Sustainable Management Futures - Essay Example

? Sustainable Management Futures Scenario Economic Impact of Carbon Emissions Carbon emissions are the main causesof the greenhouse effect, a condition in which gases in the atmosphere absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range (Senge, 2010). The carbon emissions emanate from the burning of gas, coal and oil. Naturally, when this process occurs, plants absorb the carbon dioxide emitted from the process. However, when it is done in large scale, the plants cannot absorb the carbon dioxide since it is being produced at a much faster rate than the absorption rate. The gases are trapped in the lower parts of the atmosphere thereby causing a blanket that traps the auto-radiated heat of the sun thereby causing the condition many call the global warming. The effects of global warming include a rise in global temperatures, rise in sea levels, and changes in climatic patterns (Senge, 2010). Others are heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall in some regions, acidification of oceans and other effects related to shifting temperatures. Various studies have been conducted and some economists have been able to quantify the effects in monetary terms even though the results are disputable (Senge, 2010). Economic effects of Global Warming Among the various ways designed to calculate the effect of global warming is the effect of its products i.e. floods, rising sea levels etc. The first major effect is its effect on property and infrastructure. This is caused by factors such as floods, rising sea levels and storms (Senge, 2010, p. 16). These factors destroy roads, bridges, runways and other forms of property and infrastructure. The property destroyed may have cost substantial sums of money to set up therefore destroying it causes a loss to the investors who may be either individuals, companies or the government. The subsequent repairs to be done after the effects may also cost substantial amounts of resources. In the absence of the effects of global warming, the repairing costs may not have been incurred. The second economic effect is its effect on productivity. For instance, heavy rainfall may disrupt the daily activities of many people that generate money. They also disrupt planting of crops and may even destroy crops. This means that harvest may be affected in the process. In some areas, traffic snarl-ups are experienced in addition to power outages. These factors are important in economic development therefore disrupting them affects the economic adversely. Moreover, some people are affected by health conditions such as pneumonia that are caused by adverse climatic conditions. These diseases reduce the productivity of the people. The third type of costs incurred are coping costs. Coping costs arise from the measures that are implemented to curb some of the effects of global warming. Even though the long-term benefits may outweigh the initial cost, accounting may show significant costs in setting up the various policies. For instance, the government may be forced to strengthen infrastructure such as bridges and seawalls to curb the damage caused by floods and riding water levels. This requires heavy investments on the part of the government to make the improvements. The most expensive costs however remain the lives lost in the various disasters that occur. Medical bills are also incurred to treat people who are affected by the various catastrophes. From the above costs, it is evident that global warming is an issue that should be addressed keenly. The implementation of measures to curb the effects of global warming calls for the involvement of all stakeholders. Collective Measures to create a Solution The economic effects of climate change can be reduced if all stakeholders unite and merge resources to implement measures that may save this planet. The overall objective will be to reduce carbon emissions to safer levels (Senge, 2010, p.34). These may involve the participation of everyone from individual homes, businesses to governments. One of the measures is to forego fossil fuels and energy. This can be done by encouraging reduction in the use of coal, oil and natural gas. This may be impossible to some extent since all economies rely on fossil products to drive the economy. Substitutes that currently exist include plastics derived from plant products, biodiesel, and other forms of natural energy such as wind. Nuclear energy can also be used as a substitute but it emits radioactive emissions. Furthermore, it is an expensive option to set it up and maintain it thereby making most countries not being able to adopt it. Another option is for more companies to specialize in capturing and storing of carbon dioxide. This will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that gets to the upper atmosphere. Buildings around the world contribute to approximately one third of the total emissions in the world. This can be reduced if the owners invest in temperature regulating infrastructure for the buildings such as installing thicker insulation (Senge, 2010). Power transmission lines should also be improved even as the demand for power increases globally. The construction of roads boosts the economy since it facilitates movement of people and goods. However, the process emits substantial amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The production of cement especially emits substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. Countries and companies should emphasize on the use of alternative fuels during the production of cement. According to statistics, transport is the second largest source of greenhouse gasses. Transport is vital in everyday’s life especially for moving goods and people going to work daily. However, the system should be improved to reduce the level of emissions. Among the measures that can be implemented include; some people to move closer to their working areas, use of bicycles, walking, and use of mass transit. Others modern methods that can be embraced include working from home, use of hybrid cars that use batteries and telecommuting. Another measure that may be embraced is for people to consume less. If people reduce their rate of consumption, there may be sufficient gains in the war on carbon emissions. Reducing consumption will reduce the amount of fuel that is used to produce the commodities to be consumed. Furthermore, the consumers should embrace environmental saving options when doing purchases such as using recycled products. Scenario 2: Whist blowing in Organizations A whistle blower is an individual who informs the relevant authorities or the public about any wrongdoing in an organization. The resultant process is called whist blowing. There are divided views regarding the whistle blowers, some claim that they are noble characters (they make personal and professional sacrifices to reveal wrongdoings in an organization) while some people feel that they are just disgruntled employees. Even though it is perceived well by the majority in public particularly the press, whistle blowing may disrupt activities at the workplace due to infuriated parties especially the management (Fisher, Lovell & Valero-Silva 2012, p.13). Whistle blowing is significant to protection of organizations resources regardless of the view some may hold to the people who do it (whistle blowers). A whistle blower may give out vital information regarding someone’s safety risks, poor quality of products, corruption, noncompliance to regulatory measures and the organization’s unorthodox ways of covering wrongdoings. It is due to the sensitivity of these issues that a survey in the United States showed that approximately 62% of the whistle blowers were fired, 18% were transferred or harassed, and 11% had a salary cut (Fisher, Lovell & Valero-Silva 2012, p. 38). This shows the sacrifice one must be willing to undertake professionally and personally. Various conditions must be present for the whistle blowing process to be effective. First, the employee must be aware of the right channel to use in addressing wrongdoings in the organization. The second condition is the existence of a wrongdoing and someone knows the details. The party with the information should first use the appropriate channel to express the grievances. The fourth condition is the individual’s confidence that he/she will not suffer in any way from giving out the information. The confidence at this level determines if the employee will use internal channels or will go public directly due to the fear of the management’s retaliation. Whistle blowing should be treated as a policy issue in organization due to the roles it plays. The policies to be formed by organizations should outline the standard guidelines that should be followed in case of a whistle blowing occurrence. Some of the guidelines may include enabling employees who have information on any form of wrongdoing to report the matter to a selected member inside the organization. This could be followed some people may be selected out of the management or the board to handle such cases such as the organization’s legal representative. In addition, the firm needs to guarantee that if the employee discloses the information to the relevant authorities, then no harm will be done to the employee. Lastly, the organization should guarantee a transparent investigative process in view of the disclosed information. Below are some of the bases that may aid in making whistle blowing a policy issue (Fisher, Lovell & Valero-Silva 2012, p.41). Legal Requirement Emerging trends in the legal framework of most countries are treating the issue of whistle blowing with due diligence. For instance, in the United States, there is emphasis to whistle blowing policies to be treated as critical sections of the organizations code of ethics. Furthermore, many countries are treating whistle blowers with the due respect they deserve by enacting laws that defend them and encouraging courts to be unbiased when handling whistleblower’s cases. Governments are setting the right precedent on this issue therefore companies should follow suit and enact whistle blowing policies. In such cases where there is sufficient legal backing by the government, companies should set up internal policies to facilitate the process (Fisher, Lovell & Valero-Silva 2012). Practical aspects It is important to agree that organizations do not exist in a ‘perfect world’. A ‘perfect world’ is a scenario whereby there are no wrongdoings in the workplace or in the government. Since there is existence of wrongdoing in the practical world, there is need to set up policies that will handle whistle blowing issues particularly internal disclosure measures. The second practical reason is the increase in the number of whistle blowing activities. The rise is due to increase in unethical behaviors among employees in the public and private sector as seen from the numerous cases reported in newspapers every day. Furthermore, organizations are attached to the stakeholder’s principle. Due to the various individuals the organization is required to please, whistle blowers may be undecided on whom to report such sensitive issues. Presence of internal mechanism will however make the process easier for all parties (Fisher, Lovell and Valero-Silva 2012). Lastly, the perceived or actual retaliation from the management is costly to both the organization and the employee. For an employee to reveal information to an outside source, the internal mechanisms may have been frustrating to that extent. By exposing the activities in the public, the reputation of the company suffers. The employee may then be fired or demoted; the process costs the employee his/her job. Therefore, this shows that retaliation is ineffective and costly (Fisher, Lovell and Valero-Silva 2012). Internal mechanisms are vital since it is of great benefit for a company to address its issues internally. This saves on costs and the reputation of the company do not suffer negatively. For this to work effectively there should be established policies to handle wrongdoings within the company. This therefore necessitates the need for treatment of whistle blowing as a policy issue in organizations. Ethical Requirement Implementing of whistle blowing may help to improve the ethical environment within organizations. This is because employees may have a proper channel, which they can use to express ethical issues. This may improve their confidence in the internal mechanisms thereby avoiding cases where employees have to air the company’s ‘dirty linen in public thereby hurting the company’s reputation in the process (Fisher, Lovell and Valero-Silva 2012). Companies must treat their companies fairly as required by the law. The retaliation discussed above is a form of employee harassment, which should not be practiced by companies. The aggrieved employee may initiate a case against the employee, which may lead to financial loss by the company. To avoid such scenarios it is necessary to design and implement policies that handle wrongdoings within the company. In conclusion, there are three main points that propose for the need to treat whistle blowing as a policy issue in organizations. The first is to prevent cases of retaliation that cost the company and the employee. The second is to prevent employees from going public with sensitive information that may hurt the company’s reputation. Third is to create a better working environment that is free and fair. Scenario 4: Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility involves integration of a corporate self-regulation mechanism in a business model. CSR policies function as in-built, self-regulating mechanisms that monitor a business and ensures that a business complies with provisions of the law, ethical standards and international norms (Fleming & Jones, 2013, p.13). Some companies establish policies that go beyond law compliance and borders on social good. Corporate social responsibility is intended to make a company responsible for its actions and motivate companies to make a positive impact on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, shareholders, and other members of the community who deal with the company directly or indirectly. The term came into existence in the 1960s due to the formation of the term stakeholders. Stakeholders were formed to represent all the people the company had an impact on. Proponents of the model emphasized that corporations made long-term profits by operating with a perspective (Fleming & Jones 2013, p. 28). Critics on the other hand argued that corporate social responsibility was developed to distract businesses from their economic roles and was but a form of window dressing. Elements of Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Philanthropy These are two different concepts even though they are sometimes used in corporate social responsibility models. CSR refers to the concept of firms giving back financially to the society that supports them. Over time, the rich have been handed the obligation to support the poor in the society. This practice was named the ‘charity principle’. It can be argued therefore that the ‘stewardship principle’ goes along with the ‘charity principle’ (Fleming & Jones 2013, p. 48). In the correlation, the business is perceived to be the custodian of society’s resources. This should not however be seen as a reason for companies to increase their performance so that they can improve their impact on the society. According to Fleming and Jones (2013, p. 56), corporate social responsibility is made up of four layers of responsibilities that are economic, legal, ethical, and the philanthropic layers. Fleming and Jones (2013, p. 56) further state that corporate social responsibility includes philanthropic activities that the company has no form of obligation to fulfill. Therefore, it could be argued that social responsibility in form of philanthropic contributions is desirable but in principle, it is less significant than the other forms that form social responsibility. Social Responsibility as a Long-Term Perspective Most of the companies are powerful and they have influence due to their social responsibility contributions. Even though corporate social responsibility may not be measurable financially, it is long- term strategy of most companies to gain economically i.e. it promotes future profitability and social power by transforming the company into a valuable asset (Fleming & Jones 2013, p. 74). For companies to be sustainable, they should not concentrate only on short term goals but they should put more focus on long-term goals. Setting of long-term strategies involves a multitude of goals that are combined to facilitate a company’s survival and prosperity (Fleming & Jones 2013, p.74). Corporate social responsibility therefore contributes to the intangible assets of the company such as the firm’s goodwill. Beyond Legal Compliance Companies are required to go beyond the legal, social and technical requirements to be socially responsible. Legal compliance should not be perceived as being socially responsible. According to Fleming and Jones (2013, p.86), social responsibility should be contained in the activities that exceed the company’s minimum required obligations to stakeholders. Therefore, it would be appropriate to conclude that corporate social responsibility is a moral obligation or normative principle and not a matter of legal compliance (Fleming & Jones, 2013). Accountability to Stakeholders Stakeholders may be defined as “as any group or individual who is affected by or can affect by an organization’s activities” (Fleming & Jones 2013, p. 42). Any business is accountable to different stakeholders who have a claim on the activities that affect them. The claim on the company may be moral or legal. The question of people whom businesses are responsible to is addressed by the stakeholder’s concept. Many researchers have not been able to clearly define the stakeholders claim on the business. However, Fleming and Jones (2013, p.123) came up with four arguments at the epicenter of the stakeholders theory. The first is the business correlation with the stakeholders (they form part of the company), the relationship that the firm has between processes and outcomes that are of interest to both parties, the interests arising from the valuable processes and the stakeholder theory that is based on managerial decisions. Some principals however indicate that for a company to perform well, the management should focus on various stakeholders. Furthermore, the managers have obligations towards the shareholders, which may exceed their responsibility towards shareholders. From a business perspective, it would be argued that; companies have stakeholders who are affected by the company’s activities and they also affect the company, the interaction between the stakeholders and the business have impact on both parties, and the viability of the company’s strategic options are depend significantly on the stakeholders opinions. Therefore, it can be argued that stakeholders affect the running of the company particularly when making strategic decisions. Stakeholder management is another vital concept adopted by managers and it involves allocation of the organizations resources in such a way that takes into consideration the interests of the stakeholders (Fleming and Jones 2013). The stakeholders in this case may be inside or outside the firm. The purpose of stakeholder is to achieve a win - win situation in the war of balancing interests between the management and the other stakeholders. Many organizations factor this as a long-term strategy for sustainability. Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility practices According to Fleming and Jones (2013), statistics indicate that approximately 75% of companies have implemented some form of social responsibility measures. The main motivators are reputation enhancement, gaining competitive advantage, and achieving cost savings. Additionally, most companies adopt social responsibility since it is an emerging trend in most industries and therefore it cannot be ignored. However, many companies have identified the reputation of the company as the most significant driver for adoption of the practice (Fleming & Jones, 2013). Due to various regulations adopted by many companies, there came a need for a form of standardization of the practices. Some of the standards developed by the United Nations Global Compact, which is a UN initiative developed to encourage businesses to implement socially responsible policies that may help the companies in long-term sustainability strategies. The companies are also required by the pact to report the various policies they have implemented during important meetings such as the annual general meeting. The pact is composed of ten principles which are that require that firms support and respect the upholding of international human rights, not to participate in human rights abuses, should eliminate all forms of forced labor and eliminate child labor. In addition, the regulation postulate that firms should encourage freedom of association, abolish all forms of discrimination, support environmental conservation measures and should be responsible to the environment it operates in. Lastly, firms are expected to adopt environmental friendly technologies and eradicate corruption from the working place (UN Global Compact,1999). However, from the above arguments, it is clear that the provisions of the agreement have not changed the companies approach to social responsibility. List of References Fisher, C, Lovell, A & Valero-Silva, N 2012, Business Ethics and Values, Pearson, New Jersey. Fleming, P & Jones, M 2013, The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis and Critique, Sage, New York. Senge, P 2010, The Necessary Revolution, Crown Publishing, New York. ‘ Read More