Business and Society (BSPA-UB)

This course has been developed in collaboration with the Chen Institute and the Business & Society Program of the Stern School and counts towards the real estate concentration. This course is designed as an introduction to real estate transactions and the law for business school students. Students will be guided, step by step, through each phase of the life cycle of a typical real estate transaction from acquisition to disposition. At the end of the course, students should have the ability to evaluate and dissect various real estate vehicles and to understand their fundamental structures and uses. Focusing on single-asset transactions, this course includes the basics of commercial real estate law from structuring, letters of intent and acquisition through disposition, whether by sale or as a result of foreclosure. We will also consider the recent evolution in the structure and use of property, including the co-working and space-sharing models. Guest lectures on specialized topics are planned. This course is intended for undergraduate students with an interest in real estate. Fundamentals will be illustrated through transactions around New York City but the skills and knowledge acquired in this course will be relevant across major US real estate markets. Students will become familiar with the terminology generally used in the real estate industry and will receive key takeaways and sample documents (where appropriate), all of which should serve as a guide for future use in the student's endeavors, whether as a real estate professional or as a business executive.

Social Entrepreneurship is an emerging and rapidly changing business field that examines the practice of identifying, starting and growing successful mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit ventures—that is, organizations that strive to advance social change through innovative solutions. This course, rooted in stakeholder theory, is designed to provide a socially relevant academic experience in order to help students gain in-depth insights into economic and social value creation across a number of areas including poverty alleviation, energy, health and sustainability. Students will have the opportunity to find and test new ideas and solutions to social problems, create sustainable business models, identify funding options and alternatives, learn about evolving legal and governance structures, learn how to measure social impact and scale a social enterprise to name a few. This course will provide students with a toolkit and frameworks that can be used to start a social venture, applied within a social venture or within other types of organizations to influence social change.

This course invites students to consider the causes and consequences of economic inequality from a variety of analytic perspectives, to judge the current situation based on their own ethical values, and to take concrete actions to bring about positive change in the world. The format includes a discussion seminar and two major research projects. In the seminar, students become familiar with relevant terms and concepts drawn from disciplines including economics, political science, sociology, organization studies and philosophy. Informed by these diverse perspectives, students undertake two major research projects. The first project focuses on the causes and consequences of inequality in the various contexts of individual students’ own hometowns. The second project focuses on possible points of leverage with the market, government and community sectors, and encourages students to work in groups and use these points of leverage to bring about a more just society. The overall learning objectives are for students to become more familiar with the complexity of economic inequality as an empirical phenomenon, and more empowered to contribute pragmatically to a just society.

This class assumes that in some manner you desire to be an active contributor to a just, equitable, and regenerative world. That is my definition of a “social entrepreneur.” The course is designed and committed to equipping you to be more effective in that pursuit. This course will provide you with some of the fundamental capabilities required to become a social entrepreneur such as systems thinking, an understanding of the various frameworks that will allow you to more deeply understand and reconcile sustainability, capitalism, and the new economy, and build your knowledge to become conversant with how to leverage business for transformative societal and environmental change. The course will help you to develop skills for researching, strategizing, influencing, and implementing systemic change.This class assumes that in some manner you desire to be an active contributor to a just, equitable, and regenerative world. That is my definition of a "social entrepreneur." The course is committed to equipping you to be more effective in that pursuit.

Open to Stern students only – Sophomores and up. No pre-reqs. Think strategically about social entrepreneurship and sustainable development in Costa Rica. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs recognize that these challenges – climate change, economic inequality, sustainable consumption, peace, and justice – are interdependent, and we cannot be truly “sustainable” as a global community until we address them all. This course focuses on Costa Rica, a compelling example of effective sustainable development and social entrepreneurship, and has three main pillars: 1) Sustainable Development, 2) Social Entrepreneurship and 3) Immersion in Costa Rica. Through various modalities (classroom sessions, working with Costa Rican entrepreneurs, as well as in-country experiential learning), students will be immersed in lessons from this country, and learn to think strategically about the value of building sustainable businesses – everywhere. This class includes a trip to Costa Rica in January. Attending or viewing an Info Session is required before enrolling in this course. Must be enrolled at Stern in New York City during the semester you take the course. Important Note: Seniors who plan to graduate in January - the final grade for this course will not be available until after the January trip. View the website for more details about this class and trip: www.stern.nyu.edu/costarica.

One of the only classes of its kind at the undergraduate level, this is an advanced-level class for juniors and seniors that will focus on human rights law and practice, and how the human rights framework applies to business. Students will learn about the theoretical foundations of human rights, the evolving role of business in modern society, and analyze case studies of how companies have been challenged by human rights issues in fashion, investing, social media, and food and beverage, among other sectors. Classes will consist of interactive lectures, stakeholder role play exercises, topical debates, and presentations.

1st century investors face a broadening and deepening array of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks and opportunities. Climate change, water scarcity, community conflict, resource depletion, supply chain breakdowns, worker well-being and economic inequality pose material challenges that make sustainability an imperative for successful investors and the companies they choose to invest in. This course will couple theory with the practice of Sustainable Investing (SI). We will examine current ESG investment and corporate strategies, trends, future scenarios, players, and frameworks and integrate that theory with practical investment performance analysis, metrics, and studies of data, screens, asset classes, and diversification. The course maximizes student interaction with industry leaders and is taught through a mix of case studies, analyst reports, and lectures. Students gain perspectives from assessing fund manager strategies and perform quantitative and qualitative analysis in conjunction with the development of stock pitches for possible direct investment as concentrated positions within a portfolio.

Today, the food industry is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for up to 30% of emissions. A poor diet is now the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. As part of these huge global problems, animal production is arguably the biggest culprit. In recognition of this, consumers are dramatically altering diet patterns, and food entrepreneurs are rushing to solve the problem with desirable solutions. Vegetarianism and veganism are exploding and new alternative meat and dairy offerings are being launched at a frenetic pace. This undergraduate course—the first of its kind—is designed to put the idea of teaching entrepreneurship to its ultimate test—with the objective of incubating a series of ventures through the course of the semester that have the potential to be viable businesses and reverse negative externalities that arise from animal production. The course will start by exploring the chemistry of protein, the nutritional role of protein, the history of animal production and its environmental consequences. It will then take students through a series of frameworks to identify and implement solutions using entrepreneurship as the vehicle. These frameworks will include: (1) design thinking to identify opportunities, (2) sector / industry analysis models to identify need-gaps and validate the opportunity, (3) design thinking to prototype solutions and (4) business modeling in order to commercialize solutions. At the beginning of the semester, “start-up” teams of five to six students each will be formed and tasked with building a “blue-print” for a startup in the sustainable protein sector.

The American corporate landscape is under assault. The average lifespan for a company in the S&P 500 is shorter than ever, approval ratings for corporations are lower than ever, and consumers are increasingly skeptical of advertising and corporate social responsibility messages that attempt to divert attention from unethical business practices. The ideas of stakeholder theory and shared value are gaining ground and increasingly being seen as necessary constructs for corporations. As part of this, the field of marketing is also undergoing significant change. This course will attempt to explore this “new normal,” study the evolution of the consumer, and explore what brands, both old and new, are doing and might do to succeed in the years to come. The course will rely on a series of cutting edge case studies and real-world projects brought to life by two entrepreneurs—one who is the co-founder of a leading health food brand and the other who is the co-founder of a leading creative agency

People are like plants: if you get the conditions right, they will usually flourish. So what are those conditions, and why are so many members of Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) failing to flourish? We will look at research in social and positive psychology on happiness, virtue, self-change, and personal growth. We will also look at ancient wisdom––insights into mind and heart passed down to us from many cultures because they work. The goal of this course is to help students understand the conditions that lead to flourishing, and then to develop specific habits that will help them to thrive at NYU, at work, and in their personal relationships. Each student will choose a specific “happiness habit” and will design a plan to cultivate the habit over the 14 weeks of the course. The final paper will include a self-evaluation of progress in becoming stronger, smarter, more sociable, and happier.

In this course, students will develop an effective leadership perspective through pursuit of the following learning objectives: 1) to become familiar with the key environmental and social issues affecting business today, 2) to understand the evolution of corporate response—from compliance to engagement to innovation, 3) to develop some of the skills required for leading in this new social and political environment (e.g. multi-stakeholder management), 4) to explore the efficiencies and innovations being developed by corporate leaders in pursuit of sustainability, 5) to explore innovations in sustainable finance, 6) to become familiar with the latest consumer insight research on sustainability, 7) be able to design an effective embedded sustainability strategy that will deliver competitive advantage. In short, this course is multi-disciplinary, and seeks to integrate across the functions of the firm to arrive at an effective firm-wide leadership sensibility.

This course is designed to help students gain actionable insights into the nexus between economic and social value creation. Specifically, the purpose is to provide students with hands-on exposure to the entrepreneurial pursuit of social impact and innovation. As a result of this course, students will gain: Increased ability to recognize and critically assess various forms of social enterprise strategies as tools of economic development and social transformation; Greater understanding of the challenges of growing and sustaining a social enterprise, as well as special insights into enterprise development and growth; Improved consulting skills, including project planning, issue analysis, formulation of strategic and tactical recommendations, and client relationship management. By participating in the course, students will be better able to adapt and apply business skills and academic disciplines in the social sector, and will have increased skills for effective and thoughtful leadership in business and society throughout their careers.

Independent study provides an opportunity for a select group of upperclassmen each year to work one-on-one with a faculty member on a topic selected by the student and approved by the supervising faculty member. Each student is expected to spend as much time on the independent study as would be spent on a regular course, and the topic selected may not replicate an existing course. An information sheet with important guidelines about Independent Study is available at stern.nyu.edu/portal-partners/current-students/undergraduate/resources-policies/forms.

This course is an experiential learning seminar involving project-based collaboration among students, faculty and nonprofit organizations in New York City. Its two objectives are to provide students with an occasion to put the lessons learned in the Social Impact Core Curriculum into practice as consultants; and to produce project outcomes that have meaning and value for participating stakeholders.

Open to Stern students only – First-year students and up. No pre-reqs. Gain an understanding of social entrepreneurship and how it might be best applied to starting and supporting small business enterprises. Learn how economic empowerment can take place using the tools of business & entrepreneurship. Gain new perspectives and insights on how business is conducted in other parts of the world to further equip ourselves as future business leaders. Study key aspects of Ghana's history, economy & culture, along with its shared history with the United States. Apply the tools of social entrepreneurship to complete projects that create new and build upon existing social enterprises. Gain exposure to the challenges in global economic development & social entrepreneurship. This Spring class includes a trip to Accra, Ghana during the March Spring Break. Attending or viewing an Info Session is required before enrolling in this course. IMPORTANT NOTE: This course has an early drop/add deadline due to the airline ticketing deadline for the required group flight. Must be enrolled at Stern in New York City during the semester you take the course. View the website for more details about this class and trip: www.stern.nyu.edu/ghana

Social Entrepreneurship is an emerging and rapidly changing business field that examines the practice of identifying, starting and growing successful mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit ventures—that is, organizations that strive to advance social change through innovative solutions. This course, rooted in stakeholder theory, is designed to provide a socially relevant academic experience in order to help students gain in-depth insights into economic and social value creation across a number of areas including poverty alleviation, energy, health and sustainability. Students will have the opportunity to find and test new ideas and solutions to social problems, create sustainable business models, identify funding options and alternatives, learn about evolving legal and governance structures, learn how to measure social impact and scale a social enterprise to name a few. This course will provide students with a toolkit and frameworks that can be used to start a social venture, applied within a social venture or within other types of organizations to influence social change