People Work and Employment: Sustainability in Australian Business

This report provides an analysis of people work and employment in the Australian context, with a specific focus on sustainability initiatives and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The report examines the practices of 4Pines, a Sydney-based brewery, highlighting their commitment to environmental preservation, social welfare, and ethical business conduct. It explores how 4Pines integrates sustainability into its operations, including employee volunteer programs, local supplier selection, and the attainment of BCorp certification. The report also investigates the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in driving these initiatives, emphasizing the importance of employee motivation and engagement in achieving positive social and human outcomes. Furthermore, the report contrasts 4Pines' approach with that of Tesco, a British multinational retailer, to illustrate how sustainability initiatives can vary across different business contexts while still aiming for competitiveness and quality service. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of sustainability and adherence to regulations for responsible business practices.

Running head: PEOPLE WORK AND EMPLOYMENT
People Work And Employment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report is aimed to look into the people work and employment of people in Australia. The
formative assessment requires to develop an understanding of. The ultimate aim of the formative
assessment requires to monitor the learning of students for providing the responses which is to be
used by instructors for bringing in improvements on their teaching and thus help students
improve their learning. On the other hand, the summative is to ascertain the learnings which a
student attained over a period by comparing against the formative assessment developed, taking
them as the standard. A sustainable future is necessary to avoid a global collapse. The academic
literature assures that Human Resource Management should be taking the desired initiatives to
guarantee pleasant life for future generations.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2. Discussion....................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Issue 1 - Identification Of Sustainability Issues....................................................................3
2.2 Issue 2 - Analysis And Evaluation Of The Authenticity Of Sustainability Initiatives.........5
2.3 Issue 3 - Contribution Of Initiatives To Enhancing Positive Social And Human Outcomes
For Human Resources.................................................................................................................5
2.4 Issue 4 - How outcomes might differ for the same initiatives in a different business
context..........................................................................................................................................7
3. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................8
4. References....................................................................................................................................9

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1. Introduction
Sustainable development is not a new concept. This has been prevalent for quite
sometime. During the early part of 1900s, quite a number of universities were introducing this
concept in their outlines for training critical thinkers in ethics and morality. Sustainable growth is
a broad area, which is highly concerned about the impact the human activities can create on the
environment, social welfare and economic growth (Agudo‐Valiente, Garcés‐Ayerbe and
Salvador‐Figueras 2015). 4Pines is a brewery based in Sydney, that wishes to be trusted for
innovative processes and sustainable performance.
2. Discussion
2.1 Issue 1 - Identification Of Sustainability Issues
4Pines is an organization, which puts emphasis on the impact they have on the society
through their activities and take full responsibility towards preserving the environment in the
best possible manner. Taking care of the fact that their activities related to the business should
not have any adverse impact on the people around, is something which the company considers to
be their moral obligation. ‘Save The Pines’ is a major initiative towards social responsibility,
which the company considers to stay committed towards the welfare of the society (Carayannis,
Sindakis and Walter 2015). For any initiative to succeed, an organization needs the back up of
their Human Resource Department. HR plays a very important role in giving the initiatives
proper shape. The HR Value Chain states that, for any organization to implement their strategies
in an effective manner as part of the achievement of goals and objectives, they have to get
clubbed with the HR strategy (Smith 2012).

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4Pines is a brewing company, so apart from all these the organization also takes the
initiative to get totally engaged with their suppliers in and around the country. They believe that
if they choose Australian suppliers, who share their same values, will conform to the ethical
values of the organization, their commitment towards the society and the local community
engagement. Gualandris and Kalchschmidt provide evidence that proper selection of suppliers is
essential towards developing effective initiatives with respect to sustainability. On the other,
selection of local suppliers is aided by the belief that the economy would be moving backwards
from a globally manufacturing system to local and personalized one, as over the years, they have
not have not had any positive effect on productivity or sustained economic growth.
As part of their sustainability initiatives, every employee is given a chance each year to
volunteer in their charitable organizations, which in turn receives around $500 donation to
facilitate in organizing a major event.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an integration of the concerns related to environment
and society in a company’s regular operations (Schneider and Schmidpeter 2012). The
incorporation of Corporate Social Responsibility into the system brings in transparency,
knowledge and sustainability. 4Pines abides by the social responsibilities through incorporating
transparency and maintaining sustainability in all their activities. They understand that this is
their moral responsibility towards the society and thus act accordingly, in line with their motive.
There is a theory which provides the options to prove if the initiatives undertaken are
trustworthy and well performed or not. This is the Agency Theory. The possible processes are
studied to ensure maximum utility from agents and principals (Young and Thyil 2014). The
authenticity of the initiatives undertaken by 4Pines can be measured from the fact that they have

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attained the BCorp Certificate, which provides them the certification that they are a sustainable
business.
2.2 Issue 2 - Analysis And Evaluation Of The Authenticity Of Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainability Initiatives undertaken by 4Pines are analyzed and evaluated by looking
into the different sustainable and corporate social responsibilities carried out in all the activities.
They have a BCorp certification with regard to the sustainable theories undertaken. This is
enough proof that 4Pines is a sustainable business as BCorp certification is for those who have
attained sustainability over a period of time (Michie 2015).
The ‘Save The Pines’ program is a way to initiate sustainability and provide people with
authenticity that the company deals in conducting their business in a free and fair manner by
adhering to the corporate social responsibility and become sustainable over a period of time.
As part of sustainability initiatives, every employee is given a chance each year to
volunteer in their charitable organizations, which in turn receives around $500 donation to
facilitate in organizing a major event. Additionally one percent of an entire period volunteered
by the workers, gets awarded to their annual leave.
2.3 Issue 3 - Contribution Of Initiatives To Enhancing Positive Social And Human
Outcomes For Human Resources
Sustainability can only be achieved through constant performance and by maintaining the
quality. This performance by keeping up with the quality can only be attained through a
motivated group of employees. 4Pines through these incentives from time to time, help keep the
employees motivated, which will lead to exceptional performance, resulting in improved

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productivity, thus making the 4Pines organization a profitable one. So the initiatives contributed
to a great extent for enhancing positive, social and human outcomes.
On the social front, the initiatives taken the organization has done a world of good. The
idea of adding one percent of an entire period volunteered by the workers, gets awarded to their
annual leave is an excellent initiative to keep the employees motivated and always energetic so
that they put in their best efforts while working for the organization. When the customers get the
ideas that the company is serious about keeping up with the needs and demands and also
particular about the well-being of individuals in and around, automatically a sense of trust and
feeling of authenticity get developed within them (Yap and Labangon 2015). They would always
be loyal towards the company, by purchasing products from them and thereby ensure growth and
development of the organization. A business flourishes when they are fully assisted by the
employees who work for them. The employees would work enthusiastically and in a motivated
manner only when they feel that the organization is taking care of their interests and providing
them with the necessary facilities. Human resource in the form of employees is a very precious
resource, which if carefully managed, can make an organization grow and scale new heights. The
fact that the 4Pines makes every attempt to keep their employees happy and satisfied, is enough
evidence to prove that they will be loyal towards the organization on a long-term basis.
Their ‘Save The Pines’ initiative is another step in the right direction taken by the
organization to show how much they are concerned about preserving their organization from
external threats. This is their commitment towards the environmental and social responsibility.
Then the use of BCorp as an yardstick to guide the organization for improving their approach
towards people, environment, governance and community (Eccles, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014).
When an organization like 4Pines takes steps through these noble initiatives to contribute

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positively towards the social and human outcomes for human resources, the whole image of the
organization gets a lift. The steps inspire other organizations of the same industry or of other
industries to follow the same path and thus allow the art of doing business, a way through which
they can contribute towards the growth and development of the society. Invariably, this allows
the organization to grow in the eyes of the public and impact positively on the minds and
attitudes of the human resources or employees.
2.4 Issue 4 - How outcomes might differ for the same initiatives in a different business
context
The results would vary from business to business in a significant way. The concept of
sustainable development would be applicable irrespective of the type of business but the
initiatives would vary according to the needs and requirements of the business. The primary aim
for any organization would be to remain competitive in a highly volatile work environment. This
requires the organizations to implement basic theories applicable for doing business in a
responsible manner, keeping in view the betterment of the society (Walker et al. 2014). There
would be variations on the outcomes for the same initiatives in a different business context but
the primary aim for them would be same, which is to remain competitive and keep providing
quality service to the customers.
To see how the outcomes would be different for the similar initiatives in a different
business context, the British Multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer, Tesco is
considered. Tesco being a renowned organization with respect to the image and service they
have rendered all the British Community, they put tremendous effort to be socially responsible in
this field of business (Mirvis 2012). In Irelend, TESCO has been working with the customers,
partners and suppliers to create a green environment and raise awareness among the public on

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environmental issues. In Ireland, they have been playing a major role to tackle one of the gravest
threats, which is climate change. This is the reason why, one of the policies of TESCO is to put
the well being of environment first before taking any sort of initiative regarding the company’s
growth. The company measures their direct carbon footprint to an absolutely clear baseline from
where the progress made in reducing the carbon emissions could be tracked and thus help
TESCO to look into different fields where they need to give priority (Hornibrook, May and
Fearne 2015). They have included use of energy in the stores, distribution centres and offices, as
well as look into the primary distribution emissions, business travel and their delivery vans for
home shopping. They have also included the impact of Hydrofluorocarbon gases which are used
for refrigeration. The company is determined to reduce their indirect carbon footprint and are
looking towards options for examining certain ways through which they can assist the suppliers
along with their customers to find ways out for reducing emissions (Lee and Saen 2012).
So a distinct difference can be seen how initiatives vary from one company to another
keeping in mind the type of businesses, which they involved in. To carry on taking the noble
steps towards the betterment of society and also look to prosper as an organization, should be
ultimate motives for every company.
3. Conclusion
So, the report concludes that the sustainability and understanding the benefits for the
society by keeping up with the rules and regulations is important for any organization to carry
out businesses in a socially responsible manner. 4Pines is certainly abiding by the rules and
conforming with the regulations to carry out their business activities in a healthy and sustainable
manner.

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4. References
Agudo‐Valiente, J.M., Garcés‐Ayerbe, C. and Salvador‐Figueras, M., 2015. Corporate social
performance and stakeholder dialogue management. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Environmental Management, 22(1), pp.13-31.
Carayannis, E.G., Sindakis, S. and Walter, C., 2015. Business model innovation as lever of
organizational sustainability. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 40(1), pp.85-104.
Eccles, R.G., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. The impact of corporate sustainability on
organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), pp.2835-2857.
Hornibrook, S., May, C. and Fearne, A., 2015. Sustainable development and the consumer:
Exploring the role of carbon labelling in retail supply chains. Business Strategy and the
Environment, 24(4), pp.266-276.
Lee, K.H. and Saen, R.F., 2012. Measuring corporate sustainability management: A data
envelopment analysis approach. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), pp.219-
226.
Michie, J., 2015. The Economy, Financial Stability and Sustainable Growth. In Why the Social
Sciences Matter (pp. 92-110). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Mirvis, P., 2012. Employee engagement and CSR. California Management Revie

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Schneider, A. and Schmidpeter, R., 2012. Corporate social responsibility. Verantwortliche
Unternehmensführung in der Praxis, Berlin ua.
Smith, P.A., 2012. The importance of organizational learning for organizational
sustainability. The Learning Organization, 19(1), pp.4-10.
Walker, P.H., Seuring, P.S., Sarkis, P.J. and Klassen, P.R., 2014. Sustainable operations
management: recent trends and future directions. International Journal of Operations &
Production Management, 34(5).
Yap, J.M. and Labangon, D.L.G., 2015. Embedding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Activities in an Academic Library: Highlights on the Social Aspects of the Human
Library. PAARL, p.14.
Young, S. and Thyil, V., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance: Role of
context in international settings. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(1), pp.1-24.

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