OTHM LEVEL 6 DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES
Assignment and the Answer Sturcture
Unit Title Sustainable Business Practices
Unit Reference Number A/616/2738
Unit Level Level 6
Assessor
Date issued
Hand in Date
Unit Grading Structure Pass
Assessment Guidance To achieve this unit, learners must achieve the learning
outcomes and meet the standards specified by all
assessment criteria for the unit.
LO LO Description AC AC Description
1 Understand the global
sustainability agenda.
1.1 Evaluate the global sustainability agenda and how
it relates to national practice.
1.2 Analyse the forces for change in the sustainable
business environment.
1.3 Evaluate the impact of current sustainability issues
on businesses.
2 Understand the concept of
the sustainable business
organisation.
2.1 Determine the scope of the sustainable business
organisation.
2.2 Evaluate the impact on business structure and
objectives of becoming a sustainable business
organisation.
3 Be able to review
sustainable strategic
business planning.
3.1 Analyse the concept of the triple bottom line and
review how it is implemented in business
organisations.
3.2 Determine change required within business
organisations to meet a sustainability agenda.
3.3 Review the process of sustainable strategic
business planning.
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Scenario
Primark Case study
This case study was taken from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/primark/beyond-corporatesocial-
responsibility
Introduction
Primark is a subsidiary company of the ABF (Associated British Foods) Group. The company
was launched in 1969 in Ireland trading as Penny's. By 2000, there were over 100 stores
across Britain and Ireland. By 2012 Primark had 238 branches across the UK, Ireland and
Europe. Primark has become distinctive for offering unbeatable value while never losing its
innovative, fashion-driven edge.
Like many retail fashion businesses, Primark does not manufacture goods itself. Its expertise
lies in understanding its customers and working with its suppliers to produce goods to
Primark’s specification. It then gets the right goods to the right places at the right prices. Its
profitability depends on sheer volume of sales. Primark's value-for-money prices rely on low
costs. These are achieved in part through economies of scale and efficient distribution.
Primark’s products are mainly sourced from suppliers in Europe and Asia. Its key sourcing
countries are China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey. Putting the manufacturing of garments
into these countries creates jobs. These are often at better rates of pay than other types of
work on offer, improving overall standards of living.
Primark has initiated a programme of activities which supports its corporate social
responsibility (CSR) stance and ensures that its trading meets the company’s values and
ethical standards. Underpinning its programme of activities is Primark’s Code of Conduct
which ensures that all workers making its products are treated decently, paid a fair wage and
work in good working conditions. For more information please visit www.primarkethicaltrade.
co.uk
This case study looks at Primark’s involvement in the HERproject (Health Enables Returns)
which is raising awareness and delivering healthcare education to female workers in supplier
countries.
What is CSR?
Businesses need to acknowledge and respond to factors in their environment, for example,
changes in available workforce or the business’ impact on its local communities. Corporate
social responsibility represents the responsibility that a business has towards all its
stakeholders, not just to owners or shareholders, to deal with their needs fairly.
Internal stakeholders include shareholders and employees. Shareholders want a return on
their capital and this depends on making a profit. That in turn means by adding value.
Employees want job security, good pay and conditions and job satisfaction. External
stakeholders include customers, suppliers, non-governmental organisations, workers and
the local communities where products are made. All of these have different needs.
An organisation therefore needs to be able to respond and demonstrate responsibility in
different ways. This might include activities as wide-ranging as encouraging employees to
volunteer in community projects; sponsoring and supporting charity work; or contributing
time and money to improving its environmental impact.
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Why Primark embraces CSR
As an international business with a global supply chain and a growing retail base, Primark
believes that business has a responsibility to act and trade ethically and that, by doing so, it
can be a force for good. Its business directly contributes to the employment of more than
700,000 workers across three continents. Ensuring that their rights are respected is key to its
continued growth.
Primark does not own the companies or factories that produce its goods, but it does have a
responsibility to the workers in those factories, to its customers and shareholders, to ensure
that its products are made in good working conditions. The HERproject in Bangladesh is an
example of how Primark is actively seeking to make positive changes in the lives of its
supplier workforces.
In Bangladesh, over 50% of the manufacturing workforce is made up of women. The jobs
available to women in garment factories give them greater independence and help to reduce
poverty. However, these women often have little education and low levels of literacy as they
drop out of education early to help their families.
They also lack basic knowledge of health, hygiene and nutrition and an understanding of
how a woman’s body works. Poor hygiene often causes persistent and painful infections.
Childbirth is particularly hazardous and post-birth complications are common. There is little
understanding of the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV) or the
means of preventing transmission. Far more women than men are malnourished, and many
women suffer from anaemia. These issues, often combined with a lack of access to qualified
medical advice, mean that the female workforce is particularly vulnerable.
The HERproject uses education as the key tool against all these interrelated problems. The
programme aims not only to improve the health of female workers through training and
education, but also to give them the tools to help them take charge of their personal and
working lives. These benefits in turn pass on to their families and help to enhance whole
communities.
Making CSR happen
The HERproject is an initiative started by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), a nongovernmental
organisation that works with over 250 companies on environmental, social and
human rights. The HERproject has so far helped over 50,000 women in different countries. It
has done this through working with companies like Primark, Primark’s suppliers and local
health providers.
The HERproject is simple but surprisingly powerful:
A small number of female staff in a factory (around 10%) is selected to become
health education trainers called ‘peer group educators’.
The local health service provider trains the peer group educators, who are then
responsible for training the other women based in the workplace, passing on the
message and helping to disseminate what they have learned.
The process emphasises mutual help and encouragement. The women trainers are effective
because they fully understand the local culture. They are not seen as outsiders imposing
strange ideas. Instead, the trainers understand why the women may be reluctant to seek
help with issues that can be sensitive. They can build their self-confidence as well as their
practical knowledge.
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The HERproject is also helping others not directly involved in the project. Outside the
workshops informal learning continues. Women build supportive relationships and talk to
each other out of work. This is reinforced by the project helping to set up factory clinics and
creating vital referral links to local hospitals.
Selina Kamal is a factory quality inspector and a peer educator for HERproject. Through her
own training she is now more aware of the importance of cleanliness for herself and her
children. They all now drink purified water and eat more vegetables. She has already helped
a friend, Shilpi, who is a school teacher.
The value of the HERproject
Improving the health of women workers in Bangladesh and helping to empower and educate
the female workforce is an important ethical goal in its own right. The benefits to
communities can also be seen. Over time, initiatives like this can support key issues such as
reducing infant mortality.
Factories in Bangladesh taking part in HERprojects have seen healthy returns on the money
invested by Primark in the programme. This has been achieved through improvements in
productivity, a more stable workforce, lower absenteeism, decreased labour turnover,
improved quality and a reduction in housekeeping costs. As an example, the managing
director of one factory in Bangladesh found that absenteeism in the factory fell by 55%
during the first six months of the HERproject. Turnover of female workers dropped from over
50% to around 12%.
Mrs Kaniz Fatema is the managing director of a medium-sized factory in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. When the HERproject was introduced to her factory a year ago, she was
unconvinced, viewing it as ‘just another project’. However, just one year later her view has
been transformed. Women's health is now high on her agenda. A healthier workforce is
literally paying dividends.
Absenteeism and labour turnover are down by a startling 50%. Productivity is up, and even
internal staff communication is more effective. Mrs Kaniz Fatema now employs a female
doctor and has set up a scheme to provide sanitary napkins to her female workers, helping
to embed a new culture within the factory and allowing health education in the factory to
continue after the project ends.
Other benefits are harder to measure but are increasingly recognised by the factory
managers. Getting women to communicate effectively on health matters builds trust and
confidence. This feeds back into better communication with supervisors and managers. This,
in turn, leads to improved teamwork and the motivation to accept more responsibility and
leadership roles in the community.
This demonstrates the principles of the Hawthorne effect theory of motivation. Theorist Elton
Mayo found that factory workers with long hours of routine work were motivated by someone
taking an interest in them and their work. Feeling that they mattered as individuals, they
experienced a new connection with the job. As a result, productivity improved. In a similar
way, by focusing on the women workers and their health issues, the HERproject is also
delivering improved motivation. See the HERproject video at http://www.primarkethicaltrading.
co.uk/ourwork/c/womens_health
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Conclusion
The industrialised countries of the world benefit from the lower costs of labour in countries
such as Bangladesh and India.
However, more consumers are now asking if this is ethical and questioning its sustainability.
home trade-offs between stakeholder needs are inevitable. CSR does not come free. It
involves a real commitment of resources, management time and energy. On the other hand,
as studies of the HERproject in other countries have shown, each dollar invested in the
health of female employees can yield more than three dollars in business benefits. In
addition, the improvements in human well-being are incomparable.
Despite criticism of globalisation, business and trade can be a force for good. This is
increasingly recognised in the ways that consumers assign values to brands. Primark is
making progress in taking on wider responsibilities and devising relevant projects that work
on the ground. It has done this with help from NGOs and organisations such as BSR. Its
approach with the HERproject is not purely about business benefits but focused on making a
difference to the lives of its supplier workers.
To date, 4,500 women in Primark’s factories have been trained under the HERproject in
Bangladesh. The project results have shown such benefit that the project is being rolled out
to Primark’s suppliers in China and India. Primark’s ongoing involvement with the women
workers in Bangladesh and other supplier countries will help to provide it with a sustainable
and ethical business model.
Task 1 of 2 Presentation (ACs 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3)
Scenario
You are working for Bargainum, a competitor of Primark. After reading the above case study,
your manager asked you to investigate the feasibility of doing something similar or better.
Instructions
Prepare a presentation to brief the director about the importance of sustainability:
1. Investigate the current global sustainability agenda and issues (e.g. fair trade,
poverty, environment, etc.) by providing examples
2. Review the impact of the current issues on businesses (e.g. effect on consumers,
effects on profitability, etc.)
3. Analyse the reasons for UK organisation to adopt sustainable practices (e.g. brand
recognition, legislation, etc.)
Delivery and Submission
1x Power-point presentation and executive summary (1500 words) excluding
diagrams, references, and appendices
Task 2 of 2 Report (ACs 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3)
Scenario
Your pitch was convincing, and the Operations Director asked you to write a short report for
more details and to build a case for it.
Instructions
With reference to the case study and other organisations,
1. Determine what being a sustainable business organisation means
2. Explain the changes (strategic and operational) that are being required to become a
sustainable business organisation
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3. Explain the principle of the triple bottom line and how it can be implemented, using
examples such as Primark and other organisations
4. Provide a flowchart and review the strategic sustainable planning process (e.g. set
sustainable vision, assess current situation, create a financial plan, etc.)
Delivery and Submission
1x Report (2000 words) excluding diagrams, references, and appendices
Referencing:
You should use and cite a range of academic and reliable sources.
A comprehensive Harvard style reference list must be included at the end of the
work.

Answer- Use the following structure to answer the question comprehensively

to get the maximum marks

SBS Assignment Structure

1.1 Investigate the background for current global sustainability agenda ( 300
words)
Refer to human civilization, how people lived before the industrial revolution and
what changes took place in the late 18th century ( 1750)
Refer to the world population at the start of the industrial revolution and how it
has grown within the last 200 years.
Refer to the economic development took place after industrial revolution and the
current value of annual world economic production
Refer to the finite resources and how the current economic model has used such
resources to develop economy
The profit-oriented business model and how it has neglected customers,
communities, employees and the environment
Discuss the result of the economic model that has created inequality, poverty,
health, water, exclusion, conflict among communities and countries, stock piling
of mass destructive arms, terrorism and humanitarian crises faced by the world
1.2 Current global sustainability agenda ( 400 word)
Refer to world conference in 1972 in Stockholm
Refer to the publication of Brundtland’s Commission report and definition of
sustainable development
Refer to the conference on sustainable development goals in 2015 and the
decisions made
Briefly describe the sustainable development goals of the UN
( refer to Is the world economy sustainable , UN SDGs note and other readings
and articles)
1.2 Impact of the current issues on business ( 400 word)
Say all issues found in developing SDGs have direct and indirect effect on
businesses
Take few issues such as inequality, poverty, water, global warming, climate
change, health, pollution, exploitation of natural and human resources, human
conflicts, affect businesses
Take few examples from current businesses practicing sustainability such as
Primark, Patagonia, Unilever, MAS, Brandix etc.
( refer to Is world sustainable Note , other readings and UN SDGs notes )
1.3 Reasons to adopt sustainable practices for UK organizations ( 400 words)
Industrial revolution started from UK and the current business and economic
models that has created this world started from UK
UK is a major economic player in the world and has business interest all over the
world
Discuss benefits of adopting sustainable business practices :brand image, increase
market share, reduce risk, innovations, customer loyalty, employee retention,
complying with laws, profitability
( Refer to Why sustainability note and other readings)
Powerpoint
Then develop a power point of around 10 slides from the above essay and
attach. Do not have more than 6 sentences in a slide.

2. 1 What does it mean to be sustainable business

Define sustainable business
Graphical illustration of a sustainable business : Profits plus caring for society and
environment
Importance of becoming a sustainable business in the current world and
integrating sustainability to business strategy
The trend in major corporations adopting sustainability
( why sustainability and CSR notes)
2.2 Changes (strategic and operational) required to become a sustainable
business
Importance of embedding sustainability in the business vision and companywide
awareness of the vision and creating commitment of leadership and employees
CSR and its implications for sustainability
Lean management, reducing carbon footprint, fair trading, adding value to all
stakeholders
Operational level changes required such as converting the marketing mix to
marketing matrix
( refer to Strategic Sustainable planning Note , Allen Pomring’s Sustainability and
other readings)

2.3 Tripple Bottom Line

Define
Graphical illustration
Importance of TBL
Provide example from Primark, Patagonia, Unilever, Coca cola, Pepsi cola, MAS,
Brandix, etc.
( refer to TBL note and articles on Sustainable leaders in the internet)

2.4 Strategic sustainable planning

Discuss the step-by-step approach for planning
Show a graphical flow chart of various steps and explain
Assume Bargainum is not practicing sustainability
Financial plan may not be in figures as no baseline financial data is given but
describe.
You may say that the adoption of SBP is an investment and it would be paid back
profitably by citing Primark HER project and many other initiatives of other
companies in SBP such as fair trading, green and lean production methods etc.
( Refer to sustainable planning note)