COMM331 - Business Case Analysis: Greta Thunberg and Climate Change

This essay provides a comprehensive business case analysis, focusing on Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN Climate Action Summit and its implications for business practices and environmental responsibility. The analysis connects theoretical underpinnings, such as economic globalization and system thinking, to the real-world issue of climate change, emphasizing the role of businesses in environmental degradation and the need for socially responsible practices. The essay examines the theoretical frameworks of imperialism and dependency theory, linking them to the reluctance of countries to take action on climate change. It also delves into the concept of system thinking, highlighting its importance in identifying and mitigating risks, ultimately advocating for a sustainable approach to business operations. The essay demonstrates critical analysis skills by evaluating the article's arguments and the responsibilities of various stakeholders. It concludes by emphasizing the alarming impact of global warming and the need for proactive measures to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment, aligning with the principles of sustainable development. The essay is a response to a COMM331 assignment and adheres to the specified style and formatting guidelines.

Running Head: BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
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Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................2
Discussion..........................................................................................................................2
Theoretical understanding.............................................................................................2
Link to the public domain...............................................................................................4
Socially responsible practices........................................................................................6
Skills of critical analysis..................................................................................................7
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................8
Reference........................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Global warming is considered to be one of the leading threat of a current world
that can lead to the verge of extinction of living being on earth. In response to this,
Abeles et al. (2019) opined that business organisations are primarily responsible for
environmental degradation. Indiscriminate use of natural resources in terms of fossil fuel
and cutting down of trees can cause a severe threat to the degeneration of the
environment. As a result of that increasing rate of global warming and the continuous
fluctuation in the weather pose an end to the survival rate of a living being ( Gordon
2018). The international paralysis due to carbon emission is increasing at a rapid pace
in the last decades. Therefore, it is imperative to stop the generation and to protect the
earth as soon as possible. The current article related to the speech of Greta Thunberg
into the UN Summit is very relevant and create a high sense of concern among the
people to evaluate the role of the nations and its leaders about protecting the earth and
its habitants. Moreover, the report also delivers a great deal of emphasis on relevant
theories like economic globalisation and systems thinking.
Discussion
Theoretical understanding
According to the research of Beinhocker (2006), it can be argued that with the
advent of global commerce a sharp change has been occurred into the global
commerce as well where it becomes easier for the business companies to expand its
market further into overseas regions. As a matter of fact, the notion of free trade and

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extensive profit orientation of the companies lead to a negative impact over the
environment as well. Aspects like theory of imperialism and the dependency theory are
come to the forefront in order to create better opportunities for the business
organisations and deliver a better practice so that it will be easier for the organisations
to expand business effectively. As per the research of Villanueva (2019), it can be
stated that the theory of imperialism helps the multinational business enterprises to
search for different markets and investment opportunities in order to bring more
profitability to the organisational fold. Moreover, it is also a significant feature of the
theory of imperialism is to initiate a mechanism where the role of the organisation is no
longer fit to the ethical consideration and immense exploitation is the outcome of such
nefarious and irresponsible act.
Furthermore, the dependency theory also creates unfavourable terms of trade
between the primary and manufacturers. As a result of that, a good and healthy
business relationship between the suppliers and the parent company is supposed to get
nullified (Yu 2017). It is pertinent for the business organisations to focus on its affiliation
with the organisation and at the same time also cares to meet the interests of different
stakeholders like the suppliers. Nevertheless, countries that are used to follow the
dependency theory are highly interested in earning more profitability at the cost of
developing countries.
On the other hand, the system thinking process is directly related to the
organisational culture and highly useful to influence and control the path of the
organisation to a great extent. Senge (2000) pointed out that there are four levels of
system thinking that an organisation must implement in order to influence the

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organisational culture. For instance, events are associated with the brief of the current
situation. The patterns of the events are highly linked with the analysis of the situation
and closely monitored it so that the organisation is able to track down and control the
situation appropriately. In addition to this, there is also a systematic structure that is
entitled to deal with the practice of creating a link between the patterns and the trend,
discovered during the analysis (Zuo, Jiang And Guo 2019). Finally, a mental model has
been developed where the core focus is vested on the introduction of change. The
system thinking process is beneficial for the organisation in terms of not only identifying
the risk factors but also cares to change it through proper plan and design so that it can
deliver more advantage and sustainability to the organisational practice. In response to
this, Zhaoran, Tianzhu and Wenjing (2018) articulated that system thinking practice is a
sustainable approach for the business organisation as it will guide the organisation to
follow the right path of success. As a matter of fact, from the research of Ivanova,
Belyakova and Novikova (2019) it can be opined that the system thinking practice is
highly relevant to create and analyse the proposed framework and make the
organisation habituate with the proposed change. Henceforth, for sustainable
development, it is very crucial for the business organisations to incorporate a system
thinking for not only analysing the process but also propose a practical framework to
mitigate the issue permanently.
Link to the public domain
It is important to note that the article of Greta Thunberg is also linked with the
theories of global commerce and system thinking. The first part of the article is
associated with the threat that is incurred by detrimental business practice, and it will

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have severe damage to the environment. The report of Greta Thunberg reflected a lack
of concern and willingness from the end of the countries that can have a huge negative
impact on the existence of living beings on earth (Knox 2019). The article directly
condemned the country leaders who were presented in the Climate Action Summit and
provided a factual report over the detrimental impact on the environment in terms of
global warming. According to Li (2016), the Paris Agreement intended to prepare a
layout for future environmental safety. However, limited measures have been taken by
the leading country leaders, and no such blueprints are provided that can help to reduce
the process of environmental degradation to a large scale. Therefore, Greta Thunberg
urged the country leaders to take proper preventive measures that can help to reduce
the carbon emission and threat of extinction (Gordon 2018). Therefore, the theory of
global commerce in terms of the theory of imperialism and dependency theory.
The outcome of the theory proved that the reluctance of the leading countries to take
necessary steps for the development of environmental sustainability is influenced by the
interests of high profitability at the cost of exploiting the environment.
Furthermore, the second part of Greta Thunberg also discussed the role of the
countries to take a sustainable approach which is associated with environmental
sustainability (Knox 2019). The report elucidated the fact that the respective
governments must take enough measures like reducing the use of fossil fuel and
shaping a proper plan for delivering a better and effective organisational practice. In
response to this, the theoretical framework also narrated in the same manner where the
business organisations must follow a step-by-step measure to deal with the threat. It is
part of the systematic thinking practice where the business companies are advised to

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take necessary steps to mitigate the issue. From that point of view, it can be stated that
the article partially supported the theoretical aspect by mentioning the role of the
organisation and bring efficacy to the organisational practice to a great extent. However,
it is crucial to note that in the article, the responsibility of each member countries had
been analysed. The role of the nations is to deal with environmental degradation to a
great extent so that it can help to re-establish a world full of life (Abeles et al. 2019).
Therefore, it is clear that the system thinking theory is highly resembled with the article
and highlight the relevance of the argument in analysing the report.
Socially responsible practices
It is important to note that the article tries to provide a clear statement regarding
the role of the countries to have enough preventive measures for the benefit of the
environment. In response to this, the purpose of the nations is to set a plan that can
help to deliver more effective and continuous development in the ecology. However, the
process requires a proper enquiry into the risks and then plan a mitigation strategy so
that it will help the countries to reduce carbon emission and the threat of global
warming. In respect to this, the theory of systematic thinking is highly prevalent for the
nations (Ivanova, Belyakova and Novikova 2019). The steps of systematic thinking will
help the countries to have a deep insight into the process of delivering a better plan to
deal with environmental deterioration. According to the research of Senge (2000), the
first step of the systematic thinking process is getting familiar with the events. In other
words, it can be argued that phase 1 of the systematic thinking practice focuses on the
analysis of the current situation.

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The current environmental situation is far worse than it is expected. Therefore, it
will be useful for the organisation to have enough understanding of the situation as
Caldera, Desha and Dawes (2017) opined that it is considered to be the background of
the risk planning. The second phase is associated with the process of identifying the
patterns of environmental degradation. In fact, the countries need to have a clear
perception regarding the roots of the issue and its future impact over the globe. The
next step is associated with the systematic structure where the role of the organisation
is to enhance the interrelationship between the patterns and the trend. There are
significant patterns that the countries can get through the use of systematic thinking,
and it will be followed by linking with the trends of the country. The final part is
associated with a mental model where potential change will be introduced. The purpose
of the mental model is to guide the country for implementing a potentially useful
measure that will meet the objectives adequately.
Skills of critical analysis
According to the research of Zhaoran, Tianzhu and Wenjing (2018), the process
of systematic thinking resembled with a change management decision making practice
where the organisation should have clear perception regarding the change in the
process. In response to this, it is highly crucial for the institution to have a great deal of
willingness to change the situation. Therefore, self-evaluation of the institution is
considered to be a primary task to deliver a more effective outcome that can meet the
expectation of the institution adequately. In response to this, for the member countries,
it is pertinent to understand the fatality of the situation and the importance to change the
situation effectively so that it will put more focus on the roles and responsibilities of the

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country leaders. From the article of Senge (2000) it can be argued that the success of
the critical thinking practice relies on the efficacy of the leadership as the leaders will
help to follow the right path of success. Moreover, there is also another aspect of
systematic thinking practice where it can be found that the link between the patterns
and trends has to be made and evaluated accordingly. Henceforth, the role of the
leaders to find out the patterns at first and then like it with the existing trends. As a result
of that, it becomes so effective to understand different attributes of the situation and
bring justice to the process of change. Otherwise, it will be futile for the leader to
understand the situation or designing any plan for developing better organisational
practice.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be stated that global warming has an alarming
impact over the earth. One of the primary reasons is the lack of concern from the end of
the country leaders as they are very reluctant to create a plan for reducing carbon
emission. In UN Summit, leading environmental activist, Greta Thunberg condemned
the political leaders for not taking any serious step for the benefit of global warming. In
response to this, the report is trying to put a focus on two economic theories such as
Global commerce and Systematic thinking. The theory of global commerce is dynamic
so that the report opts for two specific approaches of global commerce in terms of the
theory of imperialism and dependency theory. The methods are relevant to the topic
and elucidate the reason behind the reluctance of the country leaders to choose
effective planning for environmental protection. Moreover, the theory of systematic

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thinking also enables the country leaders to have a plan and executing the change
positively. Therefore, it can be concluded that the report rightly discusses and analysed
the theme and linking the theories effectively.

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Reference
Abeles, A.T., Howe, L.C., Krosnick, JA and MacInnis, B., 2019. Perception of public
opinion on global warming and the role of opinion deviance. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 63, pp.118-129.
Beinhocker, E. 2006. "Chapter 4:The Big Picture", in Beinhocker, E. The Origin of
Wealth: Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics, Harvard Business School
Press, Boston, pp. 79-98.
Caldera, H.T.S., Desha, C. and Dawes, L., 2017. Exploring the role of lean thinking in
sustainable business practice: A systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 167, pp.1546-1565.
Fan, Y. and Di, ZR, 2017. Systematic Thinking for the Innovation of Social
Governance. Chinese Journal of Systems Science, (1), p.11.
Gordon, E.A., 2018. The world burns as global warming crisis explodes. Guardian
(Sydney), (1835), p.6.
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Karmalkar, A.V. and Bradley, R.S., 2017. Consequences of global warming of 1.5 C and
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States. PloS one, 12(1).

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Knox, C. 2019. 'How dare you': This is Greta Thunberg's passionate cry for climate
action. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-24/greta-
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