Importance of Involving Businesses in Social and Environmental Sustainability - Coursework Example

Reflective Journal] 11111111111111 [Name] [Course] [Lecturer] [Date] Importance of involving businesses in social and environmental sustainability Human population which is ever increasing and the uninhibited industrial growth have been said to be the major causes of havoc in the downgrading of the natural environment. This has been a matter that needs urgent addressing with the intergovernmental panel on climate change reporting on global warming shows evidence that climate change is a reality and a threat which is very near. There is an increase in awareness creating in the society about the environmental problems such as climate change, destruction of the ozone layer and planetary resources. The issue which is of great concern now is how much, where and when climate change will happen (Sandhu, 2010). It has been accepted as a fact that businesses have a major role in contributing to climate change and more so they also have much potential in alleviating the same. This therefore stresses that if there is something that can never happen is separating economic development from environmental issues (Stern Report 2006). Economic development do damage the environmental resource around it leading to all the blame regarding environmental degradation laid on business system even when the government, businesses and the society are working hard in hard to achieve sustainable developments. It is clear that, business are the central to a system which is destroying the earth and if this is allowed to continue, then the wilderness, indigenous culture, endangered species or uncontaminated water won’t be able to stand the global market economy. This being the case, the entire business sector has recognized the fact that this view is widely recognized and used by the government and the society at large (Sandhu, 2010).. To counter the blame, the businesses have decided to incorporate the environment in their decision making and thus have taken up the challenge and started responding in environmentally responsive ways (Hart 2007). Baring in mind that business are that involved in degrading the environment, it is important therefore to have them be actively involved in mending the holes. Wide strides made the governments and NGOs in the developing countries have tried hard and successfully instilled it on the businesses that sustainability and environmental issues are of great concern having been destroyed in a big way by many business entities. At the moment, businesses are way ahead for they are using environmentalism as a strategic tool for gaining competitive advantage (Schwartz 2007), delivering themselves from what was referred to them as poachers to gamekeepers. It is not a matter of compliance now but a matter of self regulating ones environmental conduct; i.e. adopting environmental performance standards that exceed the requirements of the government regulations. In as much as the businesses are committed to environmental responsible practices, the environmental regulators impair economic competitiveness. Environmental initiatives and compliance have had its costs shot up and there is no economic payback for this. In the business rearm, it is worth noting that sustainability is a combination of environmental, social and economic performances (Sandhu, 2010).. Business organizations need to be responsible environmentally for it is well know that environmental responsibility cover environmental implications of the company operations, products and facilities; eliminating waste and emissions; maximizing the efficiency and productivity of its resources; maximizing practices that might affect the enjoyment of the country’s resources by generation for example the case of Timberland ltd (Swartz 2010) A vast number of companies have come to run of the importance of taking environmental initiatives which are in the long run beneficial to the society at large for value and competitive advantage also. For example areas including pollution prevention, energy efficiency, environmentally oriented designs, supply chain management and industrial ecology. For instance a cement manufacturing company uses law materials and a lot of energy which results to emissions to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide. This calls for a need to have eco efficiency strategy which is aimed at using fewer resources and producing less waste and pollution per tone. This ensures less pollution to the benefit of the entire firm and the society at large (Swartz 2010). Business organizations are also concerned with the social wellbeing of their consumers. Some firms are now producing goods and services with attributes or characteristics that show the consumer that they are concerned about certain social and environmental issues. When business organizations are compliant to the environmental regulations governing them, they will not be prone to many risks like boycotts. If a company stops trading with environmental sensitive entities stands a chance of gaining more societal approval than the ones which are doing otherwise (Anderson 2005). For instance a wood company Boise Cascade stopped buying wood from environmentally sensitive forests and traded only with the independently certified and under healthy management. Many of these strategies are of monetary beneficial to the firm and therefore when implemented they can be felt by the whole organization and avoid conflict with the society and other stakeholders. Socially responsible business practices are very essential in any operations of an organization due to the fact that, they strengthen corporate accountability, respecting ethical values in the interest of all stakeholders. Responsible business practices respect and preserve natural environment which on the other hand help improve the quality and opportunity of life, people empowerment and invests in the community where the business operates (Anderson 2005). Conclusively, environment is a major constraint on human progress. Through social sustainability, environmental sustainability or maintenance of life support systems is a prerequisite for social sustainability. Businesses need to be actively involved in social and environmental sustainability for cohesive co-existence. Environmental sustainability leads to sustained life support systems especially those that support human life, the source capacities of the global ecosystem which provided raw material for many business organizations like food, water, air, energy, sink capacities/wastes (Anderson 2005). If they are misused or over used they will be impaired in their provision of life support services. Human life depends on other species for food, shelter, fresh air, plant pollination, waste assimilation just to mention but a few. Sustainability is therefore of great importance whenever there are business operations and therefore businesses should be on the front line when it comes to implementing initiatives that support environmental and social sustainability (Anderson 2005). Importance of career planning while at university One important reason why people never reach their goals is that, they never took time in defining them in the first place, or even considered then achievable. However, one thing which is common to all is being economic self sufficiency meaning that one looks forward to attaining a job that will earn enough money to pay the bills, save for retirement and some more for recreation and hobbies. Success however hangs on making informed career plans. It is considered a one time occurrence which is a concern of college students preparing to enter the work force for the first time (Tracey & Robbins (2006). The current economic crisis has raised havoc in the employment sector resulting to the job market being more volatile and jobs are less permanent. This calls for a decision that will make one build a career not top find the right job but on how to keep it and most importantly making continual career choices in response to a very dynamic labor market. Currently, work is now defined by skills and values of an individual and not by occupational title or categories and therefore ample planning concerning a career is of great importance. Goals are good when planning on a career. This is because they are measurable, specific, realistic and timely. In order to have all this in a career plan, information is required and in most cases it is offered in the university by the career planning department (Tracey & Robbins (2006). In the universities there are career development professionals who can help narrow down the occupational choices most suited for an individual. Once a general occupational direction is deliberated on, and then identifying how to get there and the steps to follow is another key issue. Career planning is of great important for it helps an individual for it creates personal sense of purpose and emotional well being that comes with working in the field one loves (Ehrenberg 2004). In the university, career planning department provides students with diverse information which is of great help to the entire student fraternity. This additional information which is directed to career development range from mock interview, resume writing, informational databases for employees, career counseling, assessment testing and job search training ( Mcgrath 2002). The other issue which is of great importance is that, career planning is that students are helped in deciding on a job or a course and most importantly to the broader development of career management skills. For schools, it is all about building career education into the curriculum and linking the same to the students while to the students they get exposure of what the desire to handle in the future (Mcgrath 2002). .Finally when an individual is given chance to be actively involved in the planning process; he/she is driven by needs and desires. This is where the system calls for centered planning which focuses on the interests, aptitudes, knowledge and skills of an individual. In this case, the desired outcome that has meaning to the individual and build a basis for identifying appropriate types of employment possibilities (Ehrenberg 2004). The link between being ethical and being professional In any professional ethics are of great importance. How professional member act ethically has a profound impact on the society and therefore even when there are scandals, ethics stands a challenge to professions. Ethics should always be thought about in the professions’ life not only when it is about preventing major misdemeanors but also even when there is calm in the work place. Expertise puts a professional in a position of power and provides opportunities for exploitation of the one with no such technical expertise for he/she is in a weaker position to reach a judgment on the quality of the service provided and thus he/she may be vulnerable in a number of ways (Cowton 2009). Controlling the opportunities to take advantage of the person who do not have any expertise appears to make professional ethics publicly potentially beneficial. Secondly, self regulation is a promise that the profession makes to the society. It holds itself a higher standard of ethics and conventional morality. Ethics therefore cannot be separated with it, the professions’ for without it there will be high extents of exploitations (Cowton 2009). In the professional body therefore there are principles that govern the practice like respect for the rights and dignity of the person requiring one to treat others will now expertise than theirs like putting into consideration an individual’s cultural values and morals and privacy; competence consisting of the professionals to be update their professional skills and ethical awareness; responsibility, professionals should be trustworthy, reputable and accountable in whatever hey do to their clients or the community(Johnson & Altheide 2002) They have to try all they can to avoid causing harm to the clients. However, every professional is obliged to the safety and the health of the fellow professionals as well as the society at large Codes of ethics that bides the profession body are based on moral facts which require establishing what these facts are and codes based on consensus bind only those who are part of the entire agreement. Professional ethics consists of standards everyone in the profession wants everyone else in the profession to follow even if that means having to follow them too. The code of ethics also applies to others as well as protects one from others. This happens when one is protected from others from making his/her profession less trusted or less lucrative (Johnson & Altheide 2002). Finally, is the issue of integrity which revolves around being accurate about their qualifications, effectiveness of the service they are offering, People should be treated in open and fare manner and action should be taken against harmful or unethical behavior in colleagues or members of the professional body. It is worth noting that ethics are designed to regulate only the professional activities of any profession and not to monitor their activities. Personal behavior is an issue of concern of the society only if it casts doubts on professional’s ability to conduct them-selves in a professional and ethical manner or if it undermines public trust in the profession (Johnson & Altheide 2002). References Anderson, D., R., 2005, Corporate Survival: The critical importance of sustainability risk management, iUniverse, Inc, New York (chapter 3, pp. 88-109). Cowton, C., 2009, 'Accounting and the ethics challenge: re-membering the professional body', Accounting and Business Research, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 177-189. Ehrenberg, R., 2004, Econometric studies of higher education. Journal of Econometrics, 121, 19–37. Johnson, J., M., Altheide, D., L., 2002, Reflections on professional ethics. In W. C. Van Den Hoonaard (Ed.), Walking the tightrope: Ethical issues for qualitative researchers (pp. 59–69). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Hart, S. L., 2007, Capitalism at the Crossroads: Alligning Business, Earth and Humanity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing. Stern Report., 2006, “Stern review: The economics of climate change,” http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_ economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfm, accessed March 6, 2007. Schwartz, P., 2007, “Investing in global security,” Harvard Business Review 85(10): 26–28. Swartz, J., 2010, 'Timberland's CEO on standing up to 65,000 angry activists', Harvard Business Review, vol. 88, no. 9, pp. 39-43. Sandhu, S., 2010, 'Shifting pradigms in corporate environmentalism: From poachers to gamekeepers', Business and Society Review, vol. 115, no. 3, pp. 285-310. Tracey, T., Robbins, S., B., 2006, The interest-major congruence and college success relation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 64–89. McGrath, Gary L., (2002). The emergence of career services and their important role in working with employers. New Directions for Student Services, 100 69-85. Read More