In BUS 576 Sustainable Human Capital, Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Business, Dr. Tom Macagno, cultivates theoretical understanding, along with practical skills, for workforce management. BUS 576 analyzes the effectiveness of tools for talent acquisition and development, such as compensation, feedback, and assessment. In this class, students explore the ins and outs of individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis focusing on topics of motivation, communication, group dynamics, decision-making, culture, power, and politics. The course highlights sustainable business practices that create economic, environmental, and social value. BUS 576 provides students practical tools they can take to their workplaces to initiate and support an organizational transformation to sustainability.
The text used in BUS 576 is “Talent, Transformation, and the Triple Bottom Line” by Andrew Savitz. The book outlines the global challenges and opportunities that sustainability represents and discusses how human
capital fits into the equation. Additionally, Savitz offers his readers strategies, policies, tools, and specific action steps that business leaders and HR professionals can use to get into the sustainability game or enhance their efforts dramatically.
Students develop skills in communication as business leaders both verbally and in writing, bridging diverse perspectives, cultures, and disciplines. Dr. Macagno analyzes ethical implications of business practices using advanced levels of ethical reasoning and offers a “how-to” for effective collaborations as a business leader. Dr. Macagno comments, “The students work in groups and give frequent presentations. It is good practice for their later careers. We try to create a hands-on learning experience. They are very enthusiastic and do a great job.”
Here is what some of the students have to say about BUS 576 Sustainable Human Capital:
Zhiang Zhai, MIA ’16
Zhiang Zhai , a Master’s of Interior Architecture student said, “The sustainable human capital class is really interesting to me because it is totally different from what I have learned during my tenure as a student. I enjoy listening to different students’ perspectives of sustainable business management. It is helpful for me to understand how to develop a good relationship with clients, to better integrate sustainable practices, and to manage a design team or design project.”
Josephine Neema, MBA’17
Another student in the class, Josephine Neema, MBA ’17, said, “I have a business background, completely focused on numbers and analyses, but Sustainable Human Capital has given me another perspective of the HR function in organizations. I now understand that it is more than just transactional and disciplinarian.”
Alshaye Hosam, MSUS’16
Hosan Alshaye, a Master of Sustainability student, said, “This course helped me gain more practical knowledge and more ideas about the managerial side of sustainability and its strategies.”
BUS 576 Sustainable Human Capital is one of the core courses in Chatham’s Master’s of Business Administration program. Chatham’s MBA provides flexible course schedules for busy professionals with evening and online classes. For more information about MBA program, click here.
Group presentation by Brian Dwyer, MBA ’18, and Becky Borello, MBA ’16, on strategic implementation of sustainability and employee engagement in corporate culture.
