21832 Managing for Sustainability

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This subject provides a framework for incorporating corporate social responsibility and sustainability into business strategies and practices. It provides an opportunity to systematically understand business-environment and business-society relationships and integrate concepts and techniques from disciplines ranging from operations management to sociology. It provides a unique set of skills for future managers to transform sustainability challenges into business opportunities.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. identify contributing factors to the sustainability problems faced by society and the planet
2. analyse the key elements of human and environmental sustainability which have implications for organisational decision-makers, including corporate managers
3. recognise the cultural and strategic challenges faced by organisations in adopting sustainability strategies and practices in relation to stakeholders
4. evaluate the relationship between environmental and social risk and corporate performance
5. apply key concepts and techniques of voluntary reporting, management and certification systems that could progress organisations towards social and environmental sustainability
6. critically analyse the implications of organisational decision-making for sustainability outcomes
7. critically compare stakeholder theory and practice with other perspectives on the management of organisations.

Contribution to graduate profile

Understanding stakeholder relationships for sustainability is fundamental to the development of lasting, high-performance organisations in the rapidly changing business, ecological and social environment of today. Managing for Sustainability provides participants with the skills, concepts and systematic body of knowledge required to incorporate sustainability issues into organisational strategies and practices. The subject develops students' ability to critically assess their existing frames of reference when it comes to analysing organisational sustainability. It aims to develop the necessary skills in stakeholder dialogue and management for participants to work in an innovative fashion towards making organisations more sustainable, while sustaining the natural environment and society. The subject integrates concepts and techniques from disciplinary areas ranging from operations and human resource management to the sociology of risk, emphasising their practical application in the workplace through the use of case studies, role plays, stakeholder dialogue activities, scenario planning and video analysis.

Teaching and learning strategies

Classes will involve a combination of lectures, video analysis, role-plays, case studies, scenario modelling, stakeholder dialogue and simulation exercises. The UTS web-based communication tool (UTS Online) will be used to share information and encourage interaction between staff and students.

Content

• Concepts of sustainability
• Overview of sustainable organisations
• Globalisation and sustainability
• Values and paradigms: framing risk
• Evaluating and managing risk
• Relationships between human and ecological organisational sustainability
• The quadruple and triple bottom lines
• Efficiency and sustainability
• Strategic sustainability
• Organisational identity and image
• Stakeholder relations, reflexivity and adaptive management
• Critical analysis: stakeholder management theory and practice
• Course overview.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Essay (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Sustainability review, group report and presentation (Group)

Assessment item 3: Exam (Individual)

Required text(s)

Dunphy, D, Griffiths, A and Benn, S, 2007, Organisational Change for Corporate Sustainability, 2nd edition, Routledge, London.

Indicative references

Bendell, J, 2006. Tipping Frames: Lifeworth Review of 2006 (www.lifeworth.net accessed 7 December 2007).

Benn, S. and Dunphy, D (eds.) 2007, Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Challenges for Theory and Practice, Routledge, London and New York.

Buchholz, R.A. 2004, 'The natural environment: Does it count?' Academy of Management Executive, vol. 18 Issue 2, pp 130-133

Carbon Disclosure Project (http://cdproject.net accessed 7 December 2007).

Carroll, A.B. 2004, 'Managing ethically with global stakeholders: A present and future challenge'. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 18, No 2, pp 114-120

Christmann, P. and Taylor, G. 2002, ' Globalization and the environment: Strategies for international voluntary environmental initiatives'. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no 3, pp 121-135

Clarke, T. and Clegg, S. 2000, Changing Paradigms, HarperCollinsBusiness: London.

Crane, C. and Matten, D. 2007, Business Ethics : Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization, Oxford University Press, Oxford; New York.

Doppelt, Bob, 2003. Leading Change Toward Sustainability: A Change-Management Guide for Business, Government and Civil Society, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield UK.

Ehrenfeld, J. 2000. Industrial Ecology. Paradigm Shift or Normal Science? .American Behavioral Scientist, Vol 44 Issue 2, pp 229-245

Figge, F., Hahn, T., Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M, 2002, The Sustainability Scorecard – Linking Sustainability Management to Business Strategy. Business Strategy and the Environment, vol 11, Issue 5 pp 269-284.

Grayson, D. and Hodges, A. 2004, Corporate Social Opportunity: Seven Steps to Make Corporate Social Responsibility Work for Business, Greenleaf Publications, London.

Hart, S.L. and Milstein, M.B. 2003, 'Creating sustainable value', Academy of Management Executive, vol. 17 Issue 2, pp 56-67.

Hawken, P. Lovins,A and Lovins, H. 1999, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Earthscan, London.

Kolk, A. 2000, 'Green Reporting.' Harvard Business Review, vol. 78, no 1, p 15

Porter, Michael E. and Kramer, Mark R. 2006, 'Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility'. Harvard Business Review. vol 84, no. 12, pp 78-92.

Post, J. Preston, L. and Sachs, S. 2002, 'Managing the extended enterprise: the new stakeholder view'. California Management Review, vol 45, pp 6-29.

Rondinelli, D.A. and London, T. 2003, 'How corporations and environmental groups cooperate: Assessing cross-sector alliances and collaborations' Academy of Management Executive, vol. 17, no 1, pp 61-76.

Russo, M., Delmas, M. and Montes-Sancho, M, 2007, 'Deregulation and environmental differentiation in the electric utility industry'. Strategic Management Journal, vol 28, pp 189-209.

Russo, M. and Harrison, N. 2005, 'Internal organization and environmental performance: clues from the electronics industry'. Academy of Management Journal, vol 48, pp 582-593.

Russo, M. 2003, 'The emergence of sustainable industries: building on natural capital', Strategic Management Journal, vol 24, pp 317-331.

Schendler, A. 2002, 'Where's the green in green business?' Harvard Business Review, vol. 80, no 6, p 28.

Sharma, S., Starik, M. and Husted, B. (eds) 2007, Organizations and the sustainability mosaic : crafting long-term ecological and societal solutions, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA.

Sroufe, R and Sarkis, J. (eds) 2007, Strategic sustainability : the state of the art in corporate environmental management systems , Greenleaf, Sheffield.

Waddock, S. and Bodwell, C . 2007, Total Responsibility Management. Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield.

Waddock, S., Bodwell, C. and Graves, S. 2002, 'Responsibility: the new business imperative'. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, no 2, pp 132-148.

Wilkinson, A., Hill, M. and Gollan, P. 2001, 'The sustainability debate', International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol 21, no12, pp 1492–1502.