Role of Activists in Achieving Social and Environmental Sustainability - Coursework Example

Journal Name of student: Student No.: Date: Name of Supervisor: Role of Activists in Achieving Social and Environmental Sustainability The article 'Timberland's CEO on standing up to 65,000 angry activists' by Swartz published in the Harvard Business Review is about how the CEO of Timberland Co.’s responded to a barrage of letters from Green Peace group. The article illustrates two things; the militant stance that activists take on issues in order to attract headlines, and the fact that it is not necessary for activists to be so militant in order to get results. The contentious issue in this case was the depletion of Brazilian rainforests by grazing cows destined ultimately for shoe companies like Timberland and other purveyors of leather and meat. The activists were demanding via a barrage of emails that Timberland pull out of from any supply chains emanating from this source. Instead of trying to deflect their ire or ignore it, the CEO was willing to engage with Greenpeace in order to come to some sort of consensus and agree on a way forward with regard to the rainforests. However, they were unable to connect with anyone at Greenpeace who was able to engage in this process with them. The conclusion that the CEO came to was that the militant stance taken by the activists was a recruitment strategy intended to result in more subscriptions to their organisation; otherwise, they would have tried first to engage with companies in a civilised manner in order to come up with ways of saving the rainforests. The second article, 'Shifting paradigms in corporate environmentalism: From poachers to gamekeepers by Sandhu published in the Business and Society Review takes a different tack. It gives some insight into how business has adapted its role in the struggle to find solutions to environmental issues. They have transformed, according to the article, from poachers of natural resources into gamekeeper of the same. The article looks at what factors and events have led to this shift in paradigm. It begins by examining the current state of the natural environment and then goes on to highlight what role business has played in the contribution to rapid environmental decay. It then goes on to chronicle the happenings that have led businesses to change their attitude toward their responsibility toward the environment. An overview of business reactions to the attendant risks and opportunities of the transformation that occurred in the natural environment follows. Various phase models are highlighted which classify business response to environment followed by a conclusion on the way forward and what challenges await. The two articles give two different views of the same issue. How the environment fares in the face of commerce and what is being done about it. The article on the Greenpeace activists gives a view of activists in which they are still fighting a virtual guerrilla war with big business, not realising that the businesses have undergone a fundamental change and are also concerned with the environmental impact of their operations. This may be because this is how the activists are used to engaging with big business; with them on one side of the fence, and the organisations on the other. Therefore, the activists themselves need to shift paradigms and evolve new ways to deal with any issues that they feel need addressing in an atmosphere of communication and cooperation rather than confrontation. This shift in paradigm is illustrated by the second article in which various phase models illustrate the position of business on environmental issues. Of course the level of engagement differs with different organisations but many organisations can no longer be blinded to the environmental impact of their actions in the face of information on global warming (Maslin, 2007; Houghton, 2004) and impact of the carbon footprint (Sim, 2009) upon the earth. The organisations are realising that their arbitrary usage of natural resources is derogatory to their own well-being and how they use the world’s resources will determine their long-term survival. Indeed once this was understood then it makes business sense to do everything possible to sustain that environment. Unfortunately they have not communicated this change of heart sufficiently to the activists who still assume they are fighting entities that are opposed to everything they stand for. They therefore do not have any mechanisms for engaging with companies as partners in the fight to save the planet, but only as adversaries. Hence they did not have any personnel who were on standby to engage positively with Timberland co., and it took many days to get in touch with somebody willing to converse with them. In this way, the activists are not really helping the cause they claim to propagate but only making a ‘great deal of sound and fury, signifying nothing’. Until they adapt to the change that has occurred on the other side and find new ways of engaging with other entities then their presence is more of a hindrance than a help in the fight to save the environment. Career Planning Early It is important to think about career planning as early as the first year of university. This is because it is a process to find out firstly which path you want to follow and then carrying out the necessary research and activities that will enable you to achieve that goal. These activities and research include: Involvement in university life: this means joining the Students’ Union and other societies and clubs that develop networking, communication, team building and organisational skills that may be useful in any future career as well as enhancing one’s CV and making useful contacts. Work Experience: the university and other organisations offer opportunities to get work experience which increases one’s employability skills, assists in acquisition of insight into the chosen career path and help in the final decision making process. Self-Discovery: going through all this research and activity assists the student to understand themselves in terms of strengths, weaknesses, and skills which would assist them to make the right career choice and plan accordingly. Ways of doing this include participation in Personal Development Planning (Cottrell, 2010) which is a useful method to document, reflect and expand skills and build up a career profile. Research on what careers may be of interest: it pays to plan ahead in order to acquire what knowledge, skills and experience are necessary to achieve one’s goals. This can be done by studying the options provided by the university on what areas your chosen degree might be useful; generation of career ideas through perusing occupations; discussion of one’s plans with a student advisor in order to clarify issues that may need it. Consideration of which modules to take in second year: this is in order to streamline module choices with career interests. Development of extracurricular skills: these include computer skills because every student needs to be literate in this area; and language skills which are useful in a world where one might be called on to work anywhere. It also pads the CV and increases employability. Development of study skills: these skills include taking notes, writing reports, etc which help in attainment of the degree but are also useful in a work environment. Attendance of departmental career development seminars: these are usually facilitated by career advisors within the department. Attendance of career-related events which target undergraduate first years: these would be a good starting point when career planning. Attendance of student and graduate fairs: this is an opportunity to network with alumni, employers and other useful contacts and also to gain knowledge on one’s chosen career path. In carrying out these activities, the student can therefore learn and grow and better prepare themselves for their chosen career path. Beginning in first year enables them to maximise the time they have to spend in the university in ways which are beneficial to them for posterity. They are able to plan their courses and obtain job opportunities or internships that give them the tools and the skills they need to make a successful transition to the workplace. Many students may find that internships and part-time work obtained in this manner may translate to a permanent employment on completion of the degree depending on their degree of diligence, enthusiasm, and aptitude for the job. Other students may find that their chosen path ultimately may not be right for them and having started early enough, can affect the necessary changes to get them to a path that is more suited to their temperament, talents, and inclination. This process saves time, energy and a lot of aggravation for the student involved should they start this process later than the first year. The Relevance of Ethics in Your Future Professional Life Margaret Somerville in her book, The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the human spirit talks about Past virtues for a future world: Holding our humanness on trust’ in chapter 3. It talks about the responsibility which the present generation holds to itself and future generations. This responsibility takes the shape of knowing that whatever decisions we make today with regard to our way of life, and what we permit to exist especially in the techno-science field, will have repercussions for future generations. These repercussions may hinder us and future generations from fully expressing our humanity and the hopes and dreams thereof because of these techno-scientific decisions. It therefore behooves us to be careful as we carry out our work and try to balance scientific curiosity with ethics. This ethics exists in two forms, the ethics of the process that is being regulated and the ethics of the source of the ethical guidelines. This excerpt gives guidelines to the relevance of ethical behaviour for all professions not just those in the techno-scientific field. The repercussions of ethical decisions that we make in our daily lives could reverberate for generations. It is therefore important as a practitioner of any field to be guided by an ethical code based on the idea of the greater good not just for one generation, but for all time. This might be difficult to define or even divine as an individual and requires possession of such virtues as imagination, creativity, integrity, honesty, and others that assist in the ability to see beyond one’s own current needs and desires. In exercising ethics in the workplace therefore, it is important for the individual to understand their own personal motives within the profession, and what that profession entails. When making decisions that have ethical implications, the key is to have a balanced view that does not attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable but accepts what cannot be changed and learns to accommodate it. Also, the exclusion of certain views simply because they do not fit into the personal beliefs of the individual leads to fundamentalism and should be avoided. When tackling ethical dilemmas, it is crucial to have an open mind, and make balanced decisions as free of bias as can be managed. Ethics are therefore relevant in the professional life of any individual because all professions do influence the future of the planet as a whole. When it comes to environmental issues, the decision to recycle rather than waste affects every industry and profession. This means that the purveyors of that profession must feel that the planet is important enough to require sustenance. The decision to look after the planet is an ethical issue, including understanding how whatever we do impacts the surroundings in which we live and ultimately the planet. When planning for one’s future career, what ethics cover that industry and how they apply in every individual case is part of the process of preparing for that career. All these factors are key to providing a relevant backdrop to the success of the individual in any industry. Somerville (2009) tells us that the natural law provides a basis for this and this natural law is not affiliated with any type of thinking, religion, or fundamentalism. It is more a factor of all three and takes all viewpoints into account. It is the anti-fundamentalist law that does not seek to exclude what it does not understand. It can only be accessed by individuals with sufficient maturity and self-assurance to acknowledge that they do not know everything and there are more things in the universe than are found in one philosophy. This is the basis of ethics – acceptance of the known as well as the unknown. References Cottrell, S. (2010). Skills for Success: The Personal Development Planning Handbook. Palgrave MacMillan. Houghton, J.T (2004). Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. 3rd Edition, Cambridge University Press. The Edinburgh building, Cambridge. Maslin, M. (2007). Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. MBI Publishing Company, Jackson Street, St. Paul. Sandhu, S. (2010). 'Shifting paradigms in corporate environmentalism: From poachers to gamekeepers', Business and Society Review, vol. 115, no. 3, pp. 285-310. Sim, S. (2009). The Carbon Footprint Wars: What Might Happen If We Retreat From Globalization? Edinburgh University Press, Somerville, M. (2009). ‘Past virtues for a future world: Holding our humanness on trust’, chapter 3 in The Ethical Imagination: Journeys of the human spirit, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal. Swartz, J. (2010). 'Timberland's CEO on standing up to 65,000 angry activists', Harvard Business Review, vol. 88, no. 9, pp. 39-43. Read More