COURSE NUMBER: MBA247.11
This course is
dual-listed with the Evening-Weekend MBA program
COURSE NAME: Business
and Sustainable Supply Chains
UNITS OF CREDIT:
1
INSTRUCTOR:
Omar Romero-Hernandez
E-MAIL ADDRESS:
oromero@haas.berkeley.edu
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME:
The course will meet over 2
Sundays, March 4 and 18, from 9AM to 5PM.
Please note the unorthodox nature of
this course, which meets all day on 2
Sundays. To earn a passing grade, you must attend BOTH class sessions in their
entirety.
PREREQUISITE(S):
None
CLASS FORMAT:
A mixture of lectures, cases, and guest speakers
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
Case briefs, class participation, and final project
CAREER FIELD:
This course is suitable for those pursuing a career as Marketing Director, or
in the areas of Supply Chain Management, Product Development and Corporate
Sustainability. The course will place emphasis at teaching how
to embed sustainability into the functional areas of the
organization.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S
CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This special topics course builds on other core courses such as Operations
Management. The objective is to find the best ways to match supply and demand
as we focus on two important components: social and environmental issues. The
aim of the course is to help students understand the main environmental and
social challenges of complex supply chains that stretch from our local stores
to farms and factories around the world. Students will learn tools to identify
and measure these impacts, and understand the main initiatives and
opportunities to design and successfully operate sustainable supply chains.
Social
issues, including human rights abuses, unfair salaries, forced labor, child
labor and safety standards, are part of the agenda in most leading
organizations. Companies understand that social issues may lead to severe
problems on their supply chain, including higher risks of disruption and loss
of brand equity. Operating a socially responsible supply chain is a complex
task as it includes large global networks, which extend five or six tiers deep.
Constant auditing does not seem to solve these issues. Unsafe conditions in the
textile sector in Bangladesh, child labor in Pakistan, and overwhelming work
hours in China are still in the headlines of major newspapers.
Environmental issues are also at the forefront of concern. From water shortages
in the food sector to climate change and costly energy supply, business
managers deal with the immediate risks of these matters. Leading companies are
becoming successful at turning environmental challenges into business
opportunities that create value. It is possible to find cost effective ways to
lower the carbon and water footprints of their supply chains while also
lowering resource consumption. Yet, not everyone knows how.
The
course incorporates business and sustainability (social and economic) aspects
with the field of operations management. Students will be given learning tools
and are expected to use them to solve practical management problems relevant to
business, the environment, and society at large. The course concentrates on
four fields: (i) Global production and consumption; (ii) Social challenges and
opportunities; (iii) Environmental challenges and opportunities in complex and
global supply chains; and (iv) Leading practices and
current alternatives to the linear “take – make – dispose” model of
consumption. In particular, we will relate these topics to a business context.
Students are expected to complete assignments distributed in class based on
real and relevant management problems.
Taking
this course will help students to support their decision-making process related
to creating value from the use and conservation of natural resources, the
adoption of socially responsible strategies, and the inextricable link with
competitive advantage.
Grading Scheme:
Attendance and participation in both sessions is required during all
lecture time: 9:00am to 5:00pm. Make sure you go over the reading
material. Many of these readings are relatively short (1 or 2 pages) and
provide a good background for discussion.
Office
hours will be held after class on both days for as long as needed. There will
also be extra office hours on the second Sunday from 7:30-8:30am, and earlier
if needed. We may also be able to meet in person during the intervening weeks
by appointment.
There
will be no tests. Final grades will be based on the following:
20%
Participation 40% Two Short
Assignments
40% Final
project
Students are expected to complete two short assignments in this class. Each
assignment should be completed in the form of case studies.
The first assignment is to
be completed before the first day of class. Students may opt
to analyze one of two cases and provide a two-page report including business
context, sustainable supply chain challenge, and key implementation steps
towards a more sustainable supply chain.
The second assignment is to
be turned in a week after the second and last session. This assignment includes
a business case and material covered in lecture on supply chain network design
and optimization:
Case: Hans Solar and the Sustainable Supply Chain or equivalent (tbd)
Students are prompted to identify the network design (locations, transportation
modes) that minimizes environmental impact subject to a maximum network cost.
Additionally, students analyze the effect of network designs on product
delivery time. As a result of this second assignment, students will get
familiar with trade-offs among cost, environmental impact, and delivery times.
Final Project:
Students will form groups of no more than three members (tbd)
and complete a final class project. The expected delivery is a brief
presentation on the last day and a research paper of 2000-3000 words. The
deadline for this final paper is one week after the last session. We will
grade research sources, clarity, content, and your recommendations or
conclusions. A well formatted and professionally prepared document is expected.
Please
choose one of the following two options for your final project:
Option 1. Deep dive into one of
the course topics. An in-depth analysis of a topic related to
the class. Students must consult with the instructor on the topic and are
expected to use and apply methodologies that are part of class material. Make
sure you present or email, before session 2, one page with your topic,
objectives, and research strategy to the instructor so that he can provide
feedback and, eventually, approve your proposal.
Option 2. Analysis of
a firm’s supply chain. Identify some of the key social
and environmental challenges faced by a firm or organization along its supply
chain. Include your research and your understanding of the problem and causes.
Provide a thoughtful recommendation on how to solve this problem, and an action
plan for the next two years. We expect your recommendations to be preferably
based on the development and adoption of innovative practices rather than
waiting for regulators to propose a new legislation.
The
following section provides some guidelines on the expected schedule, topics,
readings, and questions for discussion.
|
SCHEDULE – Day 1 (TBD) |
Readings* |
|
This schedule is subject to change |
|
|
1. Introduction to
Sustainable Supply Chains (SSC) |
Reading: Accenture. Why Sustainable Supply Chains is a good
business Reading: How Sustainability can help you Strengthen your Supply
Chain |
|
|
|
|
2. Social
Challenges and Solutions for SSC |
|
|
2.1 The challenge behind global and complex supply chains |
Short Reading: 93% of your Supply Chain is “Invisible” |
|
2.2 The industry response |
Creating Social Value through supply
chains. Short reading: Starbucks-CAFÉ initiative and Unilever
initiatives |
|
2.3 NGO and market campaigns to influence corporations and
consumers |
Case: Building Value at the Top and the Bottom of the Global
Supply Chain: Multinational Corporations and NGO Partnerships |
|
||
|
2.4 Case studies on social impacts and sustainability |
Case: Governance and Sustainability at Nike Short Reading: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition |
|
2.5 Solutions |
Short reading: Why Unilever, Patagonia, PUMA lead the way, say
sustainable leaders. |
|
SCHEDULE – Day 2 (TBD) |
Readings* |
|
This schedule is subject to change |
|
|
3. Environmental
Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Supply Chains (SSC) |
|
|
3.1 The challenge behind global and complex supply chains. |
|
|
3.2 Tools for analysis and modelling. Optimizing systems for
lowest environmental impact and lowest cost. |
Case: Hans Solar and the Sustainable Supply Chain. No need to
read this case in advance. Submission for this case is required one week
after the second and last lecture. |
|
3.3 The industry response |
Case: Hewlett-Packard and a Common Supplier Code of Conduct |
|
3.4 Improving products, processes, and systems. Green logistics,
green procurement |
Reading: Greening Transportation in the Supply Chain | MIT |
|
3.5 Case studies on environmental impacts and sustainability |
|
|
3.6 Solutions. Visualize long term benefits. |
Reading: 10 best practices you should be doing now |
|
|
|
|
4. Leading
practices and current trends on circular economy |
|
|
4.1 Dealing with risk and creating value |
|
|
4.2 Circular economy |
Reading: Connected Consumption : A Sharing Economy Emerges |
|
4.3 The sharing economy |
|
|
Wrap Up – Designing successful sustainable supply chains |
Reading: Managing Sustainable Global Supply Chains |
Readings
will be posted on bCourses. Lecture notes are provided as handouts before each
session or as electronic files.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Omar Romero-Hernandez, PhD.,
Lecturer on Business and Sustainability, Haas School of Business. Prof. Romero-Hernandez
was one of the recipients of the 2010 Franz Edelman Award, the world’s most
prestigious award on Operations Research and Management Science.
Prof.
Romero-Hernandez has led internationally awarded projects in the field of
sustainable business strategies, renewable energy, and business processes.
Sponsors include the United Nations, Ministry of the Environment, Industry
consortiums, S&P 500, the Stock Exchange, and NGOs. In 2010 he was
appointed the National Leader of Mexico’s Business Summit task force on
Economic Growth and Low Carbon Emissions, which delivers recommendations to the
President.
Omar
is also the Former Director of the Center for Technological Development (CDT)
at the Autonomous Technology Institute of Mexico (ITAM). He is a Chemical
Engineer with graduate studies in Economic Policy and Government, and a PhD in
Process Economics and Environmental Impact from Imperial College, London, UK.
Omar
has worked for a diverse range of public and private organizations such as
Procter & Gamble, PEMEX (Oil & Gas), Accenture, and the Ministry for
the Environment and Natural Resources. In 2001, he was appointed as Professor
at ITAM, UC Berkeley Fulbright Professor in Haas (2009), and Energy Biosciences
Institute Researcher in 2010. Currently, he is a National Researcher and author
of three books: Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies, Industry and the
Environment, and Introduction to Engineering – An Industry Perspective, as well
as several international publications on engineering, business, and sustainable
development.
He
has received several international awards, including a Fulbright Professorship,
the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership Award, National Leader at Mexico
Business Summit, Royal Society (United Kingdom), Distinguished Visiting
Professor, and first and second prizes for applied research at International
Sustainability and Operations Conferences.