This is a division of the University of Melbourne in Australia that attempts to attain a brighter future through the developments and advancement in the global health. The mission of the institute is ‘to support improvements in health of vulnerable communities in partnership, through research, education and inclusive development practice’.
The institute is mostly geared towards ensuring that countries of the world are able to achieve the millennium development goal. This is guided by quite a number of principles which include partnerships, health equity, knowledge as well as sustainability of global resources.
The work of this institute in all the countries that they are involved include managing non communicable diseases, ensuring a strong health system, learning and education as well as inclusive development practices
As explained in the case study, developing countries are normally the most hit by the effects of climate change. One area that Nossal will have trouble in propagating their objectives in these developing countries is ensuring the health objective is met.
Climate change is known to come with quite a number of challenges especially with the health of a society or nation. Some diseases experienced nowadays are normally as a result of climate change. This will to a large extend increase the need for more involvement of this body in the provision of health services to the affected, this could of course be quite costly.
Apart from the health issues, the body will find it difficult to propagate her development agenda on people who are probably living below the poverty line. These are people who need basic needs in the first place. Insisting on development in an area struggling with basics may be counterproductive.
Evaluate the social issues likely to impact on a business operating in a developing country.
There are many social problems that plague business operations in developing countries.
Key among these is corruption. It’s one of the biggest social issues. Normally, due to the high levels of unemployment, unscrupulous business operators have been accused of taking bribes so as to place employees.
Nepotism and tribalism are also some of the key issues affecting businesses. These business owners will not insist on the quality and qualifications of an employee but rather where they come from, communities and so forth. This hurts performance and output as well.
Normally, most of the developing countries have many communities and tribes whose culture may differ from one to the other. The challenge posed is that unless serious marketing intelligence is done, a business may find itself in a loss making position due to investing in the wrong products.
Suggest ways that accountants can play in addressing climate change in a business environment.
A lot of emphasis has been laid on the carbon emission trading scheme. This is a situation where a company pays a tax equivalent to the amount of carbon released; this is expected to drive businesses to adopt business models that are less harmful to the environment.
Accountants can therefore foster environmental protection by ensuring that there is proper accountability for carbon emissions and those companies actually comply.
Accountants must also be at the forefront in advising clients to do all that is possible to reduce carbon emissions in the hope of reducing the global carbon emission. Secondly, the account will be best placed to advice the company on all matters including what can be done to ensure that the company reduces costs of carbon emissions.
Birt, J 2012, 'Business sustainability', in Accounting: business reporting for decision making, John Wiley and Sons Australia, Milton, Qld, pp. 38-72
