Fielding Graduate University

The primary focus of this course is to gain understanding of the field of sustainable development, which originated from international dialogues but has since permeated organizational studies. Students will examine different theories of sustainability, with an emphasis on the larger social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they exist. The focus will be on the United States, with international comparisons used to illustrate similarities and differences. Examples of theory as they relate to practice will begin to build a student’s repertoire about current sustainability research and practice. Learning Competencies: • Identify, differentiate among, and describe theoretical frameworks for sustainability. • Articulate and analyze major issues in the field of sustainability as they relate to organizations. • Begin to understand theories of sustainability as they relate to organizational choices. • Apply ethical principles in analyzing sustainability, with consideration to cultural diversity.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

The primary focus of this course will be to cover the theories, philosophies, and concepts of leadership through the examination of the intersections between management and leadership, organizational culture, and sustainability. The work of sustainability thinkers such as Senge, Schmidheiny, and Hawkins will be used to explore changing organizational culture as a result of the need to create sustainable systems, and how these changes have influenced leadership styles and learning. Systems theory permeates sustainability practices, and scholars ranging from Capra to Westing will be read to focus on shifts from compartmentalized models of problem solving to integrated, holistic forms of decision making as components of sustainability thinking. The overall goal will be to provide students with an understanding of the many factors that affect organizational performance, including their personal leadership style. Students will also develop the ability to apply this knowledge for the purpose of improving sustainability performance. Learning Competencies: • Demonstrate an understanding of leadership as a key component of the organizational change for sustainability. • Develop awareness of different leadership styles and organizational change management. • Learn to evaluate sustainability competences for leadership development and sound management practices. • Demonstrate an understanding of current best leadership practices in sustainability in all three sectors. • Describe a range of leadership models and their application from both a systems perspective and the individual’s personal leadership style. • Apply systems thinking to organizational contexts to identify important factors that affect organizational performance. • Acquire and apply critical tools for group process and communication in order to further leadership in change management around sustainability. • Display the application of leadership principles to sustainability problems and systems.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): Barclay Hudson, EdD is a consulting economist, educator, and environmental policy analyst with wide-ranging experience in organizational development and academic research. He received his EdD in educational planning and organizational development from Harvard University, where he also did undergraduate work in economics, including forecasting studies under Nobel Prize-winner Wassily Leontief. His doctoral studies led to several years of overseas work in technical assistance programs promoting educational and economic development in Chile, Costa Rica, Bangladesh, and Tunisia, under the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation, Harvard University, the United Nations, and other agencies.

The primary focus of this course will be to develop an understanding of the field of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is rapidly garnering attention around the world from policy makers, organizations and others. As the traditional lines blur between nonprofit enterprises, government, and business, it is critical that students understand the opportunities and challenges in this new landscape. The course provides students with an orientation in this developing sector as well as knowledge and skills to lead organizational development in practice. Learning Competencies: " Develop understanding of social entrepreneurship and its manifestations in organizational culture. " Demonstrate awareness of best practices in social innovation and change mechanisms in organizations. " Facilitate transformative thinking and sustainable decision making. " Define one's own sense of entrepreneurship, culture, beliefs, and values and the impact these factors have upon leadership practices and sustainable interactions.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

The primary focus of this course will be to introduce students to several ecological frameworks used by sustainability practitioners, including The Natural Step (TNS), Ecological Footprint, Cradle to Cradle, Natural Capitalism, Industrial Ecology, Biomimicry, and ZERI. This course will provide practical knowledge to implementing sustainable principles in organizations. Learning Competencies: " Build skills in applying ecological frameworks for sustainability in an organizational context. " Demonstrate an understanding of how to recognize and think about ecological frameworks and implementation of sustainability ideas. " Develop an understanding of how ecological frameworks affect the strategic environment of organizations. " Develop expertise of working with ecological frameworks for organizations.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Note: This course is scheduled to be offered Spring 2012

Capacity: 15

The primary focus of this course will be to gain an understanding of the systemic aspects of health services organization, production and delivery. Healthcare systems develop to produce, deliver, and finance health services. Students will examine the inter-relationships of system structures, subsystems, and processes, as well as their interactions with the larger social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they exist. The focus will be on the United States, with international comparisons used to illustrate similarities and differences. Learning Competencies: " Applying concepts of systems thinking to analysis of health services. " Identify, differentiate among, and describe the elements of the organization, financing and delivery of health services. " Articulate and analyze major issues in health services and systems, and propose for addressing or resolving them. " Apply ethical principles in analyzing health systems, with consideration in cultural diversity.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Note: This course is scheduled to be offered Spring 2012.

The primary focus of this course will be to enable students to learn the basics of current finance theory and tools to practice in managing health care on a daily basis. Various analytical methods in management decision making and approaches to benchmarking and productivity improvement will be emphasized. Learning Competencies: " Demonstrate an understanding of budgeting's role as a key component of the administrative process " Develop budgets for revenues, staffing and salaries, supplies and services, and equipment " Evaluate the financial status of a department or operating unit using volume adjusted variance analysis to determine the cause(s) of performance deviation " Demonstrate an understanding of revenue, cost, and productivity improvement techniques

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Note: This course is scheduled to be offered in Spring 2012

Capacity: 15

The primary focus of this course will be to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of being a manager in a healthcare environment. As a manager, you will be responsible for creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes participation, empowerment, involvement, teamwork, flexibility, self-management, high performance, greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Managing both patient and employee needs will be demanding and required. Learning Competencies: " Describe the characteristics and components of today's health care work environment. " Describe the typical levels of management and leadership models. " Apply systems thinking to organizational contexts to identify important factors that affect organizational performance. " Acquire and apply critical tools for group process and communication in order to further leadership in change management. " Display the application of leadership principles to healthcare problems and systems. " Contrasts between leadership and managerial work.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Note: This course is scheduled to be offered in Summer 2012

Capacity: 15

The primary focus of this course will be to introduce legal issues healthcare leaders are likely to face in managing a health care organization. This course will focus on a range of legal and regulatory issues, including patients' rights, institutional liability, and employee and labor relations. This course will provide practical knowledge to identify legal issues and to understand the legal ramifications of strategic decisions. Learning Competencies: " Understand the role of the legal system in health policy and health care delivery. " Demonstrate an understanding of how to recognize and think about legal issues given the law's ambiguity. " Demonstrate an understanding of how laws affect the strategic environment of the healthcare organization. " Demonstrate an understanding of working with and negotiating with a bargaining unit.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Capacity: 15

Today's OD practitioners are confronting an ever-increasing demand to demonstrate their effectiveness by quantifying and measuring the outcomes and impact of their interventions. This requires understanding the basic concepts and application of both qualitative and quantitative measurement and analysis. This 12-week course offers a review of fundamental principles in developing relevant, practical measurement criteria, with an emphasis on measuring observable behavior. Tools and techniques for analyzing and reporting both types of data will also be introduced, including techniques for hypothesis testing and simple regression to chart the specific results of OD interventions.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): Jeff Frakes, PhD, School of HOD, Master’s program faculty

Capacity: 15

This course prepares the Organization Development Scholar-Practitioner to use Visual Facilitation and other Creative Engagement methods to enhance collaborative (visual) thinking and dialogic practices, to evoke multiple ways of knowing, and to engage transformative practices—enabling participants, clients, and students to “see” and “influence” the dynamics at play through Visual Facilitation, and engage participants through, for instance, collaborative mapping. Visual Facilitation can be used as a creative engagement method helping groups and individuals literally “see” their ideas, thoughts and dialogue in visual language. This is a twelve week, distance learning program designed to guide participants through the skills building of Visual Facilitation and into the deeper learning, practice and implementation of integrating Visual Facilitation into their professional work. The course is taught fully online.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): Regina Rowland, PhD, and Julie Gieseke, MA

Note: This course is scheduled to be offered Summer 2012

Capacity: 15

Organizations that are interested in profiting from the transition to sustainable development often have a longer time-horizon and a broader set of goals than traditional organizations. Such organizations are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to operate in a socially responsible manner, now concerned with the triple bottom line (people, profits, planet). This 12-week course helps leaders plot a path to sustainability within their organizational and business contexts.

Delivery Method: 12 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): Leni Wildflower, PhD, PCC, Director of Coaching and Custom Programs

Capacity: 15

This course provides a fundamental understanding of The World Café theory and method; applying World Café design principles to bring forth the creative power of conversation and engage questions that matter. Participants will develop the capacity to use the World Café design principles in their own lives and work, and gain a basic understanding of hosting practices. The course will be offered online from May 6th – June 6th, 2012, utilizing both asynchronous and synchronous modalities. It is an intensive course, requiring 3-4 hours of asynchronous work each week, plus two synchronous components delivered on the first and last Sundays of the course. We will be using FELIX as the technology for our asynchronous modules, and MaestroConference for our synchronous sessions. All necessary training and tech support will be made available. Instructors will be participants in the online dialogue and posting occasional “whitepapers” on key subjects to stimulate participants’ thought and interaction.

Delivery Method: 4 weeks online

Faculty/Instructor(s): Bo Gyllenpalm, PhD and Amy Lenzo, The World Café Community Foundation

Note: 6 CEUs