Sustainable Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sustainable Operation Management - Essay ExampleThe sudden shift in the fixate down of companies towards sustainability occurred due to the sheer pressure sensation from the customers, investors, local people in the area of operation and to some extent the employees (Dernbach, 2002). This report will shed light on the importance of sustainability in an organization. In addition, factors such as benefits of sustainability will in addition be covered. However, the principal purpose of this study is to address the issues that companies are facing in developing and implementing sustainability policies. Apart from addressing the aforementioned issues, the report will also emphasize the effectiveness of the approaches of different companies towards sustainability. The persisting inconsistencies of those companies in terms of their sustainability will be also highlighted. Finally, based on the outcomes the study will draw a conclusion and will provide recommendations on how to improve s ustainability. Before getting further profoundly into the study, a brief synopsis of what sustainability actually means will be presented below. Discussion Sustainability has always been a significant and relevant issue for a sizeable number of organizations. Sustainability management practices and strategies are of growing importance to every department of the organization. Sustainable development can be defined as a forge of development in which the companies meet the present needs of the customers without compromising on the future needs (Bigg, 2004). Over the last few years, there has been an increasing pressure on the companies to reduce operations which harm the environment. Therefore, it is important for the companies to follow sustainable development. The principal driving factors of this drastic shift are competitive pressures, perceived merchandise advantages, legal obligations, demands of investors and internal ethical values of the firm. The organizations which have considered sustainable development got benefitted to a large extent. For example, these companies have been able to reduce their operating costs, increase food market share and market penetration, increase investment levels, enhance brand reputation, developed new products and markets and improve customer satisfaction process (Misra, 2008). In order to get these advantages, it is important to take sustainable initiatives. According to a study carried out by Deloitte, several factors act as the enabler of sustainability. The major ones are allotted budget, ordain employees, technology and also the companys capability to focus on financial and strategic considerations. The table below will depict these factors more clearly. view 1 (Source Deloitte, 2010) It is important that companies should meet the present needs without diminishing the capabilities of meeting future demands. Sustainable development is therefore regarded as a challenge for the organizations. In order to implement sustainable development, companies have to deal with a large number of issues. For example, the increase in energy and food prices during the year 2008, led to grievous food crisis. Despite in the reduction of energy prices, the food prices continued to remain high. The global economic downturn of 2009 has further exacerbated the condition. The negative impacts were reduced growth rates and increasing unemployment (Department of Economic and Social Affair, n.d.). Figure 2 (Source Carter and Rogers 2008) The significance of sustainability in every department of an organization cannot be denied. However, the importance is more for a