SUSTAINABILITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT
Abstract
Purpose
The Mauritian authorities have, over the past decade, devoted much effort to move the island toward the adoption of sustainable practices. The primary aim of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the adoption of a sustainable model of development is impacting on the day to day activities and operations at middle management level.
Method
For data collection, the qualitative approach has been applied so as to develop a research instrument which is able to evaluate the extent to which the work of middle managers (production managers, HR managers and, Procurement and Supply Managers and Maintenance Managers etc) have changed over the past 10 years with the growing emphasis on sustainability. For the purpose of this paper, operators in the manufacturing industry have been studied.
Key Findings
The paper comes to the conclusion that in spite of the intensive discourse at national level with regards to sustainability, the mode of operation of factories studied has changed only moderately over the past 10 years. Thus, the ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ (Sustainable Mauritius) is still a rhetoric which will take a lot of time to permeate in the day to day operation of manufacturing plants.
Originality/ Value
This paper contributes to the literature on sustainability in the context of a rapidly developing African country by investigating the changes being experienced at middle-management through the application of a sustainable mode of production, and the challenges ahead with regard to a revamping of manufacturing operations. Introduction
Sustainability refers to the property of being sustainable. Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, the most often quoted definition comes from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report (1987) where it is referred to as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable
Purpose
The Mauritian authorities have, over the past decade, devoted much effort to move the island toward the adoption of sustainable practices. The primary aim of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the adoption of a sustainable model of development is impacting on the day to day activities and operations at middle management level.
Method
For data collection, the qualitative approach has been applied so as to develop a research instrument which is able to evaluate the extent to which the work of middle managers (production managers, HR managers and, Procurement and Supply Managers and Maintenance Managers etc) have changed over the past 10 years with the growing emphasis on sustainability. For the purpose of this paper, operators in the manufacturing industry have been studied.
Key Findings
The paper comes to the conclusion that in spite of the intensive discourse at national level with regards to sustainability, the mode of operation of factories studied has changed only moderately over the past 10 years. Thus, the ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ (Sustainable Mauritius) is still a rhetoric which will take a lot of time to permeate in the day to day operation of manufacturing plants.
Originality/ Value
This paper contributes to the literature on sustainability in the context of a rapidly developing African country by investigating the changes being experienced at middle-management through the application of a sustainable mode of production, and the challenges ahead with regard to a revamping of manufacturing operations. Introduction
Sustainability refers to the property of being sustainable. Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, the most often quoted definition comes from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report (1987) where it is referred to as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable
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