StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability" is a decent example of a Business essay. 
The future of organizations in ensuring the adherence to sustainability development remains elusive to this date (Chazal, 2010).  The current operating environment demands that organizations derive unique ways of dealing with matters related to economic growth while at the same ensuring protection…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.8% of users find it useful

Extract of sample "System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability"

SYSTEM THINKING APPROACH IN RELATION TO SUSTAINABILITY By Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor’s Name University Cite, State Date Introduction The future of organisations in ensuring the adherence to sustainability development remains elusive to this date (Chazal, 2010). The current operating environment demands that organisations derive unique ways of dealing with matters related to economic growth while at the same ensuring protection of the environment from possible ecological distortions (Chazal, 2010). Thus, it can be argued that the need for adopting fairly-balanced sustainability requires that organisations embark on a system thinking approach as a way of coming up with effective techniques that can be used for managing possible level of risks that might emanate from any unnecessary end results. The purpose of this paper therefore rests with examining the notion that sustainability requires well-calculated system thinking approach especially in such matters related to climatic changes. The Sustainability State There has been continued requirement for effective sustainability amongst the numerous organisations operating within different industries across the globe. Numerous agencies and stakeholders at large have continued to facilitate platforms that necessitate for efficient operations (Dominici, 2015). Sustainable development have entirely been incorporated into numerous activities of operations such as urban and industrial growths by way of formulating imminent strategic plans that could help drive the agenda of sustainability into the future. This is especially because the last few decades have been seen to overlook the practice altogether (Dominici, 2015). Notwithstanding, most of the leading producers of products and services across the world have been called to ensure that they operate within the limits offered by effective sustainable development in regards to production processes and, also positive customer service expectations (Dominici, 2015). Organisations across the globe have portrayed their high-level of commitment by adopting efficient ways of conducting production so that they can operate within the recommended standards in regards to climatic change. For instance, there has been a perceived level of improvement in relation to how these organisations manage their emissions into the environment so that they cannot surpass the recommended standards set to oversee global greenhouse gas emission expectations (Emery, 2013). In consequence, organisations operate within the global guidelines as presented by the global agencies concerned with overseeing climatic changes attributed to effects of global warming (Dilley, 2014). These organisations are made to pay exorbitant amounts of money in order to continue with their operations especially in cases where these operations result to unexpected effects on the surrounding environment (Dilley, 2014). This has fostered environmental savvy operations that have ensured operations do not distort the life-cycle environmental guidelines. The ballooning industrial development in such economies like China and Africa especially in mining industries has continued to pose a substantial level of risk in matters related to unplanned climatic changes (Kuei & Lu, 2013). Thus, guidelines put in place in these areas are more stringent enough to ensure sustainable development does not affect the surrounding environments (Porter & Derry, 2012). The possibility of the fact that most of the world’s population are moving towards resettlement into cities poses a risk of consuming available lands while pushing communities nearer production plants, which has the effect of distorting their health as well as leading to depletion of resources within these areas hence catapulting the level of negative climatic changes (Kuei & Lu, 2013). In consequence, it is fundamental to understand the fact that sustainable development for organisations plays a significant function of ensuring environmental protection so that its effects cannot result to levels of negative climatic changes (Philippe & Bansal, 2013). This fundamental facet solely depends on the fact that organisations could only depend on a well-tested and proven system thinking technique as a way of operating within the required standards, which helps to maintain a natural environmental presence (Nguyen & Bosch, 2013). Systems thinking approach ensures that sustainable development in such areas as industrial growth and production processess do not result to climatic alterations that arises from ineffective operations. While it remains a challenge for organisations to distinctive measure the existing level of sustainable development, the aspect of environmental sustainability still requires effective system thinking approach to oversee challenges attributed to production processess and overall operations (Nguyen & Bosch, 2013). As much as individual people might aspire to ensure that organisation’s immediate operations are conducted within a given sustainable phase, in most of the times it becomes a very challenging aspect to evaluate the expected level of sustainable development that will be accomplished within any given time (Nguyen & Bosch, 2013). There is a possibility of the fact that the environmental impacts play only a smaller role in affecting the overall climatic changes given that inefficient decisions and actions will results to negative outcomes that will go a long way to lead to un-sustainability of the overall surrounding environment. In fact, this is the reason for emphasising on developing a detailed and efficient system thinking approach that will help to make critical and workable decisions (Nguyen & Bosch, 2013). The process of coming up with planned and sustainable developmental goals is entirely focused on the level of understanding put towards ensuring effective resolutions to oversee climatic changes in place (Nguyen, Graham, Ross, Maani, & Bosch, 2012). It is indeed affected by the way of putting more efforts on the existing sustainable goals and objectives within a given timeframe. In political environment, the aspect of sustainable environmental policies can help to formulate and implement efficient policies that will guide organisations to ensure that their operations fall only within certain levels of guidelines (Seebode, Jeanrenaud, & Bessant, 2012). For this case, the importance of system thinking and its approach will thus facilitate sustainability aspect by incorporating directly and indirectly affected stakeholders concerned with climatic changes. System Thinking Approach In Regards to Sustainability The current formulations and framework, put in place to oversee the process of sustainable development, have mostly been directed towards the supervision of industrial ecology, which helps to reduce and, also eliminate if possible un-sustainability levels as opposed to reinforcement of the overall systematic foundation (Sekerka & Stimel, 2012). There is a fundamental need for reconsideration and redesigning of overall ecosystems and imminent industrial systems in ways that help to steer sustainable functionalities towards natural equilibrium points and for that reason eliminate negative climatic changes. Any activities that result to failure of achieving sustainable development postulate the fact that stable equilibriums are a task to attain at any given moment (Videira, Lopes, Antunes, Santos, & Casanova, 2012). For instance, the pressures that emanate from recent climatic movements posit a likelihood of distortion of the existing environmental life cycle. This means that, for organisations to effectively achieve sustainability levels, they should prioritise aspects related to resilience as well as adaptive industrial systems that promote ecological systems (Bender & Judith, 2015). Resilience is a crucial element in system thinking approach since it dictates whether or not an organisation will survive, adapt and even create resolution in cases of possible challenges (Sajeva, Sahota, & Lemon, 2015). It helps organisational management teams to prioritise total material production in safe and healthy working environment as opposed to only focusing on profit maximisation (Willard, Wiedmeyer, Warren Flint, Weedon, Woodward, Feldman, & Edwards, 2010). Most notably, a larger section of resilient-generative and environment systems are reconsidered and redesigned in way that will allow survival and adaption to possible risks hence protecting processess against environmental disruptions that might play a critical role in affecting the level of climatic changes (Nguyen & Bosch, 2013). It thus means that successful operations should be only conducted within a set equilibrium point where possibilities of inherent resilience are also manifested at all times. Inherent resilience is yet another crucial strategy that organisations can adopt as a system thinking approach as an alternative to ensure the accomplishment of equilibrium points at all times (Lozano, 2014). Inherent resilience defines the manner for which organisation can employ elements attributed to diversification, efficiencies and cohesion of activities. A perfect example rests with the green engineering that promotes designs that promotes production of processess that assist with elimination of hazardous consequences, which has the effect of resulting to negative climatic conditions (Allen, 2010). Climatic changes are affected by the aspect of system thinking mechanism in cases where effects of infrastructural developments are underway. Interest groups as well as relevant stakeholders are thus called to formulate efficient environmental policies that relate to realising organisational objectives and production processes in a way that easily fits in with climatic changes. Technological advancement should be employed to eliminate possibilities of conducting faulty production processess that might result to negative climatic alterations. In fact, it will be important for involving relevant stakeholders in every aspect of policy formulation so that they can ensure significant regulations are set in place to oversee matters related to sustainability. In concluding the above discussion, it is affirmative that system thinking approach plays a significant role in ensuring sustainable development. Inherent resilience is one of the most sought after system thinking approach which promotes aspects related to survival, adapt and even create efficient ecological systems as in the case of environmental developments in organisations’ operations. A Resilient-generated system is a more specific approach that promotes diversification of sustainable development. References List Allen, TH 2010, 'Making liveable sustainable systems unremarkable', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 469-479. Bender, H, & Judith, K 2015, 'Does sustainability emerge from between the scales?', Emergence: Complexity & Organization, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1-10. Chazal, Jd 2010, 'A systems approach to livability and sustainability: Defining terms and mapping relationships to link desires with ecological opportunities and constraints', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 585-597. Dominici, G 2015, 'Systems Thinking and Sustainability in Organisations', Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-3. Emery, M 2013, 'Sustainable Organizations: A Simple Matter of Evidence', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 98-101. Dilley, M 2014, 'Mutual Growth: Social Innovation and Environmental Sustainability', Design Management Review, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 25-27. Kuei, C, & Lu, MH 2013, 'Integrating quality management principles into sustainability management', Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, vol. 24, no. 1/2, pp. 62-78. Lozano, R 2014, 'Creativity and Organizational Learning as Means to Foster Sustainability', Sustainable Development, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 205-216. Porter, T, & Derry, R 2012, 'Sustainability and Business in a Complex World', Business & Society Review (00453609), vol. 117, no. 1, pp. 33-53. Philippe, D, & Bansal, P 2013, 'Embedding Environmental Actions in Time and Space: The Evolution of Sustainability Narratives', Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, pp. 835-840. Nguyen, NC, & Bosch, OH 2013, 'A Systems Thinking Approach to identify Leverage Points for Sustainability: A Case Study in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 104-115. Nguyen, NC, Graham, D, Ross, H, Maani, K, & Bosch, O 2012, 'Educating Systems Thinking for Sustainability: Experience with a Developing Country', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 14-29. Sajeva, M, Sahota, PS, & Lemon, M 2015, 'Giving Sustainability a Chance: A Participatory Framework for Choosing between Alternative Futures', Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 57-89 Seebode, D, Jeanrenaud, S, & Bessant, J 2012, 'Managing innovation for sustainability', R&D Management, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 195-206. Sekerka, LE, & Stimel, D 2012, 'Environmental sustainability decision-making: clearing a path to change', Journal of Public Affairs (14723891), vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 195-205. Videira, N, Lopes, R, Antunes, P, Santos, R, & Casanova, JL 2012, 'Mapping Maritime Sustainability Issues with Stakeholder Groups', Systems Research & Behavioural Science, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 596-619. Willard, M, Wiedmeyer, C, Warren Flint, R, Weedon, JS, Woodward, R, Feldman, I, & Edwards, M 2010, 'The sustainability professional: 2010 competency survey report', Environmental Quality Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 49-83 Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words, n.d.)
System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words. https://studentshare.org/business/2084729-sustainability
(System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words)
System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words. https://studentshare.org/business/2084729-sustainability.
“System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 Words”. https://studentshare.org/business/2084729-sustainability.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF System Thinking Approach in Relation to Sustainability

How Sydney Theatre Company Displays Open Systems Thinking

The group members know that STC is a company, which has embraced both cultural and environmental sustainability in its operations, and thus there is both the adoption of short-term ideas and long-range ideas in the company.... … The paper “How Sydney Theatre Company Displays Open Systems thinking ” is a well-turned variant of case study on management.... The paper “How Sydney Theatre Company Displays Open Systems thinking ” is a well-turned variant of case study on management....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Sydney Theatre Company's Financial Difficulties, Total Quality Management, Open Systems Thinking

… The paper “Sydney Theatre Company's Financial Difficulties, Total Quality Management, Open Systems thinking” is a potent example of a case study on business.... The paper “Sydney Theatre Company's Financial Difficulties, Total Quality Management, Open Systems thinking” is a potent example of a case study on business....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Sydney Theatre Company - Open Systems Thinking

The first conclusion about the company concerns its approach towards attaining sustainability in the business environment in which it operates.... The first conclusion about the company concerns its approach towards attaining sustainability in the business environment in which it operates.... This, therefore, means that judging from the current state of operations in the company, present and future sustainability is an objective that is more or less realised....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

Soft Systems Methodology in Action

To make the resulting change effective, there will be a need to integrate every form of judgment through viewing every purposeful action as being a part of a system (Siriram 2012).... … The paper "Soft Systems Methodology in Action" is an impressive example of a Business case study....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

The Influence of Sustainability and Green Approaches on Project Management

… The paper “The Influence of sustainability and Green Approaches on Project Management”  is a well-turned example of coursework on the management.... The paper “The Influence of sustainability and Green Approaches on Project Management”  is a well-turned example of coursework on the management.... More precisely, society has been reluctant in acknowledging sustainability (the integration of the social, economic and environmental interests for the purpose of advancing the best practices that uphold better living standards)....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

Sustainability of the Blue Ocean Concept

… The paper "sustainability of the Blue Ocean Concept" is a perfect example of business coursework.... The paper "sustainability of the Blue Ocean Concept" is a perfect example of business coursework.... sustainability in Performance According to Siegemund (2008), the capacity or efficiency of any given system has to be maintained for several decades.... Most researchers have evaluated the strategies on thinking big and the act of more creativity in the business arena to facilitate market across the world (McManners, 2014)....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

The Corporate Challenges of Sustainable Development

This makes it almost impossible to rate the environmental and social benefits and costs in relation to economics.... sustainability in an organization is about the transformation of how people are thinking of their leaders in challenging economic situations and myths.... sustainability in an organization is about the transformation of how people are thinking of their leaders in challenging economic situations and myths.... Many managers, however, like Alumina Towers Refinery manager, do not find the concept of sustainability applicable because the management systems have to be made too; yet economic decisions do not give humans and environmental resources financial values....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

Management Analysis of Ecostore Company

This paper, therefore, seeks to highlight on Ecostore Company structure, major stakeholders, leadership style and management strategies in relation to entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability.... Ecostore provides a good example of companies embracing the “go green” initiative which ensures sustainability in the future....
10 Pages (2500 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us