This course will explore current challenges and opportunities facing firms in the area of environmental sustainability. It will begin with an introduction to sustainability, with a particular focus on how environmental sustainability is relevant to business. Topics such as unsustainable consumption/consumer behavior, market research on sustainable product design , and sustainable value chains and communications will be covered. We will also cover the bottom-up approach in terms of immersion, emersion, and design as applied to sustainable business enterprise. The course concludes with a summary of insights on global challenges in business, with particular focus on poverty and the environment. You will be able to: • Understand the importance of sustainability for business • Analyze specific topics including consumer behavior, market research, product design, value chains and communications using the sustainability lens in business • Design solutions and develop enterprise plans for sustainable business initiatives • Apply the bottom-up approach for sustainable business initiatives in varied contexts This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these programs and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.

Develop your ability to think strategically, analyze the competitive environment, and recommend firm positioning and value creation. In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, top-ranked faculty will help you explore the underlying theory and frameworks that provide the foundations of a successful business strategy and provide the tools you need to understand that strategy: SWOT, Competitor, Environmental, Five Forces, and Capabilities Analyses, as well as Strategy Maps.

Understanding who your customers are and what they need and want is at the heart of successful marketing strategies. In this course you will explore how to identify and classify customers and the different methods that marketing professionals use to shed light on how they make purchase decisions. The course will cover the following: 1. Marketing Fundamentals 2. Product, Pricing and Channel Decisions 3. Building Strong Brands 4. Communication Strategy

This course focuses on the theory and practice of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with a focus on the Finance. The Finance of M&A uses tools from different areas of Finance to help managers and investment bankers design successful M&A deals. In particular, we will learn to value and price M&A deals and how to choose the optimal financing mix for an M&A deal. The course focuses on all the major types of M&A deals including strategic M&A, private equity leveraged buyouts (LBOs), and restructuring deals such spinoffs and asset transfers. The course will benefit any student who desires to increase their ability to understand and execute M&A deals, including (but not limited to), entrepreneurs, consultants, bankers, investors, analysts, corporate managers, marketers, strategists, and deal-makers of all types. The course will also deepen students’ understanding of financial modeling and capital structure, both in theory and practice.

In this course, you will gain an introduction to the basic terminology and concepts in the field, along with an overview of the development cycle from identification and cultivation through stewardship and recognition. You will learn how to develop a case for support, identify and assess prospective donors, match a donor’s interests and needs with your organization’s mission and goals, recognize planned giving benefits to your donors, structure a successful solicitation, and respond to ethical dilemmas. You’ll also examine career opportunities in the field, along with contemporary issues and trends confronting today’s fundraising managers. Throughout the course you’ll gain hands-on practice developing an array of written products for your fundraising and development portfolio.

Do you believe that a lot of industries will fundamentally change due to digital power in the upcoming 5 to 10 years? Do you believe that what often today has been called 'disruption' might happen to an industry of your specific interest? Do you believe in the value of becoming able to predict how that kind of change will evolve in order to do digital transformation and thereby avoid ending up with big problems in the future? Then this course is for you! In this nano-course, you will get an overview of how to implement digital transformation and the impact it has. If you find it interesting, then the full course on this topic is also available for you to follow: https://www.coursera.org/learn/doing-digital-transformation

This course introduces you to the Frictionless Sales Framework and how it can enable your sales team to be more effective and efficient. You’ll learn how to measure your team’s effectiveness with a Rep Efficiency Audit. You will discover how to create a sales process that aligns with your targeted buyer’s journey as well as your business goals. You’ll also learn how to create an effective sales training program, hiring strategy and onboarding process to help you staff your team with the best sales professionals and train them to be successful. By the end of this course you will be able to: • Define a sales process that minimizes friction in sales and is based on the target buyer’s journey • Create an effective sales training and coaching program • Create a sales hiring strategy that enables you to find the right people for your team • Implement a successful sales onboarding process to align your new hires with your business goals Regardless of your current experience, this course will instruct you on how to create an effective sales process and how to hire, coach, and manage an effective sales team. This course is intended for anyone interested in jumpstarting their career in sales - whether you’re changing careers and looking for an entry-level role, or want to hone your skills in your current role as a sales representative. It does not require any background knowledge or experience to get started. Throughout the course, you will complete exercises that ask you to apply the skills you have learned in a practical way, such as completing a Rep Efficiency Audit, mapping your sales process, and implementing a coaching process using the GROW model.

By the end of this project, you will create six social media visuals(Facebook Cover, Facebook Post, YouTube Thumbnail, YouTube Channel Art, Instagram Post and Twitter Header) for your business. These visuals are shareable across other social media channels. This course will include an introduction to Canva, how to create social media visuals from scratch by keeping one business theme in mind and prepare them for publishing. Note: This course works best for learners who are based in the North America region. We’re currently working on providing the same experience in other regions.

By the end of this guided project, you will be fluent in creating Program Communications artefacts for the Identification/Planning Phase for diverse programs. You will utilise a logical diagramming plan in an agile environment to develop the solution. This will enable you to identify and classify the required components for communication management. Furthermore, it will help develop a structural model for learning about the field of Program Management. If you are interested in building up the knowledge leading to this guided project, the following is the link to: [ Developing Programme Management Blueprint with ClickUp] https://www.coursera.org/projects/program-blueprint [Advanced Programme Planning Phases Framework in ClickUp] https://www.coursera.org/projects/program-advanced-planning This Guided Project is essential for individuals wanting to learn about the field, or looking to transition into working in Program Management. This guided project is designed to engage and harness your visionary and exploratory abilities. You will use proven models in an agile environment with ClickUp to engage in a hands-on learning experience.

In this capstone project course, we revisit the strategy controversy at e-Types, introduced in the first course in this specialization, Strategic Management, and further analysed in each of the subsequent courses, Strategy Formulation and Strategy Implementation. After revealing, examining, and analyzing what happened at e-Types, we turn to a new set of strategy cases that range in terms of company size, geography, and focus. For your final project, we ask YOU to apply everything you have learned in this specialization to analyze your choice of one of these four situations.