This class is listed as a 6 week class, but if you don't dilly-dally like I did, I think you can do it in a week. What I struggled with most, was choosing a company. Because I'd recently read books about Starbucks and Apple, I thought they'd be great companies to use. They both seem to have great social responsibility strategies and are often in the news. This was my biggest mistake.
The following are, in no particular order, my tips for getting YOU through the class faster than I did.
Forward
The following are, in no particular order, my tips for getting YOU through the class faster than I did.
- Purposely pick a company that does not have a good reputation for social/environmental responsibility. How can you make recommendations when it seems like they are doing everything right already?
- This class's sole focus is on environmental social responsibility. Initially, I thought I'd use Apple because it has been in the news for human rights violations. This class has nothing to do with over all social responsibility or human rights.
- Go for the obvious improvements: energy efficient lights, low-flow toilets. There is no need to get all scientific and talk about lowering carbon emissions, unless of course, that's your thing. No one expects you to be a scientist.
- When in doubt, make the sh!t up! The company that I used was one that was loosely based upon a state agency that I worked for...10 years ago. It's been 8+ years since I stepped foot in the building that I referred to in my papers, it's definitely possible that they've already made some of the upgrades that I suggested...but the graders don't know that!
- Don't expect to get much from the course mentor. As far as I can tell, she's one that thinks that by repeating the same stuff over and over again, that eventually you'll start buying it.
Forward