Topic & Insights from the Tutorials –

Topic – Making Organisational Change for Sustainability effective.

We intend to use the following insights from the Change and Consultancy Tutorials:-
 Understanding the Process of Change – What are the motors driving Sustainability
related changes in terms of the unit of change (single entity or multiple entities) and
mode of change (prescribed or constructive)? (Tutorial 1)
 Managing Organizational Change – What could be the ideal model/steps to
implement Sustainability related changes, depending on the specific context e.g.
magnitude of the change or industry in which the firm operates? (Tutorial 2)
 Using Resistance – How resistance can be managed and used as a feedback tool, in
the context of Sustainability related changes? There are too many unknowns and too
much learning needs to happen. Organizations would have to make people empathize
with the change and use resistance as an engagement and learning tool. (Tutorial 3)
 Balancing the Rhythm of Change – In the context of Sustainability-related changes
finding the right rhythm of stability (UN is working with time-bound targets) and
change (too many radical changes can lead to burnout) is going to be crucial.
(Tutorial 4)
 Sustaining Employee Performance - Learning has been identified as foundational to
Sustainability-related changes so human resource development (a people-related
change) would be key to the success of these changes. (Tutorial 5)
 Bringing Technical Expertise from Consultants – Besides sharing their learnings and
the best practices that the industry is building, Consultants can play the role of co-
creators of knowledge by bringing industry players to a common platform.
Specifically for designing solutions around sustainability companies need to
collaborate and not compete. (Tutorial 8)
A paragraph of Academic Writing
With greater emphasis being laid on the achievement of Sustainable Development a transition
is happening in the way the organizations operate (Sachs, 2015). More and more
organizations are realigning and redesigning their processes to contribute towards the
achievement of SDG Goals set out by the United Nations. These changes primarily revolve
around building systems that take into consideration the impact that organizations create on
the environment, society, and economy (Eweje, 2011). Firms now have to make a shift from
the traditional for-profit approach to incorporate a triple bottom line approach that is based on
the 3 pillars of sustainability including people, planet, and profit (Elkington, 1997).
Organizational change by definition refers to activities that firms undertake to change their
processes or systems to move away from the current state and achieve the desired state. In the
context of Organizational Changes for sustainability, we are referring to changes that the
company undertakes to achieve sustainability in terms of social, economic, and
environmental aspects (White, 2013). The changes in this context can refer to minor changes
or radical changes (Lozano et al., 2016). Organizational Changes under the head of
sustainability can come in all shapes and sizes ranging from minor to radical, simpler to
complex, involving a single entity or multiple entities.
References
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