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MBA Major in Environmental and Risk Management
The major in Environmental and Risk Management is concerned
with public and private sector issues in designing and implementing
effective strategies related to the impacts of business activities
on the environment and related areas in health and safety.
There has been a growing concern with such impacts because
of their inherent importance for responsible management. This
is due primarily to the increasing cost of laws and regulations
governing those business activities which may pose risks to
the environment, to the health and safety of workers, and/or
to surrounding communities.
This major is designed to provide in-depth foundations for
those interested in pursuing careers in the growing environmental
sector of the economy, whether in private business, in environmental
consulting, or in government. Non-majors interested in an
overview of business and policy in the environmental area
should also find selected courses from this major of interest.
The program provides an interdisciplinary approach, building
on faculty and courses from departments such as Accounting,
Health Care Management, Insurance and Risk Management, Legal
Studies, Management, Marketing, Operations and Information
Management, and Business and Public Policy. Additional coursework
on environmental and technological risks can be pursued in
parallel with the Wharton program through studies in the School
of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied
Science.
The program is coordinated by the Director of the Environmental
Management Program. The program also offers a seminar series
cosponsored with the Institute for Environmental Studies and
the Risk Management and Decision Sciences Center. The ongoing
design and monitoring of the program is supported by a school-wide
group of faculty with teaching and research interests in environmental
and risk management.
Requirements for the Major: Five course units
(cu) are required.
The major in Environmental and Risk Management at the Wharton
School requires five units of course work as indicated below
or four units of course work and an advanced study project
approved the Director of the Environmental Management Program.
Acronyms on the following list of courses refer to the following
departments: health care management (HCMG), insurance (INSR),
legal studies (LGST), management (MGMT), marketing (MKTG),
operations and information management (OPIM), and business
and public policy (BPUB).
The following mini-courses (0.5 cu) are required:
OPIM
762 - Environmental
Sustainability and Value Creation (Q1-Spring 2008) -
This course is intended to familiarize students who are not
environmental specialists with relevant facts and analyzes
on this recent environmentalism evolution. What are the key
concepts? What is at stake? Who are the key interested parties?
Who is leading the way in reshaping business strategies as
well as public policies? What are the lessons learned from
successes and failures to integrate the environmental component,
here and abroad? Also, why those who want to do good have
to develop a robust business model to achieve that goal, and
how to do it?
INSR
811 - Risk and Crisis Management
- The success of any firm depends jointly on its ability
to create value and on its ability to preserve value. The
creation of value arises when a firm is able to identify and
execute investments with a positive net present value. The
creation of value invariably exposes the firm to risk and
this value can easily be jeopardized. A fall in demand for
its product, a sudden rise in production or financing costs,
a technological failure, destruction of assets or information,
a liability suit, or the activities of a rogue trader, each
can squander the value created. In extreme cases these risky
possibilities can bankrupt the firm. Risk management is becoming
increasingly important and firms are devoting increasing time,
attention and resources to deriving strategies for preserving
value. These strategies include, hedging, insurance, contingent
financing and changes in organizational design which make
the firm more robust to shocks. Risk and Crisis Management
will look at these and related strategies.
HCMG
901 - Seminar in Health Care Cost Benefit and Cost Effectiveness
Analysis The purpose of this doctoral
level course is to investigate the theory and practice of
cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis as applied to
health care. The three techniques to be examined are cost-effectiveness
analysis with single dimensional outcomes, cost effectiveness
analysis with multiple attributes (especially in the form
of Quality Adjusted Life Years), and economic cost-benefit
analysis. Valuation of mortality and morbidity relative to
other goods will be emphasized. Students will be expected
to develop written critiques of articles in the literature,
and to design a new application of one of the techniques as
a term project.
LGST
815 - Environmental Management: Law & Policy
- This course provides an introduction to environmental management
with a focus of law and policy as a basic framework. The primary
aim of the course is to give students a deeper theoretical
and practical sense of the important relationship between
business and the natural environment and to think critically
about how best to manage this relationship.
:: Cross listed: MGMT 813
OPIM
/ BPUB 261 - Risk Analysis and Environmental Management
- This course is designed to introduce students to the role
of risk assessment, risk perception and risk management in
dealing with uncertain health, safety and environmental risks
including the threat of terrorism. It explores the role of
decision analysis as well as the use of scenarios for dealing
with these problems. The course will evaluate the role of
policy tools such as risk communication, economic incentives,
insurance, regulation and private-public partnerships in developing
strategies for managing these risks. A project will enable
students to apply the concepts discussed in the course to
a concrete problem.
BPUB
777 - Cost Benefit Analysis - Cost benefit analysis
-- the principal tool for project and policy evaluation in
the public sector. For government whose "products"
are rarely sold, the valuation of costs and benefits by means
alternative to market prices is necessary. It is the counterpart
to cost accounting in private firms and provides guidance
for avoiding wasteful projects and undertaking those that
are worthwhile. Given government regulations, cost benefit
evaluations are critical for many private sector activities.
Real estate developers, manufacturing firms, employers of
all types are required to provide evaluations of environmental
impacts and of urban impacts for their proposed projects.
They too must engage in cost benefit analysis, in the valuation
social benefits and costs. Government analysts, consultants,
and private firms regularly carry out cost benefit analysis
for major investments -- bridges, roads, transit systems,
convention centers, sports stadia, dams -- as well as for
regulatory activities -- OSHA workplace safety regulations
and the Clean Air Act are two important examples.
:: Cross listed: BPUB 960
OPIM
656 - Process Management in Manufacturing
- This course builds on OPIM 631 and OPIM 632 in developing
the foundations of process management, with applications to
manufacturing and supply chain coordination and integration.
This course begins with a treatment of the foundations of
process management, including quality (e.g., 6-sigma systems)
and time (e.g., cycle time) as building blocks for the successful
integration of plant operations with vertical and horizontal
market structures. On the e-manufacturing side, the course
considers recent advances in enterprise-wide planning (ERP)
systems, supplier management and contract manufacturing. Industry
case studies highlight contrasting approaches to the integration
of manufacturing operations and risk management with e-Logistics
and e-Procurement providers and exchanges. The course is recommended
for those interested in consulting or operations careers,
and those wishing to understand the role of manufacturing
as a general foundation for economic value creation.
:: Prerequisite(s): OPIM 621, OPIM 631, and OPIM 632 or equivalent
:: Cross listed: ESE 522
ASP:
Advanced Study Project in the environmental
area, supervised by a Wharton faculty member.
Undergraduate
Concentration
University
Minor
MBA/MES
Joint Concentration
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