Sustainability For Environmental Development

Discussion

Discuss about the Sustainability for Environmental Development.

System represents a set of parts correlated with each other for working towards common aims and objectives. System thinking emphasizes on individual parts and interrelationship among those parts to provide solution to any problem (Nguyen and Bosch 2013). The essay will also discuss the applicability of system thinking in dealing with women participation in senior executive roles in Australia. Increasing participation of women in senior executive position is a current phenomenon that has affected the business process in entire Asia and Europe. Senior executives of any business play significant role in ensuring effective fulfilment of business aims and objectives. Business Council of Australia has aimed to achieve sustainable growth in the number of women working in the senior executive positions in Australia. It targets to fill 50% of the senior executive position by women within 2023.As there is no definite solution to the problems associated with the increasing participation of women in senior executive position, it is considered as the wicked problem. The essay will look to critically discuss the argument whether system thinking can provide developing solutions to the sustainability challenges. It will also look highlight the differences between system thinking approach and traditional thinking approach to discuss the sustainability changes in an appropriate manner. 

In the present business context, organizations are looking to include diversified and unique strategies for achieving sustainable growth in the market. It has influenced cultural evaluation within the workplace (Pappas 2012). As a result, it has increased the acceptance of women in the senior executive positions. On the other hand, inclusion women in the senior position have also allowed the organizations to utilize diverse ideas for accomplishing all the business strategies. It has also helped all the employees regardless of gender to consider themselves as an important part of the organization. However, utilization of women for the senior executive position can create different types of initial challenges towards the roles and responsibilities of the organization. Lozano et al. (2013) have mentioned that system thinking approach is extremely useful in evaluating a particular problem from macroscopic aspect. As a result, it does not induce organizations to deviate from its ultimate sustainable growth aspect due to short-term obligations. In the globalization era, complexities of the businesses have increased in a significant manner. Introduction of system thinking approach can allow organizations to deal with all these complexities in an appropriate manner. System thinking can also help to understand the kind of impact small changes in one particular element can create on major elements. For that reason, it can provide specific way for the organizations in achieving sustainability in the market.

Three Pillar Model of Sustainability

As per the article by Nguyen et al. (2012) organizations need to focus on evaluating three pillar model of sustainability so that it can handle all the future challenges in an appropriate manner. Three pillar model of sustainability has highlighted three factors including society, environment and economy that can have major impact on the business perspectives. In case of fulfilment of society, organizations look to focus on developing effective organizational culture for healthy work environment. It has been assessed that managing diversity within the workplace can have major impact on the business sustainability perspective. In fact, present competitive business environment has induced organizations to look for the best available talents regardless of caste, gender, religion or other factors. Inclusion of female employee within the organization can actually provide new dimension the way businesses conducted within the domestic structure. It also induces organizations to judge performances of all the employees in an effective manner (Turcu 2013). As a result, it has provided female employees the opportunities to grow up in their professional career. Moreover, many studies have mentioned that inclusion of female with the board of directors can help organizations to deal with various types of challenges in an effective manner. For that reason, all the prime organizations like Nestle, Wal-Mart, Tesco and other organizations always have focused on providing equal opportunities to all the female employees to hold the senior positions of the organization. Conversely, traditional thinking approach has primarily focused on evaluating the initial challenges that inclusion of women in the senior executive position would create on the business processes (Wiek and Iwaniec 2014). It would not look analyze all the associated factors with the sustainability changes aspect. Therefore, it would not allow organizations to understand the significance of including women in the senior level position. Therefore, it would instigate organizations to handle future challenges in a continues manner.

On the other hand, environmental pillar of sustainability focuses on the effective utilization of strategies that can have major impact on the business development perspective. In the present business context, organizations look to utilize different types of innovative approach strategies for enhancing the revenue level in a major way (Tàbara and Chabay 2013). Now, inclusion of female within the board or senior executive position will allow the organizations to deal with the challenges of maintaining diversity in an effective way. Moreover, it has been assessed that business are becoming more open in including female workforce for fulfilling all the needs and wants of the operational process. In present time, 60% of the Commonwealth Public Service employees are women. On the other hand, 62% of the law graduates are women that contribute majorly to the overall business procedures (Markard, Raven and Truffer 2012). Thus, it describes the fact that female employees are also contributes in a huge manner to the overall economic condition of the organization. Still, many organizations have faced challenges in providing opportunity to the female workforce in different senior positions. Specifically, it has hampered the overall effectiveness of the operational process in short-run. Thus, it eventually affected the overall business level of the organization. However, traditional thinking approach will induce organizations to provide more importance to the male employee for the senior positions for avoiding any challenges in the business process. Traditional thinking approach will encourage organizations to continue focusing on identifying best suited male employees for the senior executive positions to achieve continues growth in the market. However, it will not take into account the increasing knowledge, skills and capabilities of the female employees working in different organizations (Loorbach and Wijsman 2013). For that reason, if organizations not provide any career enhancement perspective to the female employees, it will fail to encourage them to give their best at the workplace. In fact, it will induce all the female employees to look for better alternative options that can create major impact on maintaining the operational effectiveness.

Inclusion of Women in Senior Executive Positions

Many people perceive women do not have the necessary skills to move organization forward. Specifically, they perceived that leadership requires specific skills and attributes for encouraging all the team members to put in their best effort for the fulfilment of organizational goals and objectives that majority of the women does not possess. However, statistics highlight complete different outcome for including women in the senior executive position. For that reason, it has become inevitable for all the businesses to position women in the leading positions of the organizations. In fact, it has been regarded as the best way to move forward in handling all the future challenges. Three pillar model has also highlighted the significance of maintaining environmental condition in achieving success in the market (Wiek et al. 2012). For that reason, organizations are looking to focus towards different alternative resources for fulfilling the requirements of the operational process. Still, it is regarded as one of the wicked problem for the organization in achieving success for the long period of time.

Midgley and Ochoa-Arias (2012) have highlighted iceberg model that can also have major impact on the sustainability challenges aspect. The iceberg model has highlighted different factors including social roles, self-image, traits and motives that can allow organizations to move towards handling sustainable changes in an effective manner. Firstly, social role of this model focuses on the perspective of the society towards the sustainability changes. It has been assessed that people from different community perceives differently towards a certain sustainability changes (Gond et al. 2012). For instance, at the earlier stage of previous century, women are not allowed to work outside of house. However, with the increasing acceptance of women at the working place, the work culture of the organizations has evolved significantly. It has provided enough opportunity to the female employee working in different organizations to acquire senior executive positions (Hinrichs 2014). Now, traditional thinking would not able to understand the exact impact it would made on the operational process, as it would only consider micro factors in short-run. However, systems thinking would allow the organizations to understand the exact social factors that can create challenges in fulfilling all the business processes. Therefore, it would help organizations to focus on developing precautionary actions in handling complex situations effectively. As a result, it would create lesser difficulties for the organizations in moving towards sustainable changes perspective.

Self-image is another key attribute of the iceberg model that can have major impact on the sustainability challenges aspect. It has been assessed that self-image induces people to develop positive or negative attitude towards sustainability changes of the organizations. Now, inclusion of women in the senior executive position is likely to create mix impact on the entire workforce of the organizations initially (Fiksel 2012). For that reason, it is essential that organizations develop specific counter strategies to create long-term positive impact on the business. On the other hand, traits of iceberg model focuses on cognitive, enduring physical and other characteristics driven factor that determines the overall behavioural pattern of workplace. In present situation, several organizations have achieved immense success through the utilization of women in the senior executive position. Therefore, it has created powerful influences in developing healthy work environment in a major way.

Negative Perceptions about Women in Senior Executive Positions

Now, system thinking provides the opportunity for the organization to identify all the prime factors that can be affected by the inclusion of women employee in senior executive position. As a result, it would help to assess the interrelation among all the factors that can eventually hamper the growth rate of the organization. For instance, if women employees are not provided with enough career development opportunities in the organizational structure, they would not likely to provide the best effort at the workplace. As a result, it will eventually increase the cost and time required for the organizations in fulfilling all the activities associated with the operational procedure (Sterman 2012). Now, increasing cost and time of the operational process will create direct affect the overall revenue of the organization in a major way. On the other hand, systematic thinking approach would also help to identify the factors that will create positive impact on the business process. For instance, inclusion of women in the senior executive position would allow organization to maintain healthy work environment. Therefore, it would induce all the employees to give their best for the fulfilment of business aims and objectives. It would also help organizations to establish strong brand image in the global market. Therefore, it would help organizations to achieve sustainable growth in the market (Frantzeskaki, Loorbach and Meadowcroft 2012). For that reason, it can be mentioned that it is important to involve system thinking approach in the utilization of women in the senior executive position. The inclusion of system thinking would enable organizations to understand the complex sustainability challenges in an appropriate manner.

Conclusion:

On the basis of above discussion it can be mentioned that effective utilization of system thinking is necessary in dealing with various type of sustainability challenges. Utilization of traditional method might provide a temporary solution to the challenges but in order to create maximum positive impact on the long-run business aspect organizations would have to utilize system thinking approach. For that reason, top management of all the organizations need to provide more time on applying system thinking approach in dealing with the sustainability challenges like inclusion of women in the senior executive position. It would allow organizations to remain one step ahead of all its competitors in handling various type of future challenges associated with the business process.

References:

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Frantzeskaki, N., Loorbach, D. and Meadowcroft, J., 2012. Governing societal transitions to sustainability. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 15(1-2), pp.19-36.

Gond, J.P., Grubnic, S., Herzig, C. and Moon, J., 2012. Configuring management control systems: Theorizing the integration of strategy and sustainability. Management Accounting Research, 23(3), pp.205-223.

Hinrichs, C.C., 2014. Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?. Agriculture and human values, 31(1), pp.143-155.

Loorbach, D. and Wijsman, K., 2013. Business transition management: exploring a new role for business in sustainability transitions. Journal of cleaner production, 45, pp.20-28.

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Midgley, G. and Ochoa-Arias, A. eds., 2012. Community operational research: OR and systems thinking for community development. Springer Science & Business Media.

Nguyen, N.C. and Bosch, O.J., 2013. A systems thinking approach to identify leverage points for sustainability: a case study in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(2), pp.104-115.

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Pappas, E., 2012. A new systems approach to sustainability: University responsibility for teaching sustainability in contexts. Journal of Sustainability Education, 3(1), pp.3-18.

Sterman, J.D., 2012. Sustaining sustainability: creating a systems science in a fragmented academy and polarized world. In Sustainability science (pp. 21-58). Springer New York.

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