Business Management Assignment: Scenarios Based On Business, Society & The Planet

Question

Task:
Business Management Assignment Part A – Resource Summary
This task requires you to summarise “How we can make the world a better place” by 2030 by Michael Green.

Part B – Short Answer Questions
You are required to provide written responses to 3 (three) of the 4 (four) questions below.

Question 1 –
Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn (2007) developed a 6 Phase Model to describe the stages a business will progress through in its transformation to becoming a sustainable organisation. One of the phases identified by the authors is the Strategic Proactivity phase.

1. Describe the sustainability objectives and indicators typical of businesses in the Strategic Proactivity phase.
2. Describe the possible strategic opportunities that could be of interest to a manufacturer of water pumps (used for agricultural and other industrial functions), that wished to proactively position itself as an innovative company developing sustainable products.

Question 2 –
In 1999, Lovins, Lovins & Hawken introduced the concept of ‘Natural Capitalism’, suggesting business needed to make four major shifts to move to better satisfy their customers' needs, increase profits and help solve environmental problems. One of the principles identified was the need to Reinvest in Natural Capital.

1. Describe this principle and how can its application contribute to a more sustainable way of business operation?
2. Describe in detail two examples of actions businesses can take to Reinvest in Natural Capital.

Question 3 –
One of the ‘fronts’ on Interface Carpet’s mission to climb Mt Sustainability was ‘sensitising stakeholders’.

1. What was meant by ‘sensitising stakeholders’ and why was this an important part of Interface’s mission?
2. Who were Interface’s stakeholders and how could they have been potentially impacted by the company’s commitment to producing sustainable floor coverings?

Question 4 –
The GAPFRAME provides a useful guide to the performance of countries from around the world, in terms of their progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It can highlight areas of strong (or safe) performance, as well as identifying ‘the gaps’ for countries.

1. In what ways could the GAPFRAME tool be used by a social enterprise such as Thankyou to identify business opportunities?
2. Identify at least two countries that present Thankyou with opportunities for business expansion, and two countries with ‘gaps’ that can be helped through Thankyou’s socially beneficial activities. Give reasons for your selections.

Part C – Giving Voice to Values – 35 marks
This task requires you to read the scenario ‘A Billing Bind’, from Babson College, and apply the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) framework to respond to the ethical dilemma presented. To demonstrate this application, you need to respond to all of the following questions relating to the scenario.

Question C1 –
Who are the key stakeholders impacted by the ethically questionable behaviour/practice outlined in this scenario and what is at stake for these key parties?

Question C2 -
What are the reasons and rationalisations that may be used by those trying to justify the ethically questionable behaviour and/or business practice that is causing the main character’s ethical dilemma?

Question C3 -
What are the most powerful & persuasive responses (i.e. levers) the main character could use to respond to these reasons/ rationalisations? To whom should the argument be made? When? In what context? How can they be applied to enable the main character to act on his/her values, in a way that maximises the positive impact and minimises negative outcomes for all stakeholders?

Question C4 -
Develop a script that applies the GVV framework to this scenario. This script should begin at the point where the scenario ended. This must include dialogue of conversations with one or more key stakeholders in whom the main character is able to give voice to her/his values, by using the most appropriate levers to respond to the most likely reasons and rationalisations, to achieve a more ethical outcome for all stakeholders.

Answer

Part A
For this business management assignment, the resource title chosen is ‘How can we make the world a better place by 2030’, referring to the speaker Michael Green. Michael Boris Green was born on 22 May 1946, and he is a British physicist and a forerunner of String theory, a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, and has received many prestigious awards as well. Apart from this, he is also the CEO of the Social Progress Imperative, and in the year 2015, the plan about making the world a better place was proposed by Michel. With the non-profit partnership with the UN, report cards of people were created to track the national progress of the countries, with the expectations to keep the global leaders accountable for the achievement of the goal by 2030. The key point of the presentation raised the question of whether there can be an end to poverty and hunger, halt climate change, and gender equality can be achieved within the next 15 years. Thus, following the new framework for the selected purpose including 17 global goals in UN, which was further broken into 169 targets, considering the basic medical and nutritional care, pure water, and education facilities, personal safety, giving every nation a score within the scale starting from 0-100 (Garfield, 2015). The presentation of sustainable development has made a huge impact on business management as well. To promote the agenda, while opting for a benefit as well, the business management has to eloquent a lucid purpose concerning SGDs, and apply it while shaping the organization activities and culture, values, and strategy. It has a positive impact on several aspects of business, such as talent, consumers, partners, regulators, and investors, as proving the products and services, under the purpose of SDG will attract more customers, partners, and investors to work with.

Part B
Answer 1.

1. Strategic proactivity phase is one of the significant phase models, proposed by Griffiths and Benn, to measure the stages of progress in business, becoming a sustainable organization. This phase articulates the change in the business case and organization commitment towards the change on-going process. The main objective and indicators of typical business in the strategic proactivity phase are to track the strategic prospects in sustainability and to become a market leader with the implementation of the premeditated potential of sustainability. During this phase, the organization should strongly commit to sustainability, while re-branding and building extensive support from the shareholder (synergistics.com, 2021). It emphasizes the creative devastations of the design of the existing product, business models, and rebuild the firm, advance competition by primary breakthrough. It maximizes the engagement of stakeholders and employees to source pioneering ideas while transforming the existing paradigm of business into social and environmental ideas, with innovative models of stakeholder ascendency, adding more value to the firm. Thus, it maximizes the market share, and revenue of the firm, along with higher attraction, and retention rates of customers, skilled professionals, and executives.
2. One of the possible strategic opportunities within the interest of manufacturing water pumps, is the development of solar water pumping for sustainable water supply. Since most of the pumps are generated by diesel or other oils, which require costly servicing and purchasing, at the same time, the emission of carbon during the process pollutes the environment as well. Therefore, the development of the innovative solar water pump system will not only save the extra expenses, but it is also eco-friendly (World Bank, 2021). Thus, it will not only satisfy the need of the customer, but because of its sustainable features, and functionalities, but it will also proactively position the firm as an innovative firm developing sustainable products.

Answer 2

1. Reinvest is one of the significant principles of Natural capitalism, which focuses on the planet reversal, such as extensive devastation of the ecosystem through reinvesting profits, achieved by waste elimination, in natural capital restoration. If natural capital is the most significant, valued, and essential form of capital, then the astute society will reinstate it where tainted, endure it where healthy, and increase it anywhere conceivable, to create the life of wealth and sustain. This mainly occurs in forestry, fishing, and agriculture, where the success is dependent on the healthiness of the natural ecosystem, but now it has started to widespread in different industries as the prime inputs to industrial derive to be grown (Lovins, 2021). Hence, its application can contribute to a more sustainable way of business operation because it exerts pressure on business for the restoration of sustain, expanding natural capital, which is increasing as the expansion of human needs, rise in the cost of ecosystem waning, and the rise of customer awareness towards environment, and all these will generate business opportunities.
2. The two examples are as follows:
   The company Dow can be taken as a first example because to encounter measured wastewater eminence directives, the company creates a wetland with $1 million, rather than building a wastewater treatment plant. The wetland filters the water naturally, with significantly minimum cost for construction and operation. Since then, the company has delivered $283 million, in the saving of net current value, and more to come in the future (Waage, 2021).

   The second example cited here is of Apple company, which, for the use, and production of corporate papers and cardboard associated with impact on forestland. Hence, the company has invested 36,000 acres of forestland, to make, as well as save the sustainably accomplished forest which produces fiber for packing and paper production, and to have zero impact on the forest for its use.

Answer 3

1. Sensitising stakeholders was one of the fronts, on Interface Carpet's mission to climb sustainability. Sensitizing stakeholders was to equip everyone within the network of the interface, along with the knowledge about sustainability and the other 7 fronts, with the opportunities to promote the schema. Concerning Interface, it focuses to redirect the industrial practice, including sustainability, as a major factor, without losing the goal of the business. As a part of Mission Zero, it was designed to remove any adverse effect on the interface showing the possibilities of creating a better world (Thenaturalstep.de, 2021). Hence, sensitizing stakeholders was one of the most significant parts of the Interface mission, because, to imply the idea and methodology of sustainability, it is important to aware of the stakeholder about the benefits of sustainability, which was done by this front. This front helps to promote the agenda, offering new tools and opportunities to the stakeholders, binding them within the network of Interface, and hence it played a vital role in interface mission.
2. The primary stakeholders of Interface are such as investors, employees, customers, and suppliers. The company interface was founded by Ray C. Anderson, which has now become one of the most renowned brands in the world, with the largest production of modular floor covering. Considering the limitations of natural resources, and their misuse, Ray C. Anderson decided not to ignore these growing issues, and hence opted for the production of sustainable products, saving the environment, at the same time making a good profit. Hence, the stakeholders were potentially impacted by the commitment of the company, as the products to be produces were based on sustainability, conserving the ecosystem. Hence, this commitment benefits the company, attracting a large number of customers, approaching sustainable products.

Answer 4

1. Gap frame is a framework, designed for the advanced implications of the sustainable development goals, highlighting the gap among the current states of the world, and an expected future state, with a focus on the identification of priority problems, that are required to be solved urgently, on the level of national, global, and regional areas, while progressing towards SGDs, ultimately reaching the safe place. Therefore, the Gap frame tool can be used by a social enterprise such as Thankyou, to identify business opportunities. Since the enterprise Thankyou uses all its business profits in the support of global community welfare projects, to end poverty, the company can make significant advantage of the Gap frame tool (deakin.edu, 2021). As the Gap frame provides the data analysis, and information about the states, that are in urgent requirement to solve the issues, the company may take the opportunity to use the provided data, and provide the needful. Hence, with such an aim to help and erase poverty, the company can successfully attract a large number of customers, both for the product sale, and help, and business expansion.
2. The two countries, that present Thank you with business opportunity expansion is Sweden, and Denmark, because of their exceptional performance in terms of both social and economic issues. According to the SDGs framework, these two countries have been on the top of the list, not only in terms of social reform but also in rapid growth in terms of the country's economy (Activesustainability.com, 2021). And the two countries, with gaps, that can be helped through Thankyou's socially beneficial activities are Zambia, and Uganda, and the reason is because of their poor progress in terms all the aspects of the 17 aspects of SGDs, and hence these countries can be helped through the socially beneficial activities of Thankyou.

Part C
Answer c1
There are a few ethical considerations that should be followed while conducting accounting procedures. According to the theory of Kidder, four primary ethical dilemmas can arise in the accounting and other business organizations like Truth vs. loyalty, individual vs. community, short term vs. long term, and justice vs. mercy. This case study can be categorized into two categories, namely the Truth vs. loyalty and individual vs. community ethical dilemma. Gabby has been going through a few conflicting values that had landed her in a moral dilemma. Overcharging clients is an unethical practice that should be controlled in accounting firms. In the case of this particular scenario Gabby, a junior accountant, has overcharged the accounts of some of her clients, and she is in an ethical dilemma regarding the overcharging of small clients with a smaller business volume.

The company accountants, including Gabby, did not comply with the time stipulated that the company trainer Todd set out for the accounting for each client (Decker, 2019). The key stakeholders who had been affected by the unethical and questionable practices in the company are the company clients who run small businesses and the employees of the company, along with Todd and Gabby. The misreporting in accounts can lead to reputation loss of the company, and the fairness and justification of the accounting company employees will be at stake in the case of unethical practices. Their interest in the firm will diminish in the instances of misreporting or overcharging, and it will lead to the potential loss of clients for the accounting company.

Answer c2
The ethical dilemma that Gabby has fallen into has created a few justifications for the ethically questionable behavior and practice that has been noticed in the company. The choice between a moral and an immoral act is integral to forming ethical dilemmas for the employees. The argument that can be provided against the unethical procedures in the organization is based on value conflicts and considerations like whether the practice of overcharging clients is expected or standard. And the worldly impact of the action. These arguments or concerns in this particular case negatively project the unethical practice, as felt by Gabby (Half, 2018). The standard procedure was not stable, and the materialistic impact is quite heavy on the clients as the small businessmen are the primary sufferers in this case.

However, she found out that there were manipulations in the billable rates, which were of ethical concern. She found out that the unethical practice was in the firm's culture for a long time, and there was no proper code of ethics within the organization. The impact of peer influence and fear of reprisal are the two primary reasons in this case that can be attributed to unethical behavior. However, the belief that corrupt practices will not affect the more prominent companies is a fact the accounting firm knows, and therefore, it capitalizes on that particular opportunity. Smaller companies can incur losses if they are overcharged in their billing accounts, affecting their economic stability significantly. This is the specific ethical aspect Gabby is predominantly concerned about and is facing a dilemma.

Answer c3
In this particular case, Gabby is very concerned with the smaller companies facing overcharging and pricing by the accounting firm she works for. It is her personal belief and dignity that brings out the conscience of doing wrong or indulging in unethical behavior (Heinig, 2019). Gabby does not have a peer in the industry that can guide her properly or solve her dilemma. Therefore, to defend the justifications for unethical behavior, she needs to have a strong mindset that opposes every wrongdoing in her personal or professional outlook. She can indulge herself in ethical practices and conduct thorough billing procedures rather than indulging in unethical behaviors like overbilling and overcharging the smaller clients. She can influence the other employees with her fair and justified behavior and practice.

Gabby should provide arguments to the buddy named Todd, who is her trainer in the company when she is facing an ethical dilemma in conducting the inflated accounting process misrepresented or manipulated. She should personally ask Todd about the practice that has been going on in the company and the nature or regularity of its occurrence. If the results and answers are positive, then Gabby should indulge in a few corrective measures that can portray the ethical values of Gabby and effectively increase the positive impact on the stakeholders. She can suggest of reassessment of the accounting details and billings of the companies and thoroughly evaluate them to mitigate the risk of overbilling for their clients. This should be considered and prioritized works, unlike the perception of other employees who believe it as a mere unimportant job (Phillips, 2020). This implementation will help in restoring the positive aspects and minimize the negative aspects of all the stakeholders.

Answer c4
The GVV framework is integral to the development of a script that provides reasoning for the realizations and helps in achieving a more ethical outcome for all the stakeholders. The GVV framework is a set of distinctive features based on a few variables, like focussing on positive examples when people have found ways to voice and implement their values at the workplace (Half, 2018). The alignment between an individual's sense of purpose and the organization are vital considerations of the framework. This model needs to be used by Gabby in developing a script that is integral in providing a more ethical outcome for the stakeholders. The effective levers can help in responding to the justifications and realizations that can effectively help in delivering value to her voice, according to the case study. The GVV consists of seven principles like values, choice, normalization, purpose, self Knowledge and alignment, voices along with reasons and rationalizations.

The unethical practice of miscalculating clients' accounts had created a profound impact on the mind and conscience of Gabby. She decided to take the help of a good guide or peer to speak about her issues related to ethics (Türegün, 2018). Her instincts have been sending her signals that she is indulging in unethical practices, affecting her psychologically. She is not able to perform her work correctly. She is committing many mistakes in her position until she decided to have a word with the person she can rely on the most, and that is Todd, as he is the one who can be considered as the authority to whom she can safely and effectively have a conversation. The blanket policy that the company adopts to create manipulations in the billing amounts of clients is the concern she is worried about. She spoke to Todd regarding her values and the things that make her dedication to this work worthwhile. She also told him that if she is unable to provide a solution to the problem, then she will think of quitting the job as the dilemma is taking a toll on her emotional health (Victor, 2017). Todd also explained to her that it is part and parcel of their job, and issues like these need not be problematic, and he also said that it was a standard practice that was followed by most companies.

She wanted a justification of the unethical practices and behaviors and wanted normalcy in the proceedings as she was concerned with the material outcome of the methods. It can significantly affect the smaller companies who are financially not strong, and apart from that, it can also create a negative impact on the company with the threat of legal implications. The purpose of her questionnaire was evident as she wanted to make the outcome of the stakeholders to be more ethical in nature and approach. The purpose of Gabby for asking these questions was for self-knowledge regarding the rules and regulations of companies that do not carry a proper alignment and framework for fair accounting practices. As an employee, it would be very demeaning for her to work in a company that indulged in unethical practices. That is why it was essential for her to know the company alignment and standard practice. She had an evident approach and thought process to her feelings that she justified simply.

According to her education and other human values, she considered it was against her conscience to work in a firm where unethical practices rule the domain. As far as her future growth and development aspects, it would be very humiliating for her if her company gets entangled in any legal issues in the future (Phillips, 2020). It would create a significant negative impact on her future career. The problems that gabby found very disturbing and unethical are both organizational and personal and sometimes both. There are various explanations and justifications that Todd, her colleague, has placed in front of her to defend her viewpoint. She had also faced objections and denials from Todd after many conversations as she tried to pinpoint the unethical considerations in the company. However, she has explained her version to Todd to clarify herself regarding the issues. The result will depend on the intent of Todd because it is challenging for an employee to make an argument if he /she is a minority in the company, which practices collective unfair practices.

References
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