SEMESTER: Spring 2018

COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA257.1

This course is dual-listed with the FTMBA Program.

COURSE TITLE: Work, Wisdom and Happiness

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 units

INSTRUCTOR: Barry Schwartz

E-MAIL ADDRESS: bschwar1@swarthmore.edu

PREREQUISITE(S): Completion of Core Curriculum

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Final paper and class participation

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES For centuries, work was regarded as nothing but toil— a requirement for earning one's daily bread. But in recent decades, expectations about work have been transformed as has its very nature.  While it still provides one’s daily bread, it is also regarded as a major opportunity for people to find purpose, meaning, and happiness in their lives. In this course we'll study the latest research on what makes people happy at work, on how happiness at work improves the quality of work, on how people and organizations develop wisdom, and on what makes a career not just successful but meaningful.  We will also discuss some of the impediments—both individual and organizational—to doing meaningful and satisfying work. Students will develop their own visions of their ideal career, and of the ideal company they’d like to lead or work for.
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Barry Schwartz is an emeritus professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and a visiting professor at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley. He has spent forty years thinking and writing about the interaction between economics and morality.  He has written several books that address aspects of this interaction, including The Battle for Human Nature, The Costs of Living, The Paradox of Choice, Practical Wisdom, and most recently, Why We Work. The Paradox of Choice was named one of the top business books of the year by both Business Week and Forbes Magazine, and has been translated into twenty-five languages.

Schwartz has written for sources as diverse as The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Slate, Scientific American, The New Republic, the Harvard Business Review, and the Guardian. He has appeared on dozens of radio shows, including NPR’s Morning Edition, and Talk of the Nation, and has been interviewed on Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN), the PBS News Hour, The Colbert Report, and CBS Sunday Morning. Schwartz has spoken three times at the TED conference, and his TED talks have been viewed by more than 16 million people.