PrintBA 850, Sustainability-Driven Innovation, Fall 2015
This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the page or by clicking on any of the links below to “jump” to a specific section. It is essential that you read the entire syllabus as well as material covered in the Course Orientation. Together these serve as our course "contract."
- Instructor
- Course Overview
- Required Course Materials
- Assignments and Grading
- Course Schedule
- Course Policies
Instructor
Andy James
Author and Instructor, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University; Sustainability Manager, New Pig Corporation; Sustainability Council, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation; Industrial Advisory Board, Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems (RESS), The Pennsylvania State University.
- E-mail: axj153@psu.edu
- Availability: I check e-mail daily and am available for Skype, FaceTime, or phone calls on an appointment basis, 7 days a week.
Course Overview
Description: This course explores sustainability as a business opportunity for developing innovative products and services. It will focus on consumer needs related to sustainability, willingness to pay for these needs, and the innovative processes necessary to create sustainable solutions.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: When you successfully complete this course, you will be prepared to:
- Understand and critically analyze current realities, opportunities, and structural issues in sustainability across a range of organizations.
- Manage and evaluate insight-driven research as a precursor to sustainability-driven innovation.
- Map sustainability-driven offerings in the market to evaluate the competitive landscape and find strategic opportunity.
- Design sustainability-centric product and service offerings around identified and tangible market needs.
- Create, iterate, and evaluate initial beta offerings to understand viability.
Like other courses in our online programs, BA 850 is a "paced" course. "Paced" means that the course has a start date, an end date, and a weekly schedule of activities and assignments. However, students are free to study at times most convenient to them; you never have to log in at a particular time or place. Assignment due dates are posted in a course calendar which students access in the University's online course management system, Canvas. See the "Assignments and Grading" section of this syllabus for more information.
Along with the course calendar, registered students will find online assignments, a gradebook, communications tools, and other useful features in Canvas. For more information about the course environment, see the "Canvas Activities" section of the course Orientation.
Although the class never meets face to face, you will find there are plenty of opportunities to interact with the instructor and fellow students. One of the most interesting aspects of the class is that much of our time is dedicated to driving discussion and thought in such a way that we can leverage both the material and our professional experience. See the "Communication" section of the course Orientation to review all the ways in which you can get–and stay–in touch. Whether you have a question or a comment, you can expect to receive a reply within 24 hours–often sooner.
Expectations and Rules of Engagement
I expect well-honed arguments, salient points, and aggressive collaboration and discussion. No bystanders.
On average, most students spend eight to twelve hours per week working on course assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending on your study habits and your engagement in the casework. What you receive from the course will to a great degree depend on how strongly you engage with the cases and peer discussions.
Specific learning objectives for each lesson and project are detailed within each lesson. The class schedule is published under the Calendar tab in Canvas (the course management system used for this course).
Required Course Materials
Required Textbook
Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs by Larry Keeley, et al, 1st edition. (ISBN 9781118504246). It is an excellent, practical book with deep examples, and retails for about $20.
Online Lesson Content
All materials needed for this course are presented online through our course website and in Canvas. In order to access the online materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password. If you have any questions about obtaining or activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk.
Assignments and Grading
This course will rely on a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:
- Weekly Cases. Each week, we will cover an open case designed to reinforce and extend the week's topic. These cases are approximately two pages, single-spaced, which is not a tremendous amount of space, as we want to focus on the most important discussion points and findings of the week. I have taken this approach for two reasons: 1) Because "padded papers" benefit no one, and 2) because we should generally practice concise, compelling writing styles. These papers will then be uploaded to the class discussion forum.
- Weekly Case Responses. After the cases are posted to the discussion forum, you will then reply/respond/refute/extend a post of one of your colleagues, with an approximately one-page, single-spaced Case Response. Take a stand, back it up, and most of all, have fun. This course is structured to push us all with a co-learning approach, and I expect a lot of effort to be placed into the thought itself.
- Final Case. The Final Case is a ten-page application of all we have learned over the semester, applied to a single company/offering of your choosing. If you notice, it is 20% of your grade, which may be considered "underweighted." I have elected to keep the final case reasonable in scope and to place the emphasis on the Weekly Cases, as they allow a far more specific approach to the content.
- Citation and Reference Style: APA
For reference on the APA style and usage, see our Academic Integrity and Citation Style Guide.
A note on page count: For the sake of the assignments, a "page" is single spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point, 1" margins on all sides. It can be helpful to either write your draft post in Word or paste your post into Word before submission to help ensure you are meeting the criteria.
It is important that your work be submitted in the proper format to the appropriate Canvas Drop Box or Discussion Forum and by the designated due date. I strongly advise that you do not wait until the last minute to complete these assignments—give yourself time to ask questions, think things over, and chat with others. You'll learn more, do better...and be happier!
Due dates for all assignments are posted on the course calendar in Canvas.
Peer Influence Voting and "The Week In Review"
Each week, after the cases and responses are posted, you will vote (via email to me) for up to two colleagues you thought were especially compelling in their casework or responses. The overall Influence Leader at the end of the semester will receive a prize package, but more importantly, the knowledge that they not only pushed their own learning, but also the learning of their colleagues.
In The Week In Review webcast, I will highlight points made in the Cases and Responses and generally close the Lesson. In this webcast, I will also unveil the Peer Influence Voting for the week, as well as the Overall Standings. These webcasts will be posted on Wednesdays to coincide with the opening of the next Lesson.
A Note on Timing
Please note that you may post your Case and Response to the Discussion Forum at any time up to the deadline. We all have other engagements, so I would like to reinforce that flexibility. Furthermore, consider that those posting Cases earlier will likely garner more Responses from colleagues, which may benefit Influence Voting.
Grading
| Assignment | Percent of Grade |
|---|---|
| Weekly Cases | 60% |
| Weekly Case Responses | 20% |
| Final Case | 20% |
I have weighted the grading in this course heavily toward the weekly case activity and discussions, as I firmly believe students receive the most benefit from this course when each engages in their own examinations of the topic, after which we all come together in spirited discussion.
Below is the grading rubric and a sample of what you can expect from the grading of weekly cases (click to enlarge):
Accessible version of Grading Rubric
Accessible version of Case 1 figure
I will use the Canvas gradebook to keep track of your grades. You can see your grades in the gradebook by clicking on Grades in the left-hand menu in Canvas. Overall course grades will be determined as follows. Percentages refer to the proportion of all possible points earned.
| Letter Grade | Percentages |
|---|---|
| A | 93 - 100 % |
| A- | 90 - 92.9 % |
| B+ | 87 - 89.9 % |
| B | 83 - 86.9 % |
| B- | 80 - 82.9% |
| C+ | 77 - 79.9 % |
| C | 70 - 76.9 % |
| D | 60 - 69.9 % |
| F | < 60 % |
| X | Unsatisfactory (student did not participate) |
Late Policy
In exceptional circumstances, you should contact me. The earlier you contact me to request a late submission, the better. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We are all busy people with other responsibilities, and I expect professionalism in your advance notice, if possible.
Course Schedule
Below you will find a summary of the primary learning activities for this course and the associated time frames. This course is twelve weeks in length, with an orientation week preceding the official start of the course. Each lesson is one week long. See our Calendar in Canvas for specific lesson time frames and assignment due dates.
Weekly schedule: Lesson are opened each Wednesday, Weekly Cases are due by 11:59pm Monday EST (Eastern Standard Time) and Weekly Case Responses are due by 11:59pm EST Tuesday. On Wednesday, I will briefly review the cases and discussions and do a brief "Week in Review" Webcast where the Leaderboard for that week will be also revealed.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson opens | ||||||
| Case due |
Case Response due, Peer Voting Lesson closes |
Week in Review Webcast / Leaderboard unveiled |
NOTE: See the Canvas calendar for a full semester calendar of events.
List of topics and activities included in the course is presented below. Refer to the course website for specific reading materials recommended for each lesson.
| Dates | Wednesday, August 17 - Tuesday, August 23 |
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| Dates | Wednesday, August 24 - Tuesday, August 30 |
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Case Assignment: Patagonia and REI
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| Dates | Wednesday, August 31 - Tuesday, September 6 |
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Case Assignment: Nike and Apple
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| Dates | Wednesday, September 7 - Tuesday, September 13 |
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| Dates | Wednesday, September 14 - Tuesday, September 20 |
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| Assignments | Case Assignment: Finding opportunity
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| Dates | Wednesday, September 21 - Tuesday, September 27 |
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Case Assignment: Sketching WGB spaces
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| Dates | Wednesday, September 28 - Tuesday, October 4 |
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Case Assignment: Structuring research
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| Dates | Wednesday, October 5 - Tuesday, October 11 |
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Assignment: MEC and Cognitive Mapping
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| Dates | Wednesday, October 12 - Tuesday, October 18 |
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Assignment: Identifying the Ten Types
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| Dates | Wednesday, October 19 - Tuesday, October 25 |
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Case Assignment: Five Contexts
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| Dates | Wednesday, October 26 - Tuesday, November 1 |
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| Dates | Wednesday, November 2 - Tuesday, November 8 |
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Case Assignment: Microtesting the Offering
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| Dates | Wednesday, November 9 - Tuesday, November 15 |
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| Assignments | Continue work on Final Case |
| Dates | Final case is due by 11:59pm EST on Friday, December 16 |
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| Assignments | Final Case Assignment Page |
Course Policies
Technical Requirements
For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk (for World Campus students) or the ITS Help Desk (for students at all other campus locations).
Internet Connection
Access to a reliable broadband Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your Internet access may not be used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or wireless hotspot.
Mixed Content
This site is considered a secure website which means that your connection is encrypted. We do, however, link to content that isn't necessarily encrypted. This is called mixed content. By default, mixed content is blocked in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. This may result in a blank page or a message saying that only secure content is displayed. Follow the directions on our technical requirements page of the course orientation to view the mixed content.
Penn State E-mail Accounts
All official communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State e-mail accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, or forward your Penn State e-mail to your preferred e-mail account, so you don't miss any important information.
Academic Integrity
This course follows the guidelines for academic integrity of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Penn State defines academic integrity as "the pursuit of scholarly project in an open, honest and responsible manner." Academic integrity includes "a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation, or deception." In particular, the University defines plagiarism as "the fabrication of information and citations; submitting other's work from professional journals, books, articles, and papers; submission of other student's papers, lab results or project reports and representing the work as one's own." Penalties for violations of academic integrity may include course failure. To learn more, see Penn State's "Plagiarism Tutorial for Students." I cannot overemphasize the importance of academic integrity. DO NOT copy and paste from unreferenced sources. Without exception: if you use a direct quote from any source, as part of any submitted assignment, the quote must be clearly noted and properly referenced. (In-line references are fine.)
Course Copyright
All course materials students receive or to which students have online access are protected by copyright laws. Students may use course materials and make copies for their own use as needed, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor’s express permission is strictly prohibited. University Policy AD 40, the University Policy for the Recording of Classroom Activities and Note Taking Services addresses this issue. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct, and/or liable under Federal and State laws.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Office for Disability Services (ODS) website provides contact information for every Penn State campus: ODS Disability Liaison Contact Information. For further information, please visit the Office for Disability Services website.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Military Personnel
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
Inclement Weather
In case of weather-related delays at the University, this online course will proceed as planned. Your instructor will inform you if there are any extenuating circumstances regarding content or activity due dates in the course due to weather delays. If you are affected by a weather-related emergency, please contact your instructor at the earliest possible time to make special arrangements.
Connect Online with Caution
Penn State is committed to educational access for all. Our students come from all walks of life and have diverse life experiences. As with any other online community, the lack of physical interaction in an online classroom can create a false sense of anonymity and security. While one can make new friends online, digital relationships can also be misleading. Good judgment and decision making are critical when choosing to disclose personal information with others whom you do not know.
Deferred Grades
If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If, for any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript.
Attendance
This course will be conducted entirely online. There will be no set class meeting times, but you will be required to complete assignments with specific due dates. Many of the assignments are open for multiple days. It is your responsibility to complete the work on time, which may require you to complete the work early if you plan to travel or participate in national holidays, religious observances, or University-approved activities.
If you need to request an exception due to a personal or medical emergency, contact the instructor directly as soon as you are able. The instructor's ability to accommodate you is dependent on the earliest possible notification. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. All changes will be communicated with you via email or course discussion forum.