Auckland International Campus: Xero Sustainability Report, AM808001

This report examines the sustainability practices of Xero, a New Zealand-based software company, evaluating its approach to environmental and social responsibility. It analyzes various sustainability models, including the three overlapping circles model and the three-legged stool model, assessing their application within Xero's context. The report also explores the influence of Maori values, such as Tikanga, Kawa, and Manaakitanga, on Xero's operations and its commitment to sustainable practices. Furthermore, it identifies the roles of stakeholders in fostering sustainability within the organization, focusing on their contributions to developing and managing sustainable practices. The analysis considers the company's economic, environmental, and social impacts, providing insights into Xero's efforts to maintain a balance between business objectives and sustainable development. The report concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of these practices and offers recommendations for improvement.

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Managing for Sustainability

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation of the applied models of sustainability:...................................................................3
Role of the stake holders:...........................................................................................................7
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
This assignment is written to understand how the concept of sustainability is achieved
with a reputed New Zealand Firm, Xero. The assignment gives more importance in achieving
the concept of sustainability through adopting the sustainability morale values. Sustainability
is the process of maintaining change in the workplace environment. A sustainable work
process is obtained when the company is able to maintain a stable competitive advantage.
Xero is a public software company located in New Zealand. The organization offers cloud
based supporting software for the large number of the small scale and the medium sized
software companies. The assignment speaks about the ways of achieving sustainability as per
the New Zealand moral values. The great New Zealand organization offers its customers with
the best cloud computing technologies for a number of small sized software companies
(Redpath, J., & Gourdie, J. 2017).
The assignment focuses on the existing sustainability processes of Xero, its problems,
opportunities, and the solutions to resolve the issues associated with the sustainability of Xero
(Smith, H. 2019)
Evaluation of the applied models of sustainability
Several sustainability development models are designed to be effectively in the
organizational environment in order to achieve the concept of sustainability. Sustainability is
a process in which the organization is able to maintain the changes and the organizational
activities do not impact the outside environment (Kanatani, M., & Yaghoubi, R. 2017).
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One of the famous sustainability models is the three overlapping circles model.
Three terms in the circle include the economy, environment, and the society.
Economy: The economy is defined as the economic standards of the country where the
organization is located. In this context, the organization chosen is Xero and its country is a
developing nation, New Zealand. The organization is highly impacted by the country’s
growth. New Zealand is only a developing nation but is enriched with the education facilities
and the human resources. Thus the economical conditions of the country help in the boosting
of the Xero’s business.
Environment: The term environment is dependent on the other two circles namely the
economy and the society. The organization offers a clouding software technology helping
many small and medium sized companies. The software company Xero, has only positive
impacts of the outside environment in empowering the small scale software companies and
does not possess any sort of negative impacts over the environment like the discharging of
the harmful wastes.
Society: The term forming this circle is dependent with the other circles like environment and
the society. The society is comprised of the people like employees, customers, and the
stakeholders who also form the part of the selected organization. When the business
operations are carried out in the organization, its impacts will have effects on its employees
and the stake holders. The behaviour of the organization is highly dependent on the
employees and the stake holders. If an organization take over an action and is not welcomed
by the employees, then obviously the employees show their hearty rejection which may lead
to the industrial conflicts. Society also comprises of the customers who are the people who
get the services from the company. In this context, the customers’ of Xero are the employees
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working in the small sized software companies (Schaltegger, Hansen & Lüdeke-Freund,
2016).
All these three factors are inter-dependent on each other and have effects on the
sustainability of Xero. When the economical background of the country is changed, then the
sustainability factor also gets deviated in the company. When this sustainability factor is
changed, it will direct impact over the society which includes employees and the stake
holders (Adebanjo, The & Ahmed, 2016)
From this, one can conclude that the application of this sustainability model will be
highly effective.
Maori values
Maori values are defined as the ideas, resources, places, and things which are
considered as valuable by the Maori people. Maori are the group of people prevailing in New
Zealand. These people are the indigenous Polynesian people who have generated their own
principles, cultures, and values that are applied both in their practical life as well as in their
workplace environment (Mead, 2016). Some of the Maori values are:
 Tikanga
It is a moral value generated by the Maori people that are defined as the set of culture,
customs, and traditions, and the way in which the community behaves. Here, the community
is defined as the group of people coming under the Maori group. These people believe only
on the positive activities and they are strictly against the negative actions that could exploit
the surrounding environment and the nation. Xero is an organization that has achieved
success over these years and it had only the positive impact over the small software industries
and the company had attained the goal of satisfying both the customers and its clients.
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Through the application of this sustainable principle, the company was able to be a
sustainable one (Joseph, R., Rakena, M., Jones, M. T. K., Sterling, R., & Rakena, C. 2018)
Kawa:
Kawa is the result obtained through the list of actions. The result obtained must be
only the positive one so that the surrounding environment is not affected in any way. Thus
the principle generated by the Maori people helps the organizations in achieving a sustainable
work environment.
Manaakitanga:
Maanakitanga is a group of people located in New Zealand who offers the best
hospitality services to the tourists who come to visit the tourist places located in New
Zealand. These people believe in the moral principle that human beings should help each
other in order to have a sustainable healthy societal environment. The same the case applies
in the great software organization in New Zealand, Xero. The employees working in the
organization are supposed to do only the right actions and work hard to satisfy the customers
and their needs. The customers visiting Xero will get their queries easily resolved and the
employees are happy to work in the environment that offers them the work life balance.
Therefore with the application of this moral principal, Xero is able to maintain a sustainable
work environment benefitting both the employees and the customers (King, L. M. F. 2018).
Sustainability models:
Three legged stool model:
The three legged stool model is highly utilized in many companies. The model states
that the sustainability factor is dependent on the other three factors like economic,
environmental, and the social. All these 3 factors are essential for an organization to maintain
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a sustainable environment. Even if any one of the conditions is weak, then the sustainability
factor can’t be achieved. The outside economic factors play a major role in maintaining the
sustainability of the organization. While considering the economies of New Zealand, the
employees are highly educated living in a developing nation. As the country is still a
developing one, there comes the occurrence of the shortage of the financial resources for the
development of the innovative technologies in Xero organization. Apart from the shortage of
financial resources, the company is located in a country which is composed of employees
with high education and possessing fewer skills. The environmental factors include the
surrounding environment. If organizational activities cause environmental hazards, then the
organization’s growth will be highly affected. In addition to this, the environment puts extra
pressure on the organization to come up with advanced waste management techniques to
compress the solid wastes discharged from the organization. Thus it is necessary for the
organization to keep the external surrounding environment clean and tidy in order to prevent
the organization from its growth. The social factors enlighten the idea of the culture beliefs
and the lifestyles of the common people prevailing in the country. It is the responsibility of
the organization to act according to the social needs of the customers. The culture and the
lifestyle of the people impact the activities of the organization. The New Zealand people are
the down to earth persons and they are the people who don’t have a thirst for a luxurious life
like the people from US and UK. Since the living standards of the people are simple, the
organization need not have to build up more.
Some of the benefits of the three legged stool model are:
a) The model can be applied to all kinds of organizations.
b) Easy and simple to understand.
c) Don’t have much complication in applying them in the organizational environment.
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Three nested dependencies model:
This model tells that the sustainability of the organization is highly dependent on the
three factors namely economy, society, and the environment. The economies of the nation
determine the growth of the organization. In this context, the economy of New Zealand is low
and hence the Xero Company struggles to grow with a country with the shortage of the
economic resources. The second dependency factor is the society who is the customers who
get the cloud computing services from the great software company, Xero. The customers are
the people who determine whether an organization should grow or not. If the customers are
not happy with the products, then the company’s profit levels will be destroyed and in the
same time if the customers are happy with the products, the company’s profit levels will
reach its peaks. The third dependency factor is the environment. An organization should be
always aware of the fact that the products produced must not destroy the surrounding
environment in any way. Thus all three dependency factors of this model are interlinked with
each other in affecting the growth of the organization.
Role of the stake holders:
Stake holders are the people who are directly impacted by the organizational activities
and actions. The stake holders include the employees, team leaders, and the mangers. If the
changes occur in the organization and if the decision making process in an organization is not
effectively carried out, then the sustainability level gets disturbed in the organization and the
employees will be directly affected by them (Su, W., & Tsang, E. W. 2015)
Development of applied sustainable practices
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Stake holders working in Xero helps in the development of the sustainable practices
within the organization through the following ways:
a) Stake holders look over the current existing capabilities of the organization.
b) Effective utilization of the resources to meet the present needs and also not
comprising with the needs of the future.
c) Minimization of waste.
d) Recycling of the resources.
e) Efficient planning on the utilization of the resources.
f) Getting involved in the efficient decision making process.
g) Look over the utility bills and plan for the financial resources that are necessary to be
utilized to meet the needs of the future.
h) Being specific on the goals and allocation of the tasks to the employees.
i) Initiating employee team work and motivation.
j) Investing more on the latest and the innovative technologies in order to compete with
the competitors and to achieve the concept of the competitive advantage (Schroeder,
P., Anggraeni, K., & Weber, U.2019).
Through these above mentioned steps, the stake holders of the Xero Company will be
able to establish a sustainable work environment and to maintain the changes occurring in the
organization. The Xero organization does not allow the employees to be negatively impacted
by the organizational activities and decisions and the stake holders plays a major
responsibility in this.
Management of applied sustainable practices
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This section of the assignment discusses on the management of the applied
sustainable practices by the stake holders. The Xero software company manages the
sustainable practices with the help of the stake holders.
a) Defining the roles of the sustainability to the respective stake holders.
b) Evaluation of the sustainability reports.
c) Analyzing the gaps between the present and the future sustainability practices.
d) Make plans to achieve the goals of sustainability (Wu, K. J., Liao, C. J., Tseng, M., &
Chiu, K. K. S. 2016).
Defining roles
The roles are specifically defined to the respective stake holders in achieving the
target of sustainability. The stake holders who are involved in the sustainable process are
clear on their goals and they are obliged to perform their duties in establishing an effective
sustainable work environment.
Evaluation of the sustainability reports:
The sustainability reports are analysed every time in the organization to determine
whether the sustainable practices are effectively adopted and they cause no harm to the
surrounding environment or the employees. The sustainability reports of Xero vary in each
year and the stake holders will analyse them to check whether the sustainability performance
of the organization is enhanced every year.
Analysing gaps:
Through analysing the sustainable reports, the stake holders will be able to notice the
gaps existing between the present and the future goals of sustainability. The stake holders of
Xero are highly responsible to notice this report and make plans to fill the sustainability gaps.
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Make plans to achieve the goals of sustainability:
The gaps existing between the present and the future sustainability practices of the
organization are examined and the plans are formulated to achieve them. The plans may
include enhancing the profit levels in the business, gathering more customers, and to look
over the work done by the employees.
Influence of the perceptions of the stake holders:
The sustainable management practices developed for the organization by the stake
holders influences the adopted sustainable practices and the way of managing the sustainable
practices.
The actions of the stake holders greatly influence the sustainable practices developed
in the organization. If the stake holders have the clear cut idea on the development of the
sustainable practices, then the organization are impacted in a positive way while if the
decision making processes of the stake holders are not effective then the organization will be
impacted in a negative way.
The developed sustainable practices can be influenced through the following ways:
a) The sustainable practices will either allow the employees to adapt with it or reject it.
b) The sustainable practices may bring modifications in the existing business structure of
the organization.
c) The sustainable practices will change the effectiveness of the decision making
process.
d) The sustainable practices influence the managers and the board of directors in Xero to
come up with new innovation and the latest technologies.
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e) The sustainability practices may kick out the poor employees and tries to retain the
skilful employees in the organization.
The management of the sustainable practices can be influenced in the following ways:
a) Influence over the waste management techniques adopted by the organization so that
the products manufactured from the organization end may not exploit the surrounding
environment.
b) Influences the managers and their decision making process.
c) Influences the way of recruitment carried out in the organization.
d) Influence over the profit levels.
e) Influence over the competition levels of the Xero with other companies.
f) Influence over the level of the effectiveness shown by the employees in their work.
g) Influence over the supply chain networks of the organization.
Conclusion
The entire assignment discusses on the sustainability practices adopted in the Xero
organization located in New Zealand. The sustainable practices are carried out in the
organization with the application of the sustainable models and the moral values adopted by a
group of people in New Zealand. The organization selected in this context is the Xero, which
is a great software company that offers the cloud computing software to many small sized
software firms in and around the company. The customers and the clients of the organization
are always happy with the cloud computing solutions offered by the organization and the
sustainable practices are critically evaluated.
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