Reference no: EM133925024

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability

Learning Outcome 1: Analyse the role of the board in the assessment of strategy and risk, and the way in which this expertise can be better utilised

Learning Outcome 2: Analyse the sustainability initiatives practiced within organisations and determine their effectiveness in meeting corporate and ethical objectives

Learning Outcome 3: Apply corporate sustainability practices in a real-world example and examine their appropriateness in a variety of contexts

Assessment - Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Business

Task

Part A: Produce a PowerPoint slide deck of 3 (three) slides, proposing one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) that the fictional case study company can adopt as a contribution to sustainability.

Part B: Develop a short Management Proposal (1,500 words), enabling the case company to adopt your proposed SDG within an 18-month timeframe.

Assessment Description
The ability to pitch ideas to senior staff, including a company's Board and Senior Management team, is an important workplace skill.

The ability to write a short workplace document such as a Management Proposal is also highly valued in the modern workplace.

Assessment Instructions

Become familiar with the UN Sustainable Development Goals website:

Click some of the interactive links, to understand what those goals mean, who benefits from that goal, and what businesses can do to promote sustainable development within and across national boundaries, by adopting one or more of the UN SDGs.

You might also like to look at the Global Sustainable Development Report for 2023

The following video provides an overview of the history and development of the SDGS

Part A (PowerPoint Slide Deck)
Prepare a slide deck of 3 slides, that briefly pitches your proposal to the Senior Management team.

Slide 1: Your proposed SDG, plus the target beneficiaries (persons or communities that the company's SDG is designed to help).
Slide 2: Company Contribution. How an existing company product or activity will be leveraged to create the company's SDG contribution.
Slide 3: SDG Business Case. What benefit(s) the company will gain from the SDG project.
Submit your slide deck through the Moodle button by Tuesday, Week 12. Get online assignment help-AI & plagiarism-free-now!

Part B (Management Proposal)
Write a Management Proposal (1,500 words) outlining a staged approach enabling the case company to target and contribute to one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Your report will include the following sections:
Introduction: Background information (brief description) of the proposed SDG. Specify outcomes the company can aim for in pursuit of that goal. (300 words)

Why QuickBite Express? How the company's resources and expertise could make a significant contribution under this SDG. (250 words)

Stakeholder analysis of some internal and external stakeholders of the case company, and the roles they might be assigned as beneficiaries or enablers of the SDG. (400 words)

Roles and Actions for Board, Management, and your Customer Engagement team, in realizing this SDG. This section should specify an ordered sequence of steps, for achieving the proposed outcomes under this SDG. (300 words)

Measuring Success: Indicate metrics that would demonstrate QuickBite Express's success in achieving that SDG. These metrics might include people involved, dollars spent, activities undertaken, employment achieved. (250-300 words)

References: Include full details of every webpage and source you used for this assessment (Parts A and B), including 5 academic sources. (No word limit). All references used for your slide deck should be included here.

Case Study: Fast Track to Trouble...
Jordan had been the site operations manager for only six months when the pressure started to build. The construction company he worked for, UrbanEdge Development, had just secured a major contract for a high-profile commercial tower in the heart of the city. The job came with prestige, media coverage, and, critically, a tight deadline.
The senior company leaders were eager to capitalise on this opportunity, insisting that early completion would "set them apart in the market." Jordan's team was already fully occupied, working full days, and overtime had become the norm. Subcontractors rotated in and out like clockwork, and deliveries were stacked, ready to go. Outside observers would think everything was running smoothly, as it should.
But, Jordan knew otherwise.
During his routine walkthroughs, he began to notice signs that corners were being cut. Temporary scaffolding was staying up beyond approved timelines. Workers were skipping basic checks. Equipment maintenance logs were incomplete, and occasionally, personal protective equipment was worn incorrectly. When he raised concerns with the site supervisor, he was met with a shrug: "We're trying to keep moving. Everyone knows the boss wants this done early."
Jordan brought these concerns to the attention of the project director. The response was casual but clear: "We trust your judgment, Jordan. Just don't get too caught up in the paperwork. You know. This is a high-stakes project. Risk is normal in this game."
He fully understood the message.
Jordan was aware of the procedures outlined in the company's safety policy. He'd done the compliance training and he himself signed off on the site's latest safety audit. But delivery pressure was overriding the priority to do things safely. If he pushed back, he risked slowing the momentum of the project and drawing attention to his team as holding up the company's rapid-delivery model. Being seen as overly cautious or resistant to "strategic flexibility" might not work in his favour when his contract came up for renewal at the end of the year. But were something to go wrong, lives could be on the line.
Jordan couldn't ignore the risk. Construction accidents weren't hypothetical. A near-miss happened just the week before, when a poorly secured load swung dangerously close to a walkway. No one was injured then. But, he knows reliance on luck will not end well.
He found himself running through options late at night. Should he document everything and formally raise it with head office? Call the anonymous safety hotline? Have a quiet word directly with the workers, reinforcing standards and not making it a "big issue"?
Could he find allies with the same concerns who were just as uncertain about how to act?
The tower is rising fast-and with it, the pressure. Jordan faces a decision. What kind of leader should he be?