Sustainability free essay sample

Globalisation and technological advancements have caused high levels of isibility of companys supply chains and so unsustainable practices could negatively affect them with controversy, consumer pressure, financial loss and poor reputation compared to competing businesses. This has led organisations needing to become more aware of their supply chain management and the social, economic and environmental impacts of their supply network (NZBCSD, 2003). Initially, sustainability would solely be associated with environmental factors comprising of the use of the planets resources and preserving them for future generations. In 1987, the WCED defined it simply as meeting the needs of the resent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainability has changed somewhat in recent times and more specific definition is Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations (USEPA, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on Sustainability or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This makes reference to the theory of the three pillars, also known as the triple bottom line model (figure 1). It is a common method of assessing sustainability nd rather than being independent of each other, the dimensions overlap so to achieve long-term sustainability, all three aspects need to be satisfied simultaneously. These factors are also thought to be order qualifiers, in that for a business to compete with another, it has to achieve a minimum level of performance for economic, social and environmental dimensions (Seuring Muller, 2008). Economic aspects imply building a strong, stable and sustainable economy which provides prosperity and opportunities for all. Social sustainability is ensuring a strong and healthy society whereby the needs of all people are met, promoting ersonal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity for all. Environmental sustainability is respecting the limits of the planets environment and resources, in addition to looking to improve our environment and ensure that the natural resources needed for life are unaffected and remain so for future generations (Elkington, 1997). In this assignment, sustainable supply chains will be evaluated, therefore we will define sustainability in relation to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), which is the management of environmental, social and conomic impacts, and the encouragement of good governance practices, throughout the lifecycles of goods and services (United Nations Global Compact, 2010). A supply network consists ot all the processes and operations within an organisation linked together to eventually provide a product for the consumer. For an organisation to be sustainable, the individual strands in the network, known as supply chains, have to be too, which includes all of the operations and processes within them (Slack, et al. , 2004). The objective of SSCM is to create, protect and grow long-term environmental, ocial and economic value for all stakeholders involved in bringing products and services to market (UN Global Compact, 2010). One of the challenges for a supply chain manager is to develop a strategy that integrates competitive and corporate strategy, supply chain strategy and sustainability at each stage of the supply chain. The areas to consider for supply chain strategy are that social, economic and environmental factors influence business environment factors like customers, competitors, suppliers and investors. These determine the corporate and competitive trategy, which affects the supply chain strategy and its partners, processes and systems in place. These define the volume of SC operations including transport, warehousing and production. Supply chain operations cause direct effects to society, the economy and the environment like energy consumption, emissions and waste. The Ten Principles of Supply Chain Sustainability (UN Global Compact and Business for Social Responsibility 2010) The table above outlines the ten principles given by Global Compact (2010) for developing a sustainable supply chain and what businesses should engage their uppliers around to achieve sustainability. These principles can be built on to further develop the supply chain and the level of sustainability it is reaching. A flexible framework has been created which is now used when creating a sustainable supply chain. It is called the Global Compact Management Model and three principles; governance, transparency and engagement, are essential to each step in it. The first step is to establish a vision and objectives for sustainability within the company and then analyse business priorities and the impact of achieving this. Engagement with uppliers is then needed to determine objectives with them and help improve performance. Partnerships can be created and internal follow-ups will be ongoing so that adjustments can be made if necessary. Figure 3: Adapted from (UN Global Compact, 2010) to show the Global Compact Management Model There are a variety of behavioural characteristics of sustainable supply chains that could be considered crucial for companies to implement if they want to reach certain sustainability objectives. The first being partnership supply relationships. If a company has a poor relationship with either suppliers or ustomers then the business will not survive in the long-term. Short-term measures can be made to prevent instant collapse but without a solid network base the business cannot be sustained. A business needs to establish a strong connection with its suppliers so they can formulate objectives together and then look to continuously improve their supply chain in the way of productivity, distribution, manutacturing and cost efficiency. The business can ensure minimum standards in management practices are met including minimum hiring age, contracts with workers, health and safety conditions and incentives for exceptional performances.

Eye for an Eye essays

Eye for an Eye essays Today there is a big controversy over capital punishment whether or not it works or if its morally right. People who favor the death penalty say that the criminals deserve it and is the only way for justice to be served. This statement is very true. Many murderers and rapists today are not serving most-if even half-of their sentences due to early parole or overcrowded prisons. If a murderer is sentenced to life imprisonment, not only does it cost the tax payers money to support them but often their life in jail is often better than that which some citizens live everyday. As of today there are currently thirty- seven states that have the death penalty. A majority of the other states, mostly in the Midwest, have abolished it. At the end of 1992 State and Federal prisons reached a record high of 883,593 prisoners. This record meant that approximately 1143 prison bed spaces are needed per week due to overcrowding. To put this in an economic prospective, on the average each prisoner costs $22000 per year, and the cost of new construction averages $54000 per bed. These 883,593 prisoners are costing the American tax payers approximately 19.4 billion plus another 61.7 million for the construction of the 1143 spaces needed. The average time a death row prisoner has to spend in jail until the death sentence is carried out is about nine years six months. Economically, its cheaper to keep them in prison for those nine years and execute them, rather than let them spend their life in jail taking up space and tax money. Those who argue that its more expensive to execute the prisoner dont look at the overall picture. In 1992 of the 2575 prisoners sentenced to death, 1 out of 11 had a prior conviction of homicide. This means additional people had to die before these murderers were sentenced to death. What kind of justice is that? If these murderers were sentenced to death the first time convicted, innocent liv ...

Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Change - Essay Example This paper will discuss the significance of the training and development concepts and terms of an intervention applied as a result of the organizational change. It elaborates upon the importance of the concept along with an overview regarding the need of training and development in the organziation. Moreover, the application stages and outcomes of the entire process will also be provided. Training and Development The concept of training and development (T&D) is an essential element in every organziation irrespective of its nature or scale of service provision. This concept entails three major functions: training, education, and development (London, 1989, p. 121). Training: The training activity is centered upon and evaluated against the job which is held by an individual at present. Development: This activity usually focuses upon the activities that the organization employing the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost impossible to eva luate. An ideal form of training is connected to the business performance and goals directly. Generally, it is a part of the company-wide objectives and focuses mainly on setting the tangible objectives and standards for the employees and workers within an organization. Moreover, it makes up a significant part of the Company's policy (Jacobs & Jones, 1995, p. 56). Training and development are the important components in an organziation. They are used for improving the performance of the individual, and this is ultimately mirrored in the increase in production and improvement of quality at the lowest cost, with less effort, and in the shortest time. The training and development methods keep the individuals updated with technological and organizational developments. Application Stages The application stages of the training and development process implemented as an intervention to change in the organizations is as follows: Need Assessment Needs assessment is a process to identify and m eet the needs, or "gaps" between current conditions and conditions targeted. It is often used to improve the individuals or education and training programs, organizations, or communities. Thus, every officer in charge of the work needs to formulate and implement a continuous training which makes the employees fit and functional, especially if any negative indicators regarding the change acceptance or performance and productivity decline have arose in the workplace (Noe, 1999, p. 89). Design and Delivery The training and development program will be designed and delivered in an expert manner in order to ensure the best results. The more these principles are used in learning, the more likely that the training is effective. These are the principles of participation, repetition, relevance, transfer, feedback. The training programs can prove to be the best intervention strategies for the employees. They not only equip them with the ability to cope up with the organizational changes, but a lso make them learn various new things regarding their jobs and the organziation. Teambuilding The teams are groups created within the organizational structure to achieve a goal or a specific task requiring coordination and interaction and integration between team members. Team members are considered responsible for achieving these goals, as empowerment for the team in decision making, and the team in the end is a