Edinburgh Napier University aspires to be 'environmentally friendly' Essay

Edinburgh Napier University aspires to be 'environmentally friendly' and 'sustainable'. Write a report for the Principal - Essay Example Write a report for the Principal describing what would be entailed in achieving this objective including an appraisal of the costs and the benefits Definition of sustainability Sustainability generally refers to the capacity to endure, to maintain and endure. Within the context of UK higher education, sustainability includes various aspects, including research studies on sustainability, the process of sustaining the university, and universities of sustainability. In Britain, funding is tapped by authorizing research related to environmental studies and climate change. The opening and offering of master’s courses considering the environmental angle on specific disciplines on environmental economics as well as climate modelling also make up part of the general elements making up sustainability in UK universities. The process of sustaining the university includes the designation of energy-reduction leaders in the school. Their focus would be on decreasing the negative impact and environmental impact of school activities; a focus on reducing carbon and energy bills is also crucial to ensuring sustainability in universities. The role of the university in sustaining the local environment is also important, and this includes the emissions produced by students through their travel activities. For universities of sustainability, the highlight of the education in the universities focuses on teaching environmental responsibility to the students, on fixing the curriculum in order to guarantee that the courses being offered also include the instruction of new skills and information which can impact on climate change and environmental sustainability. Themes included in this university sustainability are important if the university discussions in consideration of sustainability are more than lip-service commitments. Trans-disciplinarity and fluidity of sustainability discussions are part of these themes. The importance of trans-disciplinarity is highlighted in relation to sustainability, with the assistance and coordinated activities of university resources and environmental agencies. System of environmental sustainability In order to achieve environmental sustainability in the Edinburgh Napier University, there is a need to implement important changes in the university courses and curricula. The Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System, also known as STARS can be applied to the university in order to determine and measure its environmental sustainability (AASHE, 2013a). This is a transparent and self-reporting system designed for colleges and universities in order to evaluate sustainability performance. This system was established by the American- based, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) which is considered the international leader in the development of sustainability measures, promoting strong participation from various representatives in higher education. This system seeks to establish a st andard in establishing sustainability in different elements of higher education. It also seeks to provide

M5A2 - Leadership and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M5A2 - Leadership and Ethics - Essay Example Additionally, Clarke’s roles throughout his career reflect that he had a strong tendency for management rather than as a technical person. Clarke shifted from commercial and marketing positions to the head of stores which had little relevance to his previous positions. Similarly, he later moved from Supply Chain Director to IT Director. Both positions have little in common so it could be surmised that Clarke is more of a manager than a technical person who would be restricted to one field of expertise in TESCO. Moreover, it must also be related that Clarke has been moved around the world when TESCO required solutions to grave problems so Clarke can be seen as an adept manager, especially under pressure. Clarke’s role as a leader is confirmed most after talking to his subordinates. All of the people interviewed, at TESCO, viewed Clarke as an able leader such that they looked up to his example. Moreover, Clarke can be seen as a direction setter for TESCO given that TESCO has switched gears after Clarke took over as Group Chief Executive. 2. Describe the ethical model or framework used by the person to make ethical decisions—include the positives and negatives of your chosen leader's ethical model. Clarke can be seen as using a managerial grid leadership model for taking ethical decisions. The use of the managerial grid leadership model is augmented by the situational theory of leadership where the leader evaluates a situation in order to provide the decision (McKee & Carlson, 1999). The managerial grid model provides for two major constraints that the leader must consider – labour satisfaction and productivity. In addition to these major constraints, the leader may also be considering other smaller constraints such as public image, accountability, legal implications etc. The leader utilising the managerial grid model for ethical decision making tends to evaluate the provided situation in terms of the constraints in the situation (Griff in & Ebert, 2010). The primary aim of the leader is to optimise all available constraints in respect to each other such that no singular constraint overrides any other constraint. It must be kept in mind that labour satisfaction and productivity will operate as primary constraints while other constraints play secondary and tertiary roles only. This particular model of ethical decision making is restricted to Philip Clarke, Group Chief Executive for TESCO only since other managerial grid leadership models would have personalised primary, secondary and tertiary constraints being considered. The managerial grid leadership model for ethical decision making has the distinct advantage of optimising organisational aims and objectives achievement. This takes place as the ethical decision making process optimises inputs for Theory Y under which labour satisfaction is maximised in order to maximise productivity (Griffin & Ebert, 2010). Essentially, as labour satisfaction increases, the achiev ement of organisational aims and objectives becomes easier and simpler but it remains to be seen what direction organisational aims and objectives lie in. Given the nature of economic enterprises, it is common to find productivity at the top of the organisational aims and objectives list but other secondary and tertiary factors may also be available such as safety, ethical practices, corporate social responsibility etc. (Ray,