This course analyzes the causes of and policy options to manage global environmental problems. Lessons concerning environmental management are derived by studying the effectiveness and limitations of environmental and resource policies currently being used throughout the world. (4 units)

Ideal for both Business and Sustainable Living students, this course shows how creating an environmentally sustainable operation can provide opportunities for increasing profits. Using case studies, students learn how to apply the core principles of sustainability in agriculture, business, manufacturing, government and other activities, so that it is both profitable and benefits the environment. The course is project-based and covers sustainability in all areas of society from both the local and global perspectives. The role of ISO 14001, responsible investing, and organizations like Green Peace, in the transition to sustainable living, will be made clear. Students will interact with city and industry leaders and managers to create budget and return-on-investment projections for transformation to sustainable practices. (4 units)

Business economics focuses on the principles governing the dynamics of markets and industries as well as those governing the behavior of the broader national and global economic environment. It examines principles of economic decision-making, and optimal use of economic resources. The most precious resource of every nation is its people, every one of whom has infinite creativity inherent within. Topics include the dynamics of market supply and demand, industry structure and competition, the economics of business strategy, money and interest rates, and the international economy and exchange rates. Students apply the principles to case studies and complete an industry analysis for the business plan. (4 units)

The tools of managerial data analysis enable managers to transform raw data into useful knowledge of business performance in every functional area of business by identifying meaningful patterns and relationships in business data. Increased knowledge of business processes provides a foundation for improved business decision-making and enhanced business performance. Topics include: principles of statistical thinking for management; numerical and graphical tools for describing and analyzing business data; applications of probability and probability distributions; hypothesis testing for business decision-making; tools for analyzing and improving business performance, including statistical quality control; applied business forecasting; regression analysis and correlation; case studies and applications, with an emphasis on business-process improvement. (2–4 units)

Marketing is the process of creating exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. Topics include consumer behavior, market research, market segmentation, competitive positioning and strategy, advertising, pricing, distribution and channel management, selling techniques and sales force management, and new product development. Students conduct an industry analysis and write the marketing section for their business plan. (4 units)

Through its conceptual framework, accounting provides organizational feedback loops for planning, implementation, and control. Continued organizational success depends upon the clarity of awareness of both the accountant and the decision maker. Topics include the conceptual framework of accounting; interpretation and analysis of financial statements; cash flow statement; budgeting and financial control; cost-volume-profit analysis; standard costing and variance analysis; responsibility accounting; and the behavioral implications of management accounting systems. Students create a master budget and a sequenced break-even analysis for their business plan. (4 units)

Operations management is concerned with the process of transforming inputs into higher-value outputs with maximum efficiency. Topics include process design; quality management and control; lean production; supplier certification; capacity planning, facilities, and scheduling; and inventory management including materials requirements planning. Students research facility and personnel requirements, along with production and delivery plans including milestone dates for their business plan. (4 units)

Law is a tool of progress. Law establishes the body that is the business and enables business people to communicate frictionlessly, to manage the relationships between all participants, and to avert any problems before they occur. A business is then able to maintain progress for itself and for society. Topics include contracts, torts, and agency law; property, including intellectual property; employment issues; and global business law. Students determine and complete the form of business organization, necessary employment agreements, necessary property agreements, and a financing plan for their business plan. (4 units)

People are an organization’s most important asset. Success comes from organizing and managing people to produce the products and services that customers value. This survey course exposes students to the full array of human resource functions: human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training, performance management, compensation, unions, and upholding employer/employee rights and responsibilities. The students become familiar with the role of human resource department staff in designing human resource systems, as well as the critical role line managers and supervisors play in using these systems effectively to attract, retain, and motivate employees. Students also design a comprehensive human resource section for their business plan. (2–4 units)

Financial management provides an intelligent direction to the flow of funds for maximizing firm value. This course introduces techniques and concepts necessary to effectively manage the financial resources of any organization in order to achieve strategic goals. Topics include the time value of money, stock and bond valuation, risk and return, capital investment decisions, analysis of financial statements, financial forecasting, working capital management, the investment banking process, and the sources of funding for a business. Students will develop capital requirements, plan the raising of capital, and develop a cash flow design for their business plan project. (4 units)

Principles of management, marketing, finance, operations, and accounting are taught from the perspective of starting a new business with an integrated business strategy. Students articulate their personal and business goals and produce an initial business plan. (4 units)

This capstone course enables entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs to dynamically integrate the knowledge of the Entrepreneurship Module in the creation of their business plan to manifest their intention. Students evaluate sample business plans, review and give feedback on classmates’ business plans, and revise and present their own business plan to faculty and mentors. (4 units)

Organizational excellence means integrated, balanced success in all the specific areas of business. This course presents a variety of frameworks for understanding organizational excellence: students become familiar with contemporary models and with the vision of perfection presented by Maharishi Master Management. Topics include origins of the organizational excellence movement, current models of excellence, stakeholder perceptions of excellence, stage models of organizations, principles and practices of visionary organizations, and perfection through Maharishi Vedic Management.

This course covers the theory and practice of performance improvement in both large and small organizations in the manufacturing and service sectors so that they operate in accordance with all the laws of nature. The focus will be on using lean thinking to transform every activity in an organization towards sustainable operations. Students will explore how to extend the principles, rules and tools of lean thinking to achieve sustainability along with the improvement in quality, reduction of costs, and maintenance of customer delight. The course uses a combination of interactive classroom instruction and project-based learning. Students learn how to align operations along the value stream in any organization, how to improve efficiency, enliven creativity, and so achieve real sustainability. They will understand how to structure ongoing incremental improvement so that performance improvement becomes part of the shift to sustainability. (4 units; Prerequisite: MGT 567)

The qualities and principles of ideal leadership are identified, examined, and developed through the examples of great leaders. This course provides the opportunity to measure how the dynamic executive in both public and private sectors can apply management principles. (2–4 units)

Students explore the rapidly growing field of emerging technologies — including products in the domains of renewable energy, transport, construction, biomimcry, natural waste water treatment and many others — in order to select one that they will go deeply into during their capstone project. (4 units)

Many of the old models used in both micro and macro economics are based on a world view that is not sustainable. Students will learn the new models that are emerging as the standards for life in a sustainable civilization — these include local living economies, alternative monetary systems, ecological economics, other forms of capital such as environmental, human, social and organizational — students will use these concepts to design a society that mimics nature and does not consume and discard the resources upon which true wealth is based. (4 units)

Students will be guided by faculty in the development of a complete business plan for launching and/or running a sustainable business of their choice. The project will include sufficient real data to allow students to secure the funding and other resources for implementing the model that they develop. (4 units)

In this course, graduate students explore professional options in their chosen fields. In light of Maharishi’s Consciousness-Based principles of success, students conduct occupational research, locate Internet and networking resources, interview successful professionals, and design an action plan and effective strategies for achieving their next career target. They also develop scripts for introducing themselves and describing their achievements and capabilities in various formats, including writing cover letters, resumes, and portfolios, and speaking to potential colleagues, funding sources, and employers. (variable units)

In this course students learn the application of quality control principles to all company endeavors, including satisfying internal and external customers. Topics include methods for analyzing measured deviations of products and services, designing and implementing innovative solutions, and maintaining continuous systematic improvement. (2–4 units)

Students will learn the practical and managerial skills for implementing sustainability through value based process improvement in both large and small organizations. The course is based around implementing lean thinking in real world situations. Students will act as junior consultants under the guidance of experienced faculty. They will learn to define value from the the perspective of all the stakeholders, how to map value streams, identify waste, and facilitate kaizen-based process improvement events. They will assist with all aspects of policy deployment, which ensures that the ongoing process improvement reflects strategic business objectives while shifting the organization towards full sustainability. (4 units; Prerequisite: MGT 502)

An increasing number of organizations are concerned about social and environmental responsibilities in the context of sustainable development, and are interested in developing tools to improve their performance and accountability in these areas. This course introduces students to these issues with emphasis on current research in these fields. The key to sustainable progress is to align individual and collective consciousness with total Natural Law available in the Self of everyone. Topics include business ethics, stakeholder influences, corporate social responsibility, environmental management, natural capitalism, triple bottom line reporting. (2–4 units)

Only by aligning agriculture with Natural Law will poverty be removed from the world. This course will explore how this can be accomplished using the basic principles of Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture such as recitation of Vedic sounds at all stages of food production and the use of Maharishi Jyotish^SM programs to determine the optimal times to plant, perform cultivation techniques, and harvest crops. It also includes general principles of organic agriculture production, such as transplanting, irrigation, fertility, pest management, harvest, storage, marketing, and environmental influences. Specific management requirements for important vegetable and field crops will also be discussed. Students spend approximately half of their time in class learning principles of vegetable production and half of the time applying their knowledge and gaining practical experience in the University’s vegetable gardens and greenhouses or other area organic farms.

Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of cultivated ecosystems. Permaculture promotes land use systems that work with nature’s rhythms and patterns to create a stable society by utilizing resources in a sustainable way. Through lecture, discussion, observation, field trips, hands-on learning, videos, slide shows, and handouts, the Permaculture Design course teaches the practical skills and theoretical knowledge to design and implement sustainable systems in harmony with the natural world so participants can understand and apply these methods and skills to their home property and local community. Participants will learn principles and methodologies of sustainable design, how to read the landscape’s strategies and tools for urban and rural homesteads, food forests and orchards, greenhouse operation, natural building and alternative energy techniques.

Structuring a living environment that can be maintained on a global scale for all future generations calls for substantial changes in our current way of life. This course provides a broad perspective for transforming the way we think about such issues as population growth, global ecology, land and wildlife resources, renewable energy sources, and sustainable agriculture.

Living in a sustainable manner requires a special kind of creativity — the ability to solve long-standing problems and integrate diverse areas of life. This course will expand one’s capacity for seeing new angles and finding innovative solutions. Students learn how to act in harmony with Nature’s laws and thereby achieve maximal results with minimal effort. They will gain thorough understanding of the creative cycle of germination, assimilation, and completion, and at the same time, learn the gentle art of inspiring and mobilizing others, including tools for motivating and harmonizing different personality profiles.

Does an economy based on consumption of local production have a place in a world increasingly preoccupied with globalization? A growing number of economists think it does. This course will explore current thought about creating community wealth through the local provision of basic products and services such as energy, food, water, building materials, clothing, and artisan products. Students will research the local community to develop a wiki that showcases local economy solutions like the Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign. This hands-on work, combined with the foundational knowledge of local economics, will thus equip them with the know-how for setting up a local network vital to maintaining a sustainable community.

This course discusses the biological aspects of treating all people fairly regardless of economics, geography, or lifestyle. Is it ethical to genetically engineer a tomato and then sell it without informing the public? Is it appropriate to learn about medicinal herbs from native healers and then patent the active ingredients? Is it fair for the United States, with five percent of the world’s population, to use 25 percent of the world’s raw materials? Often questions of fairness extend to other life forms, and some issues are particularly difficult and nuanced: Damming waterways, for instance, generates clean, renewable energy, but it can also flood villages, upset ecosystems, and destroy fisheries. This class will teach students to think deeply and consider all sides of bio-cultural dilemmas, arriving at equitable, workable solutions.

This course will examine the relationship of human beings to the buildings they create. We will look at the key principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda design, as revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, including orientation, proportion, and spatial arrangement. The goal of this ancient science, to bring human life into accord with Nature’s intelligence, will be the focus of this course. At the same time, we will look at green buildings whose design allows them to draw on flows of renewable energy in their immediate environment. We will consider their beauty, functionality, and affordability, examining the materials used to accomplish these goals. The physics of energy and light flow will be reviewed, along with state-of-the-art methods for designing energy-efficient buildings and “tunneling through the cost barrier.” Laboratory sessions will center on methods and software for modeling building performance.

This is a special six-week course that integrates the core principles and practical applications of ecology from the perspective of human consciousness. Students will learn how the Laws of Nature evolved the biosphere to provide a support system for the miraculous complexity of life. They will use their deep experience of consciousness to appreciate the power and majesty of nature, the primal forces that manifest creativity and intelligence in the universe. The course will expose the processes that make life what it is: so much more than a series of intricate, dynamic structures interlinked through constant flux and transformation. The course is project based, so students will spend most of their time in the field or performing research aimed at adding value to real world developments. The course covers speciation and interactivity, social interaction, natural selection, and adaptation in nature. Students will work in groups to develop the leadership and team-building skills needed for effective transformations to sustainability.

This course will redefine the understanding of energy, heat, and power by studying state-of-the-art technologies that can generate and use energy from sources that are both renewable and sustainable. The inefficiency of our modern industrial society will be closely examined, with students learning to identify entropy in a system and find huge opportunities for improvements. Classroom sessions will also include films, slide presentations, demonstrations, presentations by students, and outside guest speakers. Besides lectures, films and demonstrations, the course will include field trips, a lab, and a project that will give students a chance to apply these technologies. Many classes will take place in a building that is powered by renewable energy, with students monitoring and operating the building energy systems. Each day, the design principles of systems based on renewable energy will be related to the natural laws that structure our own awareness and govern the universe efficiently and automatically.

Manifestation of sustainable methodologies for immediate use is the purpose of this repeatable course. Students will work individually or in teams to build and implement technologies such as biodiesel production, photovoltaic panels, hydrogen electrolyzers, biomass heating units, methane digesters, or fuel cells. Projects can also include assisting with sustainable building construction, or production of web sites or videos to display real-time building/performance indicators.

From local regulations about water quality to global initiatives like the Kyoto Accord, the law is an important tool for regulating our use of the environment. During this course, students will become familiar with international treaties and protocols on global warming, pollution, and endangered species. The class will also study the key features of American environmental law including the Clean Air and Water Act, the Environmental Protection Act, and other current policies and regulations. Perhaps most importantly, students will understand the lawmaking process as a way to use the legal system to bring about positive change and build sustainable communities.