Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute Online Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Management

The AU Online Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Management is comprised of 6 intensive 6-week courses. Complete 4 specialized courses and 2 elective courses. The program can be completed in 36 weeks from anywhere in the world.

Course Descriptions

Specialized Courses

BUS 535 Triple Bottom Line Accountability and Management (3 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.

BUS 545 Green Marketing and Environmental Product Design / Recycling (3 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).

BUS 555 Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics (3 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. Click here to see the three required textbooks.

BUS 565 Sustainable Enterprise Development and Leadership (3 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 expectations of the future. To achieve these outcomes, there must be a profound change in strategic thinking, leadership and the management of businesses.

Elective Courses (Choose 2)

BUS 510 International Economics (3 units)

 Economics is an important subject that affects the way we live in not only the United States but internationally for countries who use the market system to determine the allocation of resources in their society. The aim of this course is to help students understand the operation of a market system in an international setting and to explore the nature and organization of various societies and the arguments underlying many of the great global public issues of the day in an international setting, and to understand the operation and behavior of international business firms and other decision-making entities through the study of the principles of international economics useful to students in the international MBA program.

BUS 520 International Human Resource Management (3 units)

Human beings are the most crucial components of any organization as all other company assets are always subject to human decisions. Recruitment, management and training of the workforce are then crucial tasks that contribute to the company’s success and can even be decisive for its survival. This is true whether we are considering domestic companies or international companies. This course focuses on the study of human management principles as they reflect on the basic assumption of treating employees as investments benefiting a company in the long run from the international perspective. The class is designed as an overview of traditional functions of international human resource (IHRM) management and an examination of its governing mechanisms contributing to the success of an organization. Compensation, staffing, training, labor relations and employee performance evaluation are studied from an international perspective among other aspects of international human resource management.

BUS 530 International Accounting (3 units)

In our increasingly globalized world, accounting students need to understand the main features of financial reporting practices as they differ in different countries so that they will be able to distinguish accounting and reporting differences that would otherwise give rise to problems for report readers. It is also vitally necessary to understand the ongoing efforts to harmonize standards using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The course aims to give participants a thorough grounding in the key principles of accounting while enabling them to understand the major features of the international IFRS standards. The course shows the links between accounting statements, valuation methods and investment analysis. The course also reviews important technical areas of differences among accounting systems such as inventory valuation, the use of reserves, consolidations, and taxation of income. The student will be able learn to identify problems in international harmonization while appreciating the capital market efficiencies to be gained from harmonization of international accounting standards.

BUS 540 International Marketing (3 units)

International 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 international target markets through close interaction with managers from other functional areas, such as promotion, finance, accounting and human resources.

BUS 550 International Management (3 units)

We are observing a fundamental shift in the nature of geopolitics. No longer will global business leaders focus on one or two stock markets, currencies, economics or political leaders. Today’s business environment is far too complex and interrelated for that. Nation states and multinational corporations will remain both powerful and important. Global networks comprising technological, entrepreneurial, social and environmental interest groups will remain powerful. Future economic and business endeavors will increasingly be characterized by a search for common ground, productive partnerships, and mutual benefit. This course will focus on developing a deeper understanding of how and why management practices and processes can differ around the world, and the development of the skills necessary to function successfully in this international business environment.

BUS 560 International Finance (3 units)

This course covers material essential to a comprehensive understanding of international financial management. Topics will include, but not be limited to, foreign exchange markets, the global cost of capital, corporate strategy and foreign investment and multinational capital budgeting.