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York University (Schulich)

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York University (Schulich) 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3
Canada
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Demographic Information

Number of full-time MBA students (2011): 

304

Number of part-time MBA students (2011): 

172

Total duration of full-time MBA program: 

16 months

MBA faculty (Fall 2010): 

105

Females as percent of student body: 

32%


Description of MBA Program: 

Global, innovative, and diverse, the Schulich School of Business at York University prepares its students to meet the needs of social and environmental stewardship in a rapidly changing world. The School has been an early pioneer in terms of integrating social impact management and environmental management into its core curriculum and throughout its business courses. The concept of sustainability underpins all Schulich's graduate management programs, beginning with the required core Skills for Leadership & Governance course and the orientation activities surrounding the MBA Launch Week for incoming students. In addition, many of the core and elective courses in the graduate program contain material specifically relevant to social impact and environmental management issues.

 

Throughout its history, the Schulich School of Business has taken a broad, stakeholder approach to management education. Since its inception in 1966, the School has consistently offered management training to meet the specific needs of organizations in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. The School offers a diverse range of graduate degrees, including a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree and an International MBA (IMBA) degree, both of which focus heavily on business issues related to public policy, cross-cultural matters and the intersection of business & social issues between countries. In addition, Schulich offers a number of MBA specializations that deal specifically with social and environmental impact management, including Business and Sustainability, Business Ethics, Arts & Media Administration, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Health Industry Management. The School's Division of Executive Development offers executives a number of seminars and public courses that focus on a wide range of topical social and environmental business issues, including corporate governance, business ethics, and labour relations.

 

Schulich has been a leader in the creation of a number of programs pertaining to social impact and environmental impact management. In 2000, Schulich established the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, one of North America's premier executive education centers dedicated to providing management training in sustainability issues for senior level executives. In 2005, Schulich joined forces with the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), the world’s pre-eminent business organization leading the fight against HIV/AIDS, to create a pilot project.



How does the MBA program 'walk the talk' of social and environmental impact?: 

The Schulich School of Business and the broader York University campus community have incorporated a number of leading-edge sustainable/responsible practices over the years.

In a recent global survey of sustainability practices conducted by the University of Indonesia, York University ranked third in the world, just behind the University of California, Berkeley, which placed first, and the University of Nottingham in the UK.

The UI Green Metric Ranking of World Universities 2010 rated participating universities based on factors including the percentage of green space on their campus, electricity consumption, waste and water management, and the application of eco-sustainability policies and efforts. Ninety-four universities from 35 countries participated in the survey.


York University’s recent achievements in the area of sustainability include the following:

• A 17 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2006; projected to rise to a 25 per cent reduction by the end of 2011.

• More than 65 per cent of community members commute to campus via environmentally preferable means. York runs two natural gas buses between its campuses, offers a discount on public transit passes and awards incentives to carpoolers. Cyclists can make use of bike racks, indoor monitored bike parking and shower facilities.

• The campus diverts 59 per cent of its waste from landfills and recycles electronic items.

• 18 per cent of the University’s food budget is spent on local and organic items. Dining Services purchases milk that is hormone and antibiotic free; seafood meets sustainable fisheries guidelines. Pre-consumer food waste is composted at all meals; post-consumer compost bins are located across campus.

• The University’s green building policy emphasizes low-impact development and sustainable principles, including the use of environmentally preferable materials, efficient airflow systems and storm water retention. Five buildings on campus are built to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.

• The Res Race to Zero competition reduced energy use by 5 per cent amongst eight participating residence halls.

York University has also established Yorkwise, a university-wide initiative to support sustainability on campus. It promotes best practices and encourages students, staff and faculty to support a number of “green” efforts, including the new ZeroWaste initiative that aims to reduce the waste generated every day by 65% by 2013. This equals 200+ metric tonnes of additional diverted waste each year.

Coffee consumers at Schulich who purchase Las Nubes Coffee, available through the Timothy’s Coffee shop at the School, contribute to social, economic and environmental sustainability in Costa Rica. Las Nubes is a unique, sustainable coffee program spearheaded by York University and involving Timothy’s Coffees of the World and CoopeAgri, which has helped develop several sustainable coffee farms on the periphery of the Las Nubes rainforest. (Las Nubes, located on the Pacific slope of the Talamanca Mountains in southern Costa Rica, forms part of the largest remaining rainforest ecosystem in Central America.) Sustainability is measured by biodiversity protection, shade-grown coffee, water and soil conservation, and fair labour practices.  

The following is a complete list of York University sustainability initiatives ranging from waste and recycling to water, energy and food: http://www.yorku.ca/susweb/initiatives/index.html
 

Academic Department

Course Name: Introduction to Information Systems
Instructor: R. Irving, H. Ali-Hassan, S. Campbell

Students are introduced to key business, environmental and social issues in the field of information systems. The issues are brought forward through diverse teaching media such as class discussion, case studies, and electronic discussions, group presentations and lectures. Discussion topics may include the impact of IT enhancements on the workforce, the impact of outsourcing, confidentiality and privacy issues, social welfare and the information gap within and across nations. Assignments in this course provide a complete view of the environment in which technology is introduced. An example of this is an assignment in which students are asked to perform a stakeholder analysis. Stakeholders often do not have a full understanding of the capabilities of an information system, nor are the able to accurately assess its costs and benefits. Relevant stakeholders include end-users, IT personnel, project managers, IT executives, non-IT executives, vendors, customers, suppliers, and competitors. It is becoming more difficult to fully understand organizations without understanding the technology and systems that support and enable their operations. This course therefore provides students with the tools to understand the use and impact of information systems to be able to use them effectively in an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment.

Course Name: Introduction to International Business
Instructor: C. McMillan, K. Tsambourlianos, S. Weiss, T. Tolias

This course examines economic, social and environmental issues and problems which arise when business operations or institutions transcend national boundaries and become international and multinational in scope and character. Adaptations of the basic managerial functions in different countries are emphasized in terms of cultural sensitivities, different social environment and stakeholder responsiveness. This framework is applied to current trade patterns and manufacturing costs in Canadian business environment, including government policy options and the implications for corporate strategies. Topics include an in-depth study of the following: Global Landscape, MNEs, Political & Cultural Issues, Human Resources, Social and Environmental Ethical Issues, R&D, Operating between Regions, and Technology.

Course Name: Invention and Investment in Life Sciences
Instructor: T. Dzialowski

This course delivers content related to social, environmental and strategic aspects of business planning, investment analysis and deal making in Life Sciences. Making money in a socially responsible industry such as healthcare and making strategic investment decisions in a multiple stakeholder environment to conclude win/lose business transactions are the unifying objectives of this course.

The course is intended for different groups involved in a life science company or working in the life sciences industry such as researchers, business development managers, corporate venture managers, those who are interested in the life science sector as consumers or investors, or for those who consider themselves entrepreneurs and deal makers for any business opportunity. The health care environment is complex, challenged with constrained resources, system restructuring, high demand, patient expectations, public accountabilities and emerging competitive “pay-for-performance” funding models. The course examines the application of effective management strategies to create high performance hospitals and advance their agendas.

The course equips the student with practical business planning knowledge, know-how and tools to manage investment and business growth in life science and other sectors through three major projects; the Stock Investment Contest, the Business Plan and the “Doing the Deal” simulation.

Course Name: Investments
Instructor: D. Yu, K. Ghanaghounian, M. Kamstra, P. Shum

Factors, including ethical, social and environmental affecting the term structure and risk structure of yields on financial claims are identified and analyzed. The course focuses on: the development of principles of personal and institutional portfolio management; modern capital asset pricing theory; valuation discussions on Canadian models for common stock prices; and socially responsible investing as it affects behavioural finance decisions.

Course Name: Issues in Arts and Cultural Management
Instructor: P. Bradley

This course focuses on the social impact of management decisions in the arts, media and cultural sector and serves an introduction to the cultural arts environment in Canada. It examines the policy frameworks within which the arts and cultural industries operate. The public sector and industry organizations dedicated to the development and sustainability of the sector are also covered. The course explores the dynamics of different perspectives on the human, social, political and economic resources involved in the production, distribution and support of the arts and cultural products and services in Canada. Students are exposed to and analyze a wide range of values, perspectives, environmental forces, and organization types that impact the dynamics of the arts and cultural sector in Canada.

The arts industry in Canada is considered the public sector and it is heavily regulated by a number of government agencies that shape cultural policy with various social objectives in mind, and these particular courses focus almost exclusively on the social impact of various cultural policies.

Course Name: Macroeconomics and the Supply Side
Instructor: D. Barrows

Increasingly, governments are using fiscal, monetary and industrial policies to achieve major national economic and social goals. This course emphasizes economic theory and quantitative evidence to investigate the effects of government policies on Canada's international competitiveness. Attention is given to corporate strategies which respond to government, social, economic and environmental initiatives and changes in the global environment.

Class topics include: Economic prosperity and equality; The quantity and quality of life and the evolution of world inequality; Cast, Gender and Schooling Choice in a Globalizing Economy; Social, environmental and economic issues affecting national competitiveness.

Some of the readings include the following: “Agricultural Protection in Rich Countries: How did We Get Here?" by Kimberley Ann Elliott, Center for Global Development and Institute for International Economics, “The Rise of Offshoring: It’s Not Wine for Cloth Anymore?” Munshi, Kaivan and Mark Rosenweig, “Traditional Institutions Meet the Modern World: Caste, Gender, and Schooling Choice in a Globalizing Economy,” The American Economic Review, "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time", “A Global Family Portrait,”

Course Name: Management Accounting
Instructor: O. Valente, D. Cianflone

The economic, social and environmental impact of full-cost accounting, employee compensation, incentive systems, performance measurement (such as balanced scorecards), Economic Value Added and other financial controls are examined. Comparisons are made between 1) activity-based versus traditional cost accounting and 2) economic versus accounting profits, amongst others. The non-applicability of external reporting figures for most management decisions as well as the stakeholder considerations and ethical considerations of cost accounting and budgeting are also thoroughly discussed. Case materials are drawn from real organizations as much as possible and apply analysis of the social impacts of management decisions on different stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, customers, management, owners and other social groups. Thus, the focus of the course is to understand and anticipate the impacts of alternative decisions on the organization as a whole in order to manage social systems effectively, identify strategic business opportunities, and make competitive advantages sustainable.

Course Name: Management Accounting & Control Systems
Instructor: A. Richardson

This course explores the social and ethical impact of key decisions that must be made in using results controls, such as choices of performance measures, performance-based incentives as well as performance standards and targets. Limitations of traditional financial performance measures are discussed (e.g., their tendency to make managers excessively short-term oriented). Recently developed approaches to deal with these shortcomings are analyzed. The course focuses on the use of results controls; that is, those that involve measurement and evaluation of financial and non-financial performance indicators including social and environmental footprint. Economic value added (EVA) and balanced scorecard approaches are also thoroughly examined. The objective of the course is to develop an understanding of planning and control systems in organizations. The behavioral implications of accounting and its impact on multiple stakeholders are emphasized.

Course Name: Management Consulting
Instructor: T. Peridis

This course provides students who are seeking a career in consulting with a thorough understanding of the function of management consulting and of the professional, interpersonal, analytical and diagnostic skills that are required of consultants. This advanced elective consolidates and builds on the concepts introduced in core courses, and applies them in the context of consultancy for profit and non-profit entities. This is a distinctively experimental course: actual consulting assignments including those about corporate social responsibility and environmental impact form a major component of it. The course provides real life consulting experience to students and exposes them to a variety of organizational issues such as market/product development, internal transformation issues, changing customer preferences, complex supply chain management (SCM) issues and financial and corporate strategy.

Course Name: Management For Creative Industries
Instructor: The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The purpose of this course is to equip students with conceptual knowledge and tools to explore and capture the business and career opportunities arisen from the merging creative industries with the creative economy and city branding as the backdrop. To exploit these opportunities requires integration of divergent and convergent thinking, the core of the creative process, with cultural content production and reception. The creative process and cultural content circulation make research and development, operation, marketing, servicing, human resources management, and financing of companies in the creative industries very different from conventional manufacturing and servicing industries.

Intellectual property, sustainability and scalability issues are also addressed differently in creative industry ventures as compared with those from the high-growth technology sectors. There is a great demand for business people who can connect creative and cultural talents to the market place. The abilities to identify, cultivate, and grow the talents, contents and audiences will thrive the creative enterprises. These are the abilities that the students taking this class would develop through this course.

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