Center for Impact

This course considers major questions about the role of business in mitigating environmental degradation. It puts emphasis on corporate strategies that deliver value to shareholders while responding to environmental concerns. For example, some firms successfully adopt environmental differentiation strategies to respond to customers environmental concerns; other firms use environmental concerns as a way to generate costs savings within the business; yet other firms seek to influence government regulation in order to impose their standard on competition. The course examines environmental issues in each of the main areas of the MBA program: finance, marketing, operations, supply-chain management, accounting, entrepreneurship and strategy.

This course fulfills the foundational course requirement for the Social Impact Specialization.

Offered Winter 2023

Introduction to different business models for social impact and to the fundamental opportunities and challenges of designing, funding, managing and scaling enterprises with a social mission.

The course introduces frameworks for understanding and analyzing problems facing society and cultivate critical thinking skills to identify diverse ways to address those problems through sustainable programs and enterprises.

Offered spring quarter 2023

This course fulfills the foundational course requirement for the Social Impact Specialization.

Please Note: the following courses may count as a foundational course in lieu of MGMT 298D Social Entrepreneurship – Business Models for Social Impact, if applicable and when offered: (1) MGMT 458A Global Immersion South Africa, G. Northrop; or (2) MGMTEX421 International Business Residential Rwanda, G. Northrop

Please note this course is not offered every year.

This course may count as a foundational course toward the social impact specialization in lieu of MGMT 298D Social Entrepreneurship – Business Models for Social Impact when offered.

Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a Resource-Limited, Asset-Rich Ecosystem. 

This course seeks to explore topics of social entrepreneurship and social innovation, and sustainable economic and community development in application to Rwanda. Rwanda has a rich and turbulent history that impacts all aspects of entrepreneurship in the country. History, politics, culture, and economic conditions in Rwanda today have led to the growth of social entrepreneurship and a vibrant social sector, while at the same time creating challenges unique to this country’s social and environmental context.

This course explores these topics through classes that will be held on Zoom, as well as a series of site visits and speakers in the East African country of Rwanda. Site visits focus on elements of economic activity and policy, innovation and entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. Site visits will include tours of nonprofit and for profit social enterprises, innovation/ entrepreneurship hubs, as well as a visit to a social enterprise coffee or tea plantation. Students will hear from successful social entrepreneurs and community leaders and emerging entrepreneurs working to start-up and scale their social innovations and small businesses. Via those visits and related analyses, students will explore policies, initiatives, and pre-conditions necessary to support innovation and build a sustainable social enterprise in Rwanda.

Please note this was offered as an International Business Residential course for EMBA students in Summer 2022 and is not offered every year.

This course may count as a foundational course toward the social impact specialization in lieu of MGMT 298D Social Entrepreneurship – Business Models for Social Impact when offered.

Examination of the relevance of social and environmental risks and opportunities to Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), finance teams, accountants, and the capital markets. Emphasis on practical application and integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) within financial decision-making, investment, and external disclosure. MGMT 246: Business and the Environment is suggested, but not required.

Offered winter 2023

This course explores the quickly evolving sustainability reporting landscape with an emphasis on how companies are assessing, measuring, managing, and reporting sustainability performance.  The course will also emphasize the role of the chief financial officer in responding to this new landscape and feature prominent guest speakers from the finance community.  

Offered spring quarter 2023

In this class, you will build skills and competencies necessary for social impact consulting in both the corporate and nonprofit realms, including: project scoping and client management; crafting recommendations, presentation storyboarding and implementation planning; legal structures, governance, and strategy; sources of funding; impact measurement; integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into consulting engagements; role, rewards and challenges of social impact consulting

Offered spring quarter 2023

This course is open to students participating in the Social Impact Consulting Corps Program, by application. Please contact impact@anderson.ucla.edu for more information.

Introduction to impact investing, navigating the issues faced in the emerging field of social venture capital. Note: this course spans 2 quarters (4 units total, 2 units per quarter)

Two-part series begins in fall quarter 2022 and ends in winter quarter 2023. Application required. Please visit the Anderson Venture Impact Partner webpage or email avip@anderson.ucla.edu for more information.

What is the “Non-Market Environment?”

All economies are defined by formal and informal norms and regulations that structure market competition. These “rules of the competitive game” vary significantly across industry and countries. Many barriers to entry, for example, originate from specific laws and regulations that favor some capabilities over others. The transportation company Uber, for example, is initially at a disadvantage relative to incumbent taxicab companies.

The rules of the competitive game, and in many cases their enforcement, are not fixed constraints. Instead, they are determined, implemented, and interpreted by legislatures and government administrative agencies. Therefore, they are subject to change. In fact, Uber is often able to gain a license to operate by changing the rules of the competitive game in a given jurisdiction.

The analysis and development of successful strategies to shape the rules of the game to an organization’s advantage constitute the domain of non-market strategy. This domain is known as the dark arts of strategy, and can be used for good or ill, by for-profit or non-profit organizations to further their respective agendas.

The analytical framework for non-market strategy goes beyond that of traditional competitive strategy. Nonmarket strategy is an emerging discipline which combines elements of competitive strategy, political science, and corporate social responsibility (i.e., Environmental, Social, and Governance factors (ESG)). By the end of this course, students should be able to “see” new opportunities and risks they would not have seen before taking the course.

Why does the Non-Market Environment need to be managed through non-market strategy?

Successful non-market strategy can establish, sustain, or erode a company’s competitive advantage and impact. For example, the rules governing protection of intellectual property impact the advantages to “innovating” firms versus firms that are “fast followers.” Non-market issues are also important in determining the profitability of an entire industry. Regulations or taxes, for example, may also hurt or help all players, creating common interests among market rivals. Similarly, “the rules” can largely determine how much impact a nonprofit might ultimately have.

This course is well-suited for those pursuing for-profit work, non-profit work, and social impact work and new ventures, as all of these spaces are often profoundly impacted by the “rules of the game,” and how they are managed (or mis-managed).

This course is an introduction to the transformation of new knowledge and inventions into viable commercial products and services with particular emphasis on the technology development to reduce carbon emissions and transition the economy towards a zero-carbon future. Key barriers to entry, such as technology viability and scalability, energy intensity, and regulatory concerns will be de-risked through a framework for carbon technology entrepreneurship. The complexities of launching a new venture in the clean tech, and specifically the carbon technology, ecosystem will be thoroughly explored with respect to emerging trends, business models, and the convergence of industry, environmental, and governmental entities.

The goal of the course is to provide students with a framework for understanding the “carbon emissions” and “zero-carbon economy” problem in terms of its scale, the timeline for requisite action, and demonstrate that solutions involve “hard technology” with the potential and need for deploying industrial scale solutions that will transition the society away from carbon dense energy solutions. This class will also serve as a pre-requisite for students that seek to enroll in the Business Creation Option capstone program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Through this capstone, student venture teams will utilize the concepts in Technology and Business Challenges in Cleantech Entrepreneurship to explore the potential for commercialization across the early-stage lifecycle for new carbon emissions reduction technologies.

UCLA graduate or professional students from business, computer science, and engineering are permitted to enroll in this course

Considerations of the challenges and opportunities of leading an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization. This course considers the challenges and opportunities of leading an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization, focusing on key insights and evidence-based strategies for addressing them. Recognizing that great benefit can come from full participation, authentic communication, and constructive collaboration in diverse communities, this course deepens insight into how leaders may evoke and sustain those experiences.

Introduction to important legal, financial, and management issues confronting nonprofit organizations. Topics include how to start nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, qualifying and maintaining tax-exempt status under IRC Code Section 501(c)(3), corporate governance, political and legislative activity restrictions, and strategic planning, fundraising, nonprofit accounting, and employment law.

The course familiarizes students with the site selection and acquisition process, and explores the complexities associated with land use, entitlements, and the political landscape. The course teaches how to evaluate the various financing tools available to affordable housing developers, including low income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bond financing, and various federal, state and local funding sources. The course also evaluates disruptive technologies and influences in the housing industry.

This course will look at the dynamic and disruptive nature of technology – – enhancing outcomes that benefit enterprises and society collectively in areas such as financial services, education and healthcare. It will look at the unique ability of new technologies whether based on high speed networks, artificial intelligence or cloud computing coupled with new business models such as the platform-based businesses and the shared economy to create transformational offerings which benefits both businesses and society. Cases exploring the disruptive effects of platform based, online education, low cost telehealth solutions and new digital platforms for payments and financial transactions which create a multiplier effect of economic growth in developing markets will be covered... Ultimately, this course will look at the changing role of leaders in all sectors –– in business and government and their role in supporting technology-based innovation to serve a multitude of stakeholders while minimizing unintended consequences and negative externalities.

Provides practical tools to help students navigate difficult decisions that leaders routinely face. Study adopts behavioral science approach to understanding ethical behavior in order to examine the most fundamental problem in all of ethics: Why do good people sometimes do bad things? Answering this question requires understanding of fundamental psychological processes that govern human thought and behavior in ethical domains. These processes can lure anyone into ethical lapses that ruin careers, destroy businesses, and bring shame to individuals and organizations. Understanding these processes gives insights into practical ways of designing one's organization to encourage its members to behave in line with their own stated values.

This course provides the foundational knowledge needed to understand the role of corporate governance within a firm. It covers the key conflicts within a firm between shareholders and managers, and among various types of shareholders. It examines the role of corporate governance in managing and mitigating against these various conflicts and costs to the firm, and the responsibility of the board of directors in leading corporate governance efforts.

Offered spring quarter 2022

All LIS students are required to demonstrate leadership on a project related to sustainability. The project should address at least two out of three of the components of sustainability—environment, social equity and economics—and should have measurable performance outcomes. Projects may overlap with capstone projects, can be related to one's graduate studies or completely unrelated, and can be completed individually or with a group.

For more information, please visit the Leaders in Sustainability website or contact Harrison Levy at hlevy@ioes.ucla.edu.

This course includes academically-based discussions on various sustainability-related themes, capitalizing on the wide mix of disciplines represented among participating students. Sessions feature UCLA faculty members, external speakers, and leadership skills to help students learn more about how to best put their interests in sustainability to use. This is the common course for all students participating in the Leaders in Sustainability Program, including those from engineering, law, management, public affairs, public health, natural and social sciences, and others.

This course includes academically-based discussions on various sustainability-related themes, capitalizing on the wide mix of disciplines represented among participating students. Sessions feature UCLA faculty members, external speakers, and leadership skills to help students learn more about how to best put their interests in sustainability to use. This is the common course for all students participating in the Leaders in Sustainability Program, including those from engineering, law, management, public affairs, public health, natural and social sciences, and others.

To see a list of sample courses across the UCLA graduate schools, click here. Please note that this is not a complete list of all possible courses related to sustainability at UCLA. Because departments change their course listings, timing, professors, and even content quarterly, please visit department pages to find the most current information. If you find a course that addresses sustainability and is relevant to the curriculum, please submit the course description and syllabus for approval by emailing Deepak Rajagopal, LiS Director, at  rdeepak@ioes.ucla.edu or Alfredo Lezama, LiS Student Coordinator, at lezamora@g.ucla.edu.