SUSTAINABILITY AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Abstract
From a broad view, business management can be defined as a systematic approach of making of a business organization’s workflow more effective, efficient and more adaptive to the ever-changing environment. In addition, business approach is an activity or set of activities meant to accomplish certain organization’s objective. However, the main and sole goal in business management process is to safeguard stakeholder’s equity as they try to reduce human error and miscommunication that might land the business organization into a serious crisis. Basically, the primary goal of management in any workplace is to unite people and bring them together in order to achieve the organizational goal. The management process includes controlling, organizing, planning and directing. Significantly, the aspect which is targeted during business management is the efficient allocation of all resources.
Allocation of resources is done rationally in all departments depending on the need and performance of each organizational department. Management of business occurs in three perspectives. These are tradition, team and servant. Traditional type of management is the one that employ the use of basic skills. In this method, an organization has both low-level, middle and the top level of management. The management has the mandate to give out goals to employees so that they can work towards it. Secondly, the team management is the one in which power is diverged and business control techniques are decentralized. In addition, the manager gives guide to employees and he enjoys rewards from such employees. Most business organizations prefer team management process. Servant method is the as the same as corporate business management process where power is held by few hands. Also, servant approach to management helps the manager to supply the resources that employees may need in order to realize company goals. The method assumes that the employees have the required knowhow in carrying out the business activities for high performance. Generally, it is for all managers to safeguard employee’s work by supplying the appropriate resources. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Business sustainability is a long-term shareholder objective that seeks to embraces opportunities and manages risk in order to create conducive working environment for an organization to keep in operation. The opportunities and the risks to be management be resulting from social, environmental and economic responsibility. Of recent, the terms to achieve business sustainability have contacted over different issues and thus business sustainability has remained as the young profession. The reason behind is that business sustainability is widened to include organizational behavior, business strategy, social and environmental sciences, social psychology and operational management. For this reason, effective business sustainability calls for a body of knowledge that helps to resolve these issues and bring individualism when it comes to managing sustainability.
Table of Contents
Considerations before sustainable development 4
Changes in business attitudes and practices. 5
Enhancing management systems. 6
Strategic plans for managing business enterprise. 7
Performing analysis for stakeholders. 7
Setting sustainable development policies. 8
Designing and executing development plans. 8
Developing a supportive corporate structure. 8
Developing standards and measures of performance. 9
Enhancing internal monitoring processes. 10
Of recent, fast economic growth has severally been associated with substantial environmental problems especially in the field of business. According to Boons & Lüdeke-Freund, (2013 P.10), after conducting research, it has been found that strict environmental regulation is the only key to succeed in the control of this problem. The result for this is a tradeoff between healthy economic growth and a healthy environment in which business activities are been carried out (Boons & Lüdeke-Freund, 2013 P. 13). Consequently, there comes the need for business opportunities. Basically, some developments are both socially and environmentally sustainable. In this case, they result not into a trade -off between healthy growth and environment but result to what is known as the improved environment. To put everything in place, it is as per the business and societies to consider a situation in which it satisfying for all the three goals; environmental protection, social wellbeing and the economic development simultaneously.
Sustainable development is good in business management because, first it creates a good opportunity for new suppliers in the business organization and secondly it enhances the development of safe materials and processes. Thirdly, it creates conducive environment for the firms that would like to engage in eco-efficiency and those that want to engage in a social wellbeing (Khalili & Duecker, 2013 P. 194). This situation creates a competitive advantage to enterprises. The enterprises will earn goodwill to the local community where its premises rest and secondly they will be able to realize benefits in their bottom line.
Considerations before sustainable development
While business generally looks for exactness and reasonableness as the reason for its arranging endeavors, economical improvement is an idea that is not manageable to straightforward and general definition. It is liquid, and changes after some time because of expanded data and society’s advancing needs. The part of business in adding to economical improvement stays inconclusive. While all business undertakings can make a commitment towards its fulfillment, the capacity to have any kind of effect changes by division and association measure (Khalili & Duecker, 2013 P. 189). A few officials consider the important target of business to profit. Others perceive a more extensive social part. There is no agreement among business pioneers with regards to the best harmony between limited self-intrigue and moves made for the benefit of society.
Organizations persistently confront the need to exchange off what they would “like” to do and what they “must” do in quest for budgetary survival. Organizations additionally confront exchange offs when managing the move to feasible practices (Khalili & Duecker, 2013 P. 191). For instance, a compound organization whose plant has over the top emanating releases may choose to supplant it with a more compelling treatment office. Be that as it may, ought to the organization close the current plant amid the a few year development period and hazard losing piece of the overall industry? Then again should it keep on operating the dirtying plant regardless of the cost of fines also, unfavorable advertising? Which is the better strategy as far as economy, social prosperity and the earth? Additionally, numerous ranges of economical improvement remain in fact vague, making it hard to arrange a successful strategy. For instance, the ranger service industry has experienced issues characterizing what constitutes reasonable timberland administration.
A few faultfinders trust that essentially supplanting trees is insufficient, in light of the fact that reaping decimates the biodiversity of the woods. Unmistakably, more research will be expected to determine such specialized issues. From a more extensive point of view, in any case, it is plainly in light of a legitimate concern for business to work inside a solid domain and economy (Asif et.al, 2013 P.15). It is similarly plain that, on a worldwide premise, developing and reasonable economies in the creating nations will give the best open doors for growing markets. To a few, reasonable improvement and natural stewardship are synonymous. In the short term, sound ecological execution is most likely a sensible goal for most organizations, with feasible advancement as a more extended term objective. Be that as it may, this can prompt to perplexity. In the created world, the emphasis is on natural administration, while in creating nations, fast and manageable advancement is foremost (Asif et.al, 2013 P.11).
The worldwide economy is going under developing weight to pay for the rebuilding of harmed situations. In any case, this monetary motor is being requested that settle other squeezing issues in the meantime. The test is to take care of these issues in a maintainable way, in order to produce proceeding with improvement. In spite of ambiguities about definitions, there is currently across the board bolster for practical advancement standards inside the business group (Asif et.al, 2013 P.17).In any case, for that support to develop, it will be critical to perceive and remunerate activities that are being taken to turn the idea into reality.
Changes in business attitudes and practices
There are positive changes that a business organization needs to embrace in order to see a change in the environmental and economic consideration thus gradually incorporating the set objectives and policies. The changes and attitudes are initially, reflected in the organization’s economic corporation and development in general (Haines, 2016 P.68). According to the executive of the most fast thriving business organizations, it is true that the pursuance of the sustainable development strategies create a good sense in business organization. For any good change in business management, strategic thinking must be available accompanied by the excellence in environment (Asif et.al, 2013 P.11). Notably, all economic changes both voluntary and forced changes are normally accompanied by opportunities. It is just a simple matter of developing the best economic interest that in the long learn will result to quality and efficient business management.
For instance, a 3M producing plant downsized a wastewater treatment operation significantly, essentially by running cooling water through its processing plants over and over as opposed to releasing it after a solitary utilize. In the interim Dow’s ‘Waste Decrease Forever Pays’ program, which started in 1986, has encouraged more than 700 extends, and spared a huge number of dollars a year. What’s more, in a Westinghouse metal wrapping up production line in Puerto Rico, the organization diminished “dragout” – the pollution inadvertently conveyed starting with one tank then onto the next – by 75% essentially by shaking the tank to expel solids before discharging the substance to the following tank. Pacific Gas and Electric chose that vitality preservation was a more gainful venture than atomic power, and McDonald’s made its very much broadcasted move from plastics to paper the foundation of a much more extensive, yet less obvious, squander decrease methodology. In this case, the managers of this organization clearly prove that environmentalism has positive implication in business.
The idea of practical advancement should be joined into the approaches and procedures of a business on the off chance that it is to take after maintainable improvement standards (Haines, 2016 P.71). This does not imply that new administration techniques should be created. Or maybe, it requires another social introduction and broad refinements to frameworks, practices and systems. The two principle zones of the administration framework that must be changed are those concerned with;
- A more prominent responsibility to non-customary partners;
- Constant change of reporting practices.
Building up a successful administration system for practical improvement requires tending to both basic leadership and administration (Haines, 2016 P.66). The idea of feasible advancement must be coordinated both into business arranging and into administration data and control frameworks. Senior administration must give reports that measure execution against these techniques. Administration is progressively critical in light of the developing responsibility of the organization and its senior administration. Data and reporting frameworks must support this need. Basic leadership at all levels must turn out to be more receptive to the issues emerging from reasonable improvement. Seven stages are required for dealing with a venture as indicated by economical advancement standards. These are set out beneath.
Strategic plans for managing business enterprise
There are seven steps for managing business enterprise in accordance to the sustainable development principles. They include,
Performing analysis for stakeholders
A partner examination is required with a specific end goal to recognize every one of the gatherings that are specifically or by implication influenced by the venture’s operations. It sets out the issues, concerns and data needs of the partners concerning the association’s supportable advancement exercises (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.41). An organization’s presence is specifically connected to the worldwide environment and in addition to the group in which it is based. In completing its exercises, an organization must keep up regard for human nobility, and endeavor towards a general public where the worldwide environment is ensured.
Setting sustainable development policies
The following target is to verbalize the essential values that the endeavor expects its representatives to take after as for maintainable improvement, and to set focuses for working execution. Senior administration is in charge of defining a maintainable improvement arrangement for its association, and for setting up particular destinations. Maintainable improvement implies more than simply ‘the earth’. It has social components too, for example, the mitigation of neediness and distributional value
Designing and executing development plans
It is imperative to draw up an arrangement for the administration framework changes that are required in request to accomplish reasonable improvement destinations. Making an interpretation of reasonable improvement arrangements into operational terms is a noteworthy undertaking that will influence the whole association (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.45). It includes changing the corporate culture and representative dispositions, characterizing obligations and responsibility, and setting up hierarchical structures, data reporting frameworks and operational rehearses.
Developing a supportive corporate structure
To guarantee that the association and its kin give their sponsorship to the manageable improvement strategies, a fitting corporate culture is basic. During the time spent executing practical improvement or ecological administration arrangements, many organizations have encountered a sort of hierarchical reestablishment. The expanded support of workers produces useful thoughts, as well as increments excitement for the program itself (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.44). Most clients and workers appreciate being a piece of an association that is focused on working in a socially mindful way. Executing economical improvement goals will likely oblige directors to change their demeanors. This might be refined simply subsequent to retraining. For instance, a few administrators may feel that their sole duty is to expand the abundance of the venture’s proprietors. Thus, they may experience issues understanding the manageable improvement idea and in tolerating it as a real business objective.
Developing standards and measures of performance
The execution of manageable advancement goals and the readiness of significant reports on execution, require proper method for measuring execution. Administration control, and in addition outside reporting, depends to a limited extent on the accessibility of convenient data about organization operations. This is required keeping in mind the end goal to permit administration to survey execution against outer and inward execution benchmarks, utilizing proper execution measures. Data frameworks will along these lines should be looked into, to empower the vital reports to be given to administration.
The following stride in the process is to create significant reports for inward administration also, partners, plotting the undertaking’s maintainable advancement destinations and looking at execution against them. Chiefs and senior administrators utilize inner reports to gauge execution, make choices and screen the execution of their arrangements and techniques. Shareholders, loan bosses, representatives and clients, and the general population everywhere, utilize outside corporate reports to assess the execution of an enterprise, and to hold the executives and senior officials responsible for accomplishing money related, social and natural destinations (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.39). Controllers and government authorities add to the errand by requiring an always extending level of divulgence, so as to guarantee consistence with their directions.
Enhancing internal monitoring processes
On a continuous premise it will be vital to create systems to help chiefs and senior supervisors guarantee that the feasible improvement strategies are being executed. Execution checking is entrenched as an imperative component of the administration handle. In numerous ranges, it is straightforwardly connected to reporting (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.43). The way to any framework’s viability is whether the administration screens operations and yields on a continuous premise. The monitoring processes may include; re-looking on the reports from the middle managers and secondly implementing auditing programs.
The prime motivation behind incorporating CSR in corporate business is to make the corporate business exercises and in addition the corporate culture both supportable in three ways: financial, social and ecological (Johnston & Bate, 2013 P.45) .Giving careful consideration to all the three measurements, however many organizations believe that corporate social duty is a much outside piece of their business, though most think it to be a unimportant issue for their business as fulfilling their clients/customers is more essential for them. The factors pushing business towards corporate social responsibility are:
- High demand for corporate disclosure from the sides of customers suppliers are stakeholders.
- Inefficiency of government due to sole use of regulation and legislation as the only methods to deliver social objective.
- Change in employees’ behavior to that of seeking employers who best match their own principles.
- Pressure from investors because they are now analyzing performances on the principles based on the ethical concerns.
Business sustainability is a mean to achieving business organization’s mission and vision. It is affected in order to provide a context from which a business organization accomplishes its activities and secondly to erase all the interruptions that may deter business organization from achieving the set goals. All the business sustainability must be accomplished through a universe of framework which is common for all organizations through a number of ways. For instance, the elements must be accomplished by people. Sustainability operates under the principles such as the continuous improvement and continuous thinking. After all, the business sustainability is assessed on basis of performance and applicability.
Bibliographies
Boons, F. and Lüdeke-Freund, F., 2013. Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of- the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, pp.9-19.
Khalili, N.R. and Duecker, S., 2013. Application of multi-criteria decision analysis in design of sustainable environmental management system framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, 47, pp.188-198.
Asif, M., Searcy, C., Zutshi, A. and Fisscher, O.A., 2013. An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 56, pp.7-17.
Johnston, R.E. and Bate, J.D., 2013. The power of strategy innovation: a new way of linking creativity and strategic planning to discover great business opportunities. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Haines, S., 2016. The systems thinking approach to strategic planning and management. CRC Press.
Individual reflection: Development in skills
Communication skills
One of the strategies I always emphasize on in order to improve my communication skill is learning how to listen. I always make sure that I remain as humble as possible in order to plan on what to say next. In addition, listening when one is talking helps to improve my fluency in communication. Again, it enables me to answer the right thing. Whenever I’m communicating, I try as much as possible to clarify from the speaker in order to avoid confusion. One more thing I appreciate from my communication skill is the way I clear my mind and focus on the message being delivered. Secondly, I usually learn about other people’s emotions before engaging in a conversation. This helps me to be sympathetic in other people’s misfortunes and appreciate their positive feedback. I like asking people about their opinions to feel valued and participating in the conversation. In addition, I maintain my eye conduct and use first names where possible. For better communication skills, I use empathy. This is the process of trying to see things from the point-of-view of others. When communicating with others, I try not to be judgmental or biased by preconceived ideas or beliefs – instead I always view situations and responses from speaker’s perspective. Additionally, I always stay in tune with my own emotions to help enable me to understand the emotions of others.
Numeracy skills
Basically, numeracy skills alongside health and literature skills fall on the curriculum excellence. It is one of the skills that I have tried to understand and develop in a number of ways. Above all is developing strong thinking skills. Whenever I get into a concept that looks foreign to me, I try to think and evaluate about that particular vocabulary before confirming the answers given. This of late has helped me to tackle of the difficult mathematics problems in the class. It makes me feel a kind of giant above the other people. In addition, it helps to build a sense of new knowledge because it becomes hard to forget something I have learnt.
ICT skills
There are three ways I have learnt in the last two years that have helped me in developing computer related technicalities. First is reading books. This has greatly helped me to learn the theoretical part of computer. All the hardware components and the internal systems have learnt through books. Secondly, I have improved on ICT skills through learning online tutorials. There a lot of skills that is provided in the online especially about the computer operations. Lastly, I have improved ICT skills through hanging out with geeks. This means engaging in conversations with the ICT specialists. It is a fact that one probably receives technical skills from these specialists.
Solving problems
About solving problems, it’s all about consultations and extra learning that have enable me some of the difficult problems in mathematics and all other fields generally. You need not to shy off while consulting. Secondly, I developed a skill of solving problems by seriously engaging in the revision of the related problems that have been solved before. It gives knowledge on how to settle related problems.
Working with others
Working with others in the learning platform is the key factor to succeed in studies. Personally, I have learnt on how to engage in discussions with friend with smart minds and who are ready to make me prosper in academics. Sincerely, I have learnt a lot of skills on how to appreciate for friends who are usually ready to share their knowledge with me. I too, I like sharing my knowledge with friends especially in the class.
Action plans
Having, acquired skills in communication, ICT and problems solving, I feel not contented at all with the skills that I have acquired in the past. Thus, I have developed some documentary plans for improvement. They include:
- Attending the evening computer classes. Though I have acquired much of theoretical part, I have decided to attend the evening classes in my course to learn more on how to type fast.
- Enrolling in academic writing. In order to improve my skills of solving problems, I will enroll in online academic writing website where I will meet a variety of questions to sharpen my mind.
- Reading newspapers and magazines. I found that one of the reasons my numeracy skills are lagging behind is because of reading one context delivered in class. For this reason I have decided to start reading articles not related to my skills of study.
- Learning in groups. I have learnt that personal studies are not as helping as engaging in groups discussions. I will engage in group discussion in order to enhance my skill of working together.
Academic journals’ reference
http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/jop.0766501
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0269000940070205
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/107870.pdf