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Introduction to business course for non business majors (online, NW and I&S, no prerequisites)

Submitted by Stephen Dunne on October 31, 2017 - 4:03pm

ESRM 321, Finance & Accounting From a Sustainability Perspective is a course that:

 *  Gives 5 credits and NW and I&S
 *  Has no prerequisites
 *  Is a hybrid online course (hybrid meaning there are two in-person exams on 2.8 and 3.8, 4:30-6:50 pm, in 223 Anderson Hall Seattle Campus)
 *  Course website is at https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1129154

Overview: Finance and Accounting. In ESRM 321, we explore two of the four primary business dimensions: finance and accounting. Finance refers to the flows and uses of money among individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, and governments and associated processes, institutions, and markets. Accounting involves recording, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting business transactions to provide management and stakeholders with information about a company’s performance, liquidity, growth, value, etc. Sustainability refers to integrating environmental,
social, and financial elements in order to meet the needs of people today without compromising Earth’s capacity to provide for future generations. Integrating these three is called the triple bottom line sustainability. We will explore the meaning and importance of sustainable
business practices.

Course Goals. ESRM 321 has two goals, which are to provide a context for 1) learning business concepts AND 2) hands on experience assessing corporate sustainability performance. The business learning objectives below in bold are achieved through listening to online recorded business
lectures and reading the Nickels textbook while the sustainability learning objectives underlined below are achieved through assessing GRI indicators using sustainability report information.


Learning Objectives (at the end of this course, students should be able to do the following).

 Explain finance, accounting, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability concepts

 Summarize what money is, counterfeiting deterrence, and financial institutions

 Explain the functions of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and its monetary policy tools

 Describe stock markets, investing strategies, and socially responsible investing

 Analyze financial statements (e.g., balance sheets, income statements)

 Define corporate financial management

 Describe Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting

 Assess GRI economic and environment indicators to measure actual sustainability performance

 Analyze real world sustainability performance using data in corporate sustainability reports

 Summarize and interpret sustainability performance data

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