operations Management and Statistics at the Rotman School of Management. His main research interests include operations management in developing countries, sustainable operations, operations and analytics in healthcare, supply chain management, and revenue management. His recent work focuses on using mathematical modeling and analytics to address sustainability and efficiency issues in supply chains in emerging markets.
Target Audience
MBA students interested in business operations for sustainability. Moreover;
- If when you look at major global challenges you think that there might be business opportunities (and not just charity) among the solutions for these challenges, then this course is for you.
- If you suspect that maximizing return on invested capital might not be incompatible with environmental and social responsibility, but you want to understand how, this course is for you too.
- If you need space and support to figure out how to align your values and sense of mission with your career, this course will help you.
- If someday you want to design processes for companies, industries and economic systems that are socially and environmentally sustainable, your journey starts here.
Format
8 weekly sessions, on Wednesdays from 18:00-21:15
- May 22, 29
- June 5, 12, 19, 26
- July 10, 17
Course Mission
The first goal of this course is to provide students with a toolset that will allow them to analyze, evaluate, improve, and create the operations of business models that address some of the major challenges faced by humankind. We will focus on a few topics: building a circular economy, scaling the operations of a profitable business that addresses a social challenge, access to healthcare, industry self-regulation, decarbonization, and digital transformation.
The second goal of this course is for students to identify sustainability goals for an industry they are interested in and to propose and evaluate the operations of new business models that achieve these goals.
Course Scope
We will leverage many tools, methods and frameworks. This class will examine and discuss global issues related to climate change, energy, waste, labour, and poverty. In addition, we will review the modern “schools of thought” on these issues through an entrepreneurial and managerial lens.
The course will be a mix of lectures and case discussions. As part of the course, students will also propose an operational business model innovation that addresses a social or environmental need (either within an existing company or as a start-up idea) and write a couple of blog posts. Another objective of this course is to create a network of Rotman students and alumni interested in sustainability and social entrepreneurship. This network will shape future versions of the class and become a resource available to the students throughout their careers.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Short Case Write-Ups (Individual) | Ongoing | 40% |
| Blog Posts & Short Presentation (Group) | Weeks 3 & 6 | 20% |
| Final Project (Group) | Last Week (Week 8) | 20% |
| Class Participation (Individual) | Ongoing | 20% |
Required Resources
Case studies available in the course pack.
Our course has a crowdsourced business sustainability reading list. Feel free to explore and add any interesting articles or resources that you come across! Link to be posted on Quercus.
Additional readings and links will be posted on Quercus during the semester.