Given what we learned our first year at Darden, holding class outside should be an easy decision. And if the faculty resists, here are a few tips to use in specific classes.
Operations: From a 5S standpoint, lawn-work at Darden offers an example of excellence:
- Sorting: There's nothing on that lawn except what's needed. I once saw the groundskeeper pick Mark Fallet up and move him away because his mustache was spoiling the view.
- Set in Order: Everything has a place. Have you ever seen a squirrel in a classroom? NO, because it belongs outside.
- Shining (Cleanliness): You could shave in that reflecting pool. We're specifically speaking to you Professor Freeman.
- Standardize: Those lawn-workers are efficient. Seriously. A storm comes through and floods the place...it's repaired overnight.
- Sustain: The lawn is kept constantly neat through a set schedule of maintenance and improvement because Management understands the importance of this lawn to the attraction of students. Just don't have them visit in January.
Finance: Cost modeling of outside versus inside:
- Inside: you pay electricity for laptops, lights, projectors. You pay for chalk, and for cleaning the chalkboards. You pay for AC/Heat or whatever the opposite of what students desire is that day. You pay for nice leather chairs.
- Outside: Outside is free. Maybe you pay for a bee-swatter, that's it.
Decision Analysis:
- You can try to crystal ball this, but if you're outside, your computer will crash because it's not plugged in and CB is crazy. That's a good thing- no more CB, no more stress.
- Go ahead and model the decision tree. Oh, wait, there's one outside: IT'S A TREE.
Marketing:
I Survey Monkey'd the class. The want to go outside. Raj tested; Conjoint confirmed.
Entrepreneurial Thinking:
YOU (as a professor) are trying to start a class! YOU want to drive participation. So you look out at your network (students!), you reach out to them, and you identify something they want- a class outside! You have clients that want an outside class! So what do you do? Saras would say "DO IT!" Start that class outside. Go! Go now! Do it! Don't be a consultant. Don't' be a banker. Start class outside instead! NOW!!
LO: A Strategy Map should make this much clearer:
- Financial perspective: donations from Alumni.
- Customer perspective: to drive those donations, it's necessary to build Partnerships with Students.
- Internal process perspective: management of Regulatory and Social Processes that prevent us from having class outside.
- Learning and growth perspective: by investing in Human Capital (the trust we have in students to pay attention outside and participate more vigorously), we therefore manage social processes in a way that builds partnerships and results in increased alumni donations in 5-10 years.
Ethics:
- The ethical ramifications of CO2 release from concrete and brick buildings is very clear, and holding class outside would indicate Darden's willingness to align themselves with the sustainability goals of their stakeholders.
- From a culturally relative viewpoint, we should respect how Powhatans lived on this land prior to it being stolen from them; education that co-exists with nature would be a good first step in embracing cultural tradition of this land.
Point, set, match.
