Management and the Sustainability Paradox is about how humans became disconnected from their ecological environment throughout evolutionary history. Begining with the premise that people have competing innate, natural drives linked to survival. Survival can be thought of in the context of long-term genetic propagation of a species, but at the same time, it involves overcoming of immediate adversities. Due to a diverse set of survival challenges facing our ancestors, natural selection often favored short-term solutions, which by consequence, muted the motivations associated with longer-range sustainability values. Managerial decisions and choices mostly adopt a moral calculus of costs versus benefits. Managers invoke economic and corporate growth to justify virtually any action. It is this moral calculus underlying corporate behavior that needs critical examination and reformation. At the heart of it lie deep moral questions that we examine in this book, with the goal of proposing ethical solutions to the paradox. Management and the Sustainability Paradox examines the issue that there appears to be an inherent paradox between what some businesses view as "a need for progress" and " a concern for sustainability". In business, we often see a collision between ideas of progress and sustainability which shapes corporate actions, and managerial decisions. Typical corporate views of progress involve the creation of wealth, jobs, innovative products, and social philanthropic projects. On the basis of these "progressive" actions they justify their inequitable distribution of surpluses by paying low wages and exploiting ecological resources. It is not difficult to see the antagonistic interplay between technological and social innovation with our values for social and environmental well-being and a dualism that needs to be overcome. This book is intended for a broad appeal to an academic and policy maker audience in the sustainability and management fields. The book will be of vital reading for managers seeking to reconnect our human chain with the natural environment in the cause of sustainable business.
For at least a decade the science of climate change has warned us of the dire need for action – particularly by corporations who are the main engines of economic production and consumption. Yet managerial and corporate understanding of climate change and related energy issues remains fragmented and present actions lack the urgency this critical problem deserves. There is a whole new economy – the low-carbon economy – looming on the horizon. But our consumption and production patterns remain in a carbon-locked position. What we are risking is a global carbon crisis and a case of history repeating. Humankind's failure to adequately recognise the onset of and address the effects of the global financial crisis mirrors our similar failures with the carbon crisis. There are many parallels: both are and were predictable and both will have direct implications on humanity on a sweeping, indiscriminate and severe scale. The difference is that we cannot reverse the effects of climate change and fossil fuel scarcity as easily as we can repair the global financial system. It is of paramount importance that we wake up to the risks and begin tackling the issues early enough. To successfully address the risks, business needs to be aware of the consequences that a changing climate and finite carbon resources will have on their business performance. The element carbon – both as a resource and as an emission – is both an economic threat as well as an opportunity for companies. It is a threat for carbon-intense production systems that will need to be changed to avoid further harmful climatic change, and take into account the limited availability of carbon-based fuels. At the same time, new opportunities will emerge for companies who can creatively design and produce goods and services that fit the new emerging carbon-constrained business environment. Many sectors of the economy – for example, renewable energy, energy and resources conservation, waste reduction and management, carbon finance markets – will expand rapidly, as other carbon- and resource-intensive sectors decline. The Global Carbon Crisis succinctly translates important insights from the natural sciences, economics and equity discussions, for the business reader. It reviews important aspects of these discussions and clarifies misunderstandings with respect to climate change and fossil fuel availability and their implications for business. The book provides simple, direct, pragmatic and effective solutions that policy-makers and corporate managers can implement. The aim is to provoke action – thoughtful action – towards developing a low-carbon future for companies on three levels. At the macro level, the authors discuss the importance of tough industrial policies for climate change and propose the idea of an international carbon-equal fund. At the meso level, they elaborate on the role of inter-firm collaborations for establishing low-carbon industries and production systems. At the micro level, they illustrate the virtue of proactive carbon strategies and suggest a corporate carbon management framework. Getting the message of the carbon crisis across to a business audience has proved challenging. This book successfully makes the case that they are intricately connected to one another and practising managers and business students will benefit from viewing the carbon crisis in parallel to the financial meltdown. The book will be essential reading for all businesses grappling with carbon-related issues and for many in academia, including those in management, strategy, finance, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, globalisation and innovation studies.
This book explores the 21st century agenda of management education, identifying three fundamental goals: educating and developing globally responsible leaders, enabling business organizations to serve the common good, and engaging in the transformation of business and the economy. It is a clarion call of service to society for a sector lost between the interests of faculty, business and the schools themselves at the expense of people and planet. It sees business education stepping up to the plate with the ability of holding and creating a space to provide responsible leadership for a sustainable world embodied in the central and unifying element of the 50+20 vision, the collaboratory.
In contrast to books on specific bioactive compounds, this book deals with the role of mevalonic acid metabolites (isoprenoids and their derived structures) in metabolism, development, and functions of organisms, which, though diverse, show various levels of communication. Different disciplines are brought together in a discussion of the messenger functions of terpenoids within and between organisms belonging to five biological kingdoms: bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and vertebrates (including humans). The present volume covers evolutionary aspects of terpenoids in plant physiology, plant-insect relationships, semiochemicals, and in life sciences, with special emphasis on cancer research and treatment. The book provides proposals for multidisciplinary model systems for the study of interrelationships of organisms utilizing terpenoid messengers, and discusses novel strategies for insect control and multifactor treatments of cancer utilizing terpenoids. This book is of interest to scientists, and students at an advanced level: biologists, plant breeders, pharmacologists, specialists in medical fields, especially oncologists, physicians in general, and anyone with a basic biochemical and physiological knowledge.
Businesses and enterprises can no longer avoid the concern of their Natural Environmental impact, which calls into question their economic activities. Frugal Innovation and Innovative Creation is at the crossroads of economics and management in business, particularly focused on innovative enterprises and their interactions with the Natural Environment. Navigating these interactions can be perceived by companies as a costly constraint, especially in an innovation process, which is already very expensive. The aim of this book is therefore to highlight the need for a satisfactory technology level while innovating, without risking damage to the Natural Environment. The challenge here is to propose a form of frugal innovation that is likely to be successful, while also mindful of the environmental considerations from the outset, hence the concept of environmental frugal innovation. Furthermore, by questioning the practice of innovative creation (especially if it integrates the ideas of respect for and preservation of the Natural Environment), this book reveals the importance of two key elements that are present regardless of the modality (the level of technology and organization): improvisation and bricolage.
Displacees and Health: Issues and Challenges deals with issues of health and challenges in the life of displaced people of the world. This is a collective work of the experts in this field aiming at sketching the life of the displacees either caused by development, armed conflict, racial conflict or disasters. Some of the areas it deals with are: • Health issues, constrains and emerging diseases among refugees • Governmental and non-governmental steps and challenges to health service delivery • Forced migrants or refugees and health issues as a developmental challenge • Sustainable development goals and refugees • Poverty and health issues • Internally displaced people and mental health issues • Displacement and stigma • Social alienation • Social exclusion and marginalization • Social work interventions among the displaced people for quality rehabilitations • Rehabilitation of displacees and health service delivery challenges • Displaced or refugee women, children • Aged and the vulnerable and health service for quality of life • Refugees and health issues: responses from local, national, international bodies or institutions • Towards better health and better human living: challenges towards reconstruction of displaced or refugees • Health in relation to gender, vulnerability, human rights, disability of the displaced • Food security in displacement and rehabilitation: issues and challenges and • Literature and health of the displaced
This incisive book integrates the academic fields of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) as a framework for challenging the current economic paradigm and addressing the significant ecological and environmental problems faced by the contemporary business world.
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