BUEN 5930 Reflective Journal: Sustainability in Business & Society

This reflective journal delves into the critical aspects of sustainability in business, as explored over three weeks in the BUEN 5930 course. It covers key themes such as the issues organizations face in achieving sustainability, the various forms of capital required for sustenance, and the six phases of business approaches to sustainability (Rejection, Non-responsiveness, Compliance, Efficiency, Strategic proactivity and the sustainable organization). The journal reflects on the Triple Bottom Line (social, environmental, and economic sustainability) and provides insights into how organizations can balance these factors. It also touches upon the challenges companies face, such as prioritizing economic gains over social or humanitarian concerns, and the importance of adapting to internal and external changes to maintain market sustainability. The assignment emphasizes the importance of understanding these concepts for current and future roles in the business sector. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to aid students in their studies.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Week 1- Theme- Issues faced by organizations for sustainability in the market............................2
Week 2- Theme- Capitals required by organizations for sustenance..............................................3
Week 3- Theme- The six phases of business approaches to sustainability.....................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The transition planned by the organizations depends on the needs of their sustainability
and growth. The understanding of the urgency helps the organizations to modify based on the
internal and the external changes of trends in the society or the structure. The adaptability of the
organization to determine the change helps in determining the capability of the organization to
sustain in the markets. Various resources are required by the organization for maintaining its
sustenance in the markets. However, there are issues faced by the organizations while
undertaking the change in the systems and the functioning of the same. The discussion that is
being undertaken will be helping in enhancing the perception of the sustenance of the
organizations in the market. However, the issues that are faced by the organizations relating to
their sustenance are also being enumerated as a part of the discussion.
Week 1- Theme- Issues faced by organizations for sustainability in the market
The week has helped me in understanding the different sustainability issues that are faced
by the organizations while making the changes in the structure and the functioning of the
business. According to Bogan (2012), the sustainability of the organizations is determined by the
Triple Bottom Line, which helps in the determination of the concepts of sustainability
conceived by the organization in the market. The introduction to the social and the humanitarian
aspects of the sustainability of the organization is based on the proper functioning of the
organization as per the norms of the society. On the other hand, the balance that the organization
undertakes in its economic aspects helps in maintaining the position in the market. The proper
understanding of the needs of conservation of the ecological resources has helped in maintaining
the proper supply of the raw materials to the organization (Rosen & Kishawy, 2012).

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The instructor pointed out the issues that the organizations might face while determining
the transition initiatives is dependent on the factors of the imbalance in systems and functioning
of the organization relating to the aspects of sustainability. In certain cases, the organizations
compromise the humanitarian or the social approach in order to gain economic superiority in the
market. The instructor cited the example of Amazon where the company has taken steps to
maintain its profitability (Milne & Gray, 2013). However, the company has failed to keep up
with the promises of the humanitarian and the social based sustainability. Therefore, the
organization faces a risk while retaining the human labor of the same.
From the week’s lessons, I have learned the different aspects that are required to be taken
by the organizations in order to maintain the sustainability of the same in the market. on the other
hand, the issues that are being faced by the organizations while implementing the change based
on the three faced model of sustainability has helped me in understanding the different aspects of
the change in the market. We were introduced to the concepts of social, environmental and the
economic sustainability and the manner in which the concepts affect the sustainability of the
organization as a whole.
Week 2- Theme- Capitals required by organizations for sustenance
The week has helped me in understanding the different capitals and their structures as
they help the business in maintaining their sustainability in the markets. The different aspects of
the capital are based on the understanding of the functioning of the business firms in the market
(Benn, Edwards & Williams, 2014). Sustenance of the organization is mainly characterized by
its smooth functioning in the markets and thereby the capitals help the organizations to maintain
their functioning on a smooth and uninterrupted basis. We were assigned by our instructor to
identify the different capital structure of different organizations, which has helped in clearing the

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concepts of the capitals that are required by the organizations to undertake the smooth
functioning as per the needs of the market. The understanding of the internal and the external
capital helps in the determination of capabilities of the organization to bring in the changes as
per the needs of the market. On the other hand, the determination of the human capital of the
organization helps in determining the supporting force that helps in the smooth functioning of the
processes of the organization to being in sustenance in their systems (Ehnert, Harry & Zink,
2013).
The determination of the capital and the manner in which they function as per the needs
of the business helps the organization in maintaining the balance of sustenance in the markets.
The week has helped me in understanding the different aspects of the capitals and the manner in
which they are employed in the management of the organization in order to facilitate the
sustenance. The difference in the capital structure and the management that is being undertaken
by the organization helps in determining the change in the structure and the functioning of the
organization in the market (Stoughton & Ludema, 2012). The week’s lesson has helped me in
understanding the importance of the different capitals that are used by the organizations to bring
in the changes in the functioning of the same.
Week 3- Theme- The six phases of business approaches to sustainability
The week’s class has helped me in understanding the different approaches that are being
undertaken by the organization in order to support their cause of sustainability in the market. The
major aspects of the approaches are based on the understanding of the needs of the organization
to undertake the means of sustainability in the market. According to (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths,
2006) the six phases of sustainability approaches undertaken by the organization are Rejection,
Non-responsiveness, Compliance, Efficiency, Strategic proactivity and the sustainable

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organization. It helps in the proper understanding of the different characteristic factors where
the company manipulates over the functioning in order to gain the sustainability in the market as
per the needs of the same. The understanding of the objectives of the organization helps in
maintaining the balance of the sustainable options that affects the proper functioning of the
organization in the market.
The week’s lesson has helped me in understanding the different approaches that are being
undertaken by the organizations in order to maintain the sustainability of the same in the market.
On the other hand, the instructor undertook steps in order to cite examples from various
organizations to make us aware of the changes in the structure and the functioning, which has
helped the organizations to sustain in the global markets (Smith, 2012). The citation of the
companies that have failed to sustain in the market has helped in clarifying the objective of the
approaches of sustainability undertaken by the organizations.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above lessons that we were taught in our class, which was held for
three weeks has helped in the understanding of the different factors, that affects the sustainability
of the organizations in the market. On the other hand, the classes have helped us in enumerating
the different capital structure and functioning that helps the organizations in maintaining their
sustenance in the markets.

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References
Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2006). Enabling change for corporate sustainability: An
integrated perspective. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 13(3), 156-
165.
Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. (2014). Organizational change for corporate
sustainability. Routledge.
Bogan, V. L. (2012). Capital structure and sustainability: An empirical study of microfinance
institutions. Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(4), 1045-1058.
Ehnert, I., Harry, W., & Zink, K. J. (Eds.). (2013). Sustainability and human resource
management: Developing sustainable business organizations. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Milne, M. J., & Gray, R. (2013). W (h) ither ecology? The triple bottom line, the global reporting
initiative, and corporate sustainability reporting. Journal of business ethics, 118(1), 13-
29.
Rosen, M. A., & Kishawy, H. A. (2012). Sustainable manufacturing and design: Concepts,
practices and needs. Sustainability, 4(2), 154-174.
Smith, P. A. (2012). The importance of organizational learning for organizational
sustainability. The Learning Organization, 19(1), 4-10.
Stoughton, A. M., & Ludema, J. (2012). The driving forces of sustainability. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 25(4), 501-517.

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