Katrice Bottoms
MGT/360
September 20, 2011
Kevin Williams
Executive Summary
The competitive environment in today’s business world poses many dangers to the sustainability of the biosphere, which is so vital to life. Business organizations have a responsibility to help sustain and preserve the environment for future generations. Corporations must take initiative in developing business plans that incorporate sustainable business practices into the strategic direction of the organization. Successful achievement of a sustainable business plan also requires identification of barriers to implementation and development of strategies to overcome such barriers. In addition, to measure the success of sustainable business practices, organizations must continually monitor the progress and communicate results of their sustainable plan efforts. A review of the Riordan Manufacturing’s current business practices helped to illustrate the development and implementation of a successful sustainability plan. Riordan must concentrate on developing a plan to address unsustainable practices such as the release of harmful emissions, improper disposal of off-spec raw materials, and the release of harmful solvent cleaners into the biosphere. To implement these strategies and secure the improvement of Riordan’s sustainability, the organization must anticipate financial, social, ethical, technical, and practical barriers to these plans. Understanding the barriers helps the organization prepare an action plan to overcome these obstacles and ensure the successful implementation of its plans. The keys to avoiding impediments from financial, social, ethical, and technical barriers are communication and commitment. Communication is vital to the implementation of a successful sustainability plan. Riordan Manufacturing must institute a comprehensive communication plan to address the concerns of affected stakeholders. In addition, the
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