Literature Case Study

Human sustainability can get defined from two perspectives; the corporation and individual perspective. From the perspective of the corporation, human sustainability implies the consolidation of the interest of the business together with those of its staff so as to ensure the success of the business can become attained and maintained (Read 2000, p.81). From the individual perspective, human sustainability refers to the psychological well being of humans. The psychological well being gets witnessed through the ability of humans to nurture, renew, and cope with a variety of unpredictable scenarios. Human sustainability, therefore, encompasses the elements of learning, growth, freedom, trust, and choice. A result of individual human sustainability gets viewed through their ability to take responsibility, and undertake informed choices based on the availability of free information (Read 2000, p.81). Human sustainability can also be traced to their ability to cater for the needs of others and self.
Organizations stand to benefit through engagement in social contracts. A sustainable organization has to change its view of its staff as they are more valuable than its physical assets. The organization has to become viewed as a community and not a property by its inhabitants. The economic rationalist approach towards organizational sustainability has limitations. Engaging in social contracts is part of the adoption of strategies that get geared towards developing organizational sustainability. The expectation and values of the workforce are changing (Read 2000, p.100). The focus of a sustainable organization must be on interdependence and relationships between management, employees, and customers. Social contracts enable the organization to place much more importance towards satisfying the needs of its surrounding players. If the organization gets to meet the needs of its environment through its customers and suppliers, then they stand to benefit. This becomes possible since through social contracts, the organization gets to meet its social responsibility. This helps to create further business awareness for the organization.
For organizations to achieve sustainable practices, it is imperative that they ensure human sustainability. There is a need for individual, team, and organizational capability to develop and sustain effective work relationships (Read 2000, p.83). Organizations need to align their aspirations together with the needs of its staff so as to achieve sustainable practices. The organization’s staff also has to be in their proper psychological well-being to ensure their intellect, passion, and motivation is at optimum. The combination of the organizational needs and the needs of its staff entails human sustainability. This assures the corporation of attaining sustainable practices. To achieve sustainable practices, organizations have to ensure that human sustainability from both the organization’s and individual perspective become met. Human sustainability factors the organization’s, individual, and societal needs. If the needs of the three mentioned players become met through sustainability, then it becomes possible for the organization to pursue and achieve sustainable practices. Sustainable practices become achieved if the emotional health and wellness of the individuals at the organization is perfect. Sustainable practices also become achieved if the organization meets its managerial requirements in terms of distribution of power and authority. Sustainable practices also become achieved if the organization gets to evaluate the environmental impact of its business through human sustainability.
Organizations that become proactive on sustainability can attain competitive advantage. The traditional economist rational approach to business has become limited if an organization is to compete efficiently and effectively in the current environment (Read 2000, p.83). For organizations to gain competitive advantage in the current work environment there is need for them to create sustainable workplaces. The economic rational approach gives little information on how organizations can deal within a competitive environment and strategy. Sustainability ensures that organizations can look at factors affecting its staff and seek to align the aspirations of their needs together with those of the organization for them to achieve success. By organizations looking for sustainability first, it creates a competitive advantage for them in the current work environment. Sustainability ensures that organizations get to align their goals in tandem with those of their staff. This creates a harmonious work environment that gets focused towards achieving set goals and visions.
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