Individual Reflective Journal: Sustainability, Globalization, TBL

This reflective journal delves into the concept of sustainability, particularly focusing on the triple bottom line (TBL) approach in business. The author reflects on the importance of considering social and environmental responsibilities alongside financial profits, highlighting how neglecting these aspects can lead to negative consequences for businesses, including reputational damage and legal repercussions. The journal emphasizes the significance of ethical behavior, environmental stewardship, and positive community engagement for long-term sustainability. It further discusses the role of organizational culture and employee satisfaction in achieving a balanced and sustainable business model, advocating for employee involvement in decision-making and fair treatment to foster a positive and productive work environment. The author also shares personal reflections on shifting from a high-consumption lifestyle to a more sustainable one, influenced by course materials and a growing awareness of environmental issues.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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In this paper I will be discussing my perspectives on the needs of implementing triple
bottom line method in business that will be highly helpful for the businesses to attain
sustainability. The business goals of the organizations generally rely on how sustainable it can be
in difficult situations. The business organizations in the recent times have been going through
certain crucial situations because of several social, economical and other perspectives. In this
paper, I will highlight some facts that will be very important for every business leader to
consider. This method of the triple bottom line is generally a framework in which three important
aspects related to business are intertwined (Alhaddi, 2015). This framework or model is mainly
built upon three factors. This model is mainly an accounting framework in which three crucial
aspects are social, environmental and economic.
In the beginning, it is the responsibility of the business managers to find out the
challenges they are facing. The primary challenges that are mainly faced by the organizations are
either of the three or all of these simultaneously. This is why it is the biggest responsibility of
the business managers that they can highlight the issues and be ascertained about their losses in
the business. In my opinion, business managers should make sure the fact that they cover all
these three points properly (Alhaddi, 2015). The problems in a business organization occur
mainly of their internal problems. The internal problems are often indicated towards the social
problems or cultural issues within the organization. In case of economic problems, proper
reasons should be identified after thorough analysis. In this paper, I will discuss about the
different problems that are faced by the organizations at different times and how they can be
solved by applying this triple bottom line method effectively.
Before going further with this topic, a proper discussion should be made on the triple
bottom line method. This is one of the best methods to identify the challenges and mitigate them.

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According to the basic idea of this method, I must stress on the fact that all organizations must
focus on their social and environmental responsibilities just as they focus on their financial gains.
The primary purpose of the organizations is always to gain great amount of profits. When a
company operates within a business environment, they have to look after the well being of the
environment (Alhaddi, 2015). This will lead them to address the situations that might affect the
environment because of some of their decisions. I have studied of some organizations that have
always looked into the matter of making profits and overlooking above mentioned two factors. If
they cannot look into these issues with a proper analysis, this will surely be a setback for them in
their future (Rambaud & Richard, 2015).
In the contemporary business environment, all the organizations are just thinking about
one bottom line. This is why I believe these organizations should always look forward to shift
their concerns on all of these bottom lines. All these three profits should be remembered and
focused properly (Glavas & Mish, 2015). Otherwise, they will lose their financial profits as well.
The three P’s are always given the most significance. These three P’s are people, planet and
profits. Here people signify the society, planet stands for the environment and profit means
financial profits. I am not against this bottom line of profits because it is extremely essential for
all the companies in the business to stand firm and conduct a sustainable business. This should
be achieved but it will be a difficult thing for the organizations to thrive in this complicated
business environment especially carbon footprints are getting higher (Glavas & Mish, 2015).
Besides this aspect of profit gaining, it is also very important that my organization should earn
the respect of all the people. If this is the case, I will also get the respect from people around me.
In my life I have encountered with such companies that are not all worried about their
social and environmental responsibilities. They treat with their suppliers and some internal

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stakeholders like customers in a very rude manner and they also not care about their
environmental responsibilities (Rambaud & Richard, 2015). If they do not care about the
environment where they are doing their business, it will really be a problematic thing for them. If
the business organizations are not ethical in their business industries and they are ready to
compromise anything for making monetary profits, they will face problems in the future. In my
view, companies that do not focus on well being of their environment could be charged by the
environment protection commission of the concerned countries can ban their license. One way of
polluting the environment is by excessive emission of carbon and greenhouse gases.
In the cases of energy sector organizations, they can be charged of fracking coal from
underground. This process causes large harm to the environment. This is why companies should
be very cautious when they are conducting business especially in another country other than their
base country. I believe the biggest purpose of implementing the triple bottom line method is to
make all the organizations they are responsible for their actions to all their stakeholders, both and
internal and external ones. They must abide by all legal and environmental regulations of the
countries they are operating in. Once they do not abide by these frameworks, they lose their
credibility to their customers (Rambaud & Richard, 2015). I have grown up by seeing some
companies losing their reputation to their customers just because they have done something
unethical in their business that they should not have done. This indeed calls for immediate action
in their activities. When they will learn that their actions have hampered the business ethics, their
customers will lose their faith on them. This negative impact will surely be a problematic one for
them (Wilson, 2015).
Nowadays, social media is a very strong and effective medium to update the customers
about their activities. The companies also use their feedback procedure that would really be very

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much helpful to find out if they can give some ideas how the organization can make better
practices. If the customers find that the company is not doing their business in a proper manner
and they are cheating their customers just to make higher profits, customers are free to post
negative updates on that company (Wilson, 2015). This will really work as a massive drawback
for that particular company. I have found many people around me who just does not wish to look
into these matters since they only live their lives in a luxurious manner. In order to do this, they
should not have any respect for anyone in their lives, not even their events. These companies are
only like these children because their sole ambition is to earn high profits through their
operations and they rely only on the quantity, ignoring quality completely (Searcy, 2016). This
practice is very harmful and the only way to stop this kind of practice is triple bottom line
method.
These are indeed very serious factors and must be dealt with much resilience. Once a
company is charged of unethical behaviors, they should pray for mercy to their stakeholders and
customers (Wilson, 2015). Otherwise they will lose their place in the rat race of competition. If
the companies do not look into the matter of carbon footprints seriously they will also lose their
positions as well. So, it is quite important that these companies should always look to implement
they have caused to the environment. If these steps are not done, they will create a negative
impact about themselves on the minds of their customers (McWilliams et al., 2016).
The customers are very well aware of the ways of using the social media. They can use
this platform to spread negative approaches about those companies. Another thing that belongs to
the well being of people is the culture of the companies. When the managers of the organizations
behave with their customers in a rude manner, this will be problematic for the organization in the
future (McWilliams et al., 2016). If a concerned company opts to exploit their labor force, they

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should be fined. These cases should be taken to the employment commissions to punish the
offenders. In fact, one of the responsibilities of the company is to look after the well being of the
immediate communities they are working with. Therefore, they should indulge in their activities
regarding corporate social responsibility (Żak, 2015).
I have also seen some companies who use this TBL method for their good behavior and
better reputation in the business environment. These organizations have always respected the
people they work with (Searcy, 2016). This is good for those surrounding communities as well. It
is very evident that these companies cater for the well being of the environment as well. People
are very important for the success of these companies. This is the way the companies will
succeed in the best manner (Żak, 2015). So, employees should also be satisfied by the managers.
The customers, employees and suppliers should be satisfied by the ways they will conduct their
business. I strongly opine that the companies should also take great care for their surrounding
environment and energy resources.
In this section I will outline some ways in which the organizations in the modern society
organizations will be able to maintain its responsibilities and become as one of the best
organizations in the world. Usually when we talk about financial attributes, we mean the
financial profits the company has made (Żak, 2015). I have studied the works of some critics as
they have pointed out the fact that sustainability and survival in the complex business
environment should be the goal of all the organizations. If they want to achieve this
sustainability, they cannot simply rely only in the financial profits. They should also think what
their employees and customers think about them (Tate & Bals, 2018). A company cannot retain
their skilled employees if they are not satisfied with the organization culture. In the application
of the TBL method, the role of organizational culture is a very serious issue as well. So,

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organizations should take feedbacks from their employees about the existing organizational
culture. If the amount of negative feedbacks continues to go up, it will surely be a matter of
problem for survival for the company.
All the three Ps should be treated with the equal importance when companies look to
identify flaws for going down in the race. In my opinion, some companies go down in their
business industry as they are unable to connect with their employees. Until this is done properly,
employees will feel negative about the organizational culture of the company. In my textbooks, I
have read about some cases where employees do not feel attaché to the organizational
environment since there is no stability (Tate & Bals, 2018). This factor occurs when the
managers of the organization are constantly making several changes within the organization.
Employees take a lot of time in adjusting with the changes. They just cannot simply get
accustomed with all the changes within the organization. It is true that employees have to work
as per the objectives of the organization but they cannot operate properly if dictatorship is being
followed in the organization (Venkatraman & Nayak, 2015).
As per the TBL method, ‘people’ is a very crucial bottom line and employees should
always be engaged with the decisions of the managers. Managers must have a very strong hold in
the organization but they should judge the capacity of all the workers. Tasks should be allocated
to employees to their limits only (Tate & Bals, 2018). If an employee is over burdened with work
and not paid proportionate to their efforts, it will be a huge problem for the organization. Thus,
we have found employee engagement and employee retention are crucial parts of the success for
the organization (Hammer & Pivo, 2017). This is a significant part of social responsibility of the
organization. Most managers in this business environment only look for the profit and loss
accounts in terms of organizational success. In this scenario, organizations should find a proper

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way of making the profits and satisfying their immediate society as well. They have to be ethical
in their pursuit of taking better steps for organizational success.
Nowadays customers are well aware of the different activities that are being taken up by
thee organizations. The matter of faith in these organizations is very important because rival
companies often try to hamper their reputation by false allegations in the minds of their
customers through social media (Hammer & Pivo, 2017). If that concerned company does not
have any connection with their stakeholders, they will not find any back up to listen to their
reasons. Therefore, communication with customers is a vital part of being a good performer in
the international business environment (Venkatraman & Nayak, 2015). However, there are some
crucial challenges in measuring the triple bottom lines of the organization.
I have gathered the information from books and article that organizations have been
facing some difficulties in measuring the bottom lines of society and environment. The managers
are not bothered about the impact of their organizational activities on the environment
(Shnayder, Van Rijnsoever & Hekkert, 2015). They cannot control the environmental
measurements of the organizational activities as they do not have any mechanisms to do that.
The profitability of the organization is always based on amount of money so it is very much
quantitative. This can be measured but other things are qualitative. This is why these two things
cannot be measured. In this scenario, it would be highly important to measure these factors
properly (Agrawal, Singh & Murtaza, 2016). From my viewpoint, it can be assessed only by the
feedbacks of their internal and external stakeholders. In the present times, there are many
companies who would like to implement all the three bottom lines in their business operations. It
is very much important since they have realized the importance of sustainability of their
organizations.

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The small businesses and newly set up businesses face the challenges while
implementing all three principles of the triple bottom line (Agrawal, Singh & Murtaza, 2016). It
is because they do not have the financial strength to combat issues of sudden monetary loss in
their business functions. They have to look for financial profits until they make a big step
towards success. Most organizations and their managers have reported that they want to focus on
the variables of triple bottom line but sometimes it does not work. If they focus on other two
principles of people and planet, they will lose the profit and it will impact on the overall
functions. If they do not make enough profits, they will not be able to provide high incentives to
their employees as well (Ahi & Searcy, 2015). Triple bottom line has been regarded as a way for
the overall corporate social responsibility of the people. In this scenario, employees and
customers must be aware that companies have to think of monetary profits before they can
provide best products (Shnayder, Van Rijnsoever & Hekkert, 2015). If they do not have enough
money, they will not be able to use best logistics and supply chain as well. So, these things will
hamper the growth of the company. I must say in this context, companies cannot sustain in their
industry just because they have a good reputation in the society and they protect the
environment. Also they should have a strong financial base as well.
Therefore, I would also like to highlight some significant factors in this matter. This issue
of the triple bottom line has emerged as a significant thing for the profit, non-profit and
government organizations (Ahi & Searcy, 2015). Especially government organizations want to
keep a clean image so they like to use this triple bottom line strategy to all people in the society.
The exponent of this model or framework was John Elkington who had a vision for all
companies to follow. He believed this framework could prove to be beneficial for all

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organizations in the mix. I will always want to work in an organization that will acknowledge my
efforts and give value to my work.
If this framework can be utilized properly, this will surely give much space for all
organizations (Hussain, Rigoni & Orij, 2018). I believe it is a matter of honor to work in an
organization where all the social and environmental guidelines are maintained besides the profit
issues. Money is definitely one of the most useful sources for survival but being ethical and
honorable also has a great value. I believe these considerations will prove to be the basic
standards for the overall success of the organizations. In my opinion, organizations should
always evaluate their overall performances and realize where they need to improve (Hussain,
Rigoni & Orij, 2018). As the sustainability is the main target, they should consider highly how
they can protect the environment and earn the trust and faith of their customers and employees.
Evidently, I believe, these issues will be highlighted if an organization fails to perform in its
expected manner. So, triple bottom line has indeed come up with great importance in the modern
business environment (Bond, 2014).
In the concluding section, I would like to stress on some few things. I would like draw
upon the fact that triple bottom line has been one of the most important factors for the companies
to achieve the sustainability. There are some drawbacks of this method or framework. This
framework has evidently helped the companies to be very successful in their industries. It is true
from one angle that companies cannot focus solely on making business profits by ignoring the
issues of people and planet. If the companies are not able to look after the well being of
environment, it might cause serious problems to them. Besides they cannot focus only on these
two things. Otherwise, they will not be able to make profits and establish their financial strength.
I must aware the readers that all these things should be measured in the organization to create a

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perfect balance. Thus, I strongly believe triple bottom line framework will guide the
organizations to succeed in the business environment.

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References and Bibliography
Agrawal, S., Singh, R. K., & Murtaza, Q. (2016). Triple bottom line performance evaluation of
reverse logistics. Competitiveness Review, 26(3), 289-310.
Ahi, P., & Searcy, C. (2015). Assessing sustainability in the supply chain: A triple bottom line
approach. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 39(10-11), 2882-2896.
Alhaddi, H. (2015). Triple bottom line and sustainability: A literature review. Business and
Management Studies, 1(2), 6-10.
Bansal, P., & DesJardine, M. R. (2014). Business sustainability: It is about time. Strategic
Organization, 12(1), 70-78.
Bond, C. J. (2014). Positive peace and sustainability in the mining context: beyond the triple
bottom line. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 164-173.
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The Circular Economy–A
new sustainability paradigm?. Journal of cleaner production, 143, 757-768.
Glac, K. (2015). Triple bottom line. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-2.
Glavas, A., & Mish, J. (2015). Resources and capabilities of triple bottom line firms: going over
old or breaking new ground?. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(3), 623-642.
Hammer, J., & Pivo, G. (2017). The triple bottom line and sustainable economic development
theory and practice. Economic Development Quarterly, 31(1), 25-36.