Friday, August 9, 2013

AL Blog Assignment (wk 7)


1. Share some thoughts on what you got out of hearing the guest speakers and your fellow student final presentations.

 Guest speaker had interesting personal stories, and in a way they were influential. I appreciate the fact that they shared their personal stories in detail, as it really provided applicable knowledge to help guide us through change management.

Student presentations were very interesting because I got to see how other people dealt with some of the challenges and big assumptions that occurred throughout the process.

 
2. What are five of the most impactful insights, experiences, ideas or discoveries that you have had while doing this course?

 The power of the change agent: ability to facilitate strategic transformation within an organization.

Change leadership and professional skills, competencies and knowledge sets necessary.

Social Change Dynamics: removing risks and uncertainties in order to make the change happen.

Active Listening – providing feedback, and paraphrasing what we have heard. This type of undivided attention, really creates a sense of relatedness, and shows the person that we are focused and engaged.

Peer to peer social interaction, as the best way to engage, motivate, support and educate people to change their behavior.

 
3. If you had to teach a course that was designed to inspire and prepare change agents for sustainability what might you include in your course? (What content? What activities? What readings and resources? (feel free to replicate and also to innovate!)

 I would definitely recommend assigning the book by Marshal Rosenberg, Living Nonviolent Communication. Nonviolent Communication can be described as language of compassion, a guide to virtuous communication, and a guide to transformation of relationships, behavior and positive social impact.

Rosenberg has an interesting method of presenting these behavioral changes through spiritual approach, through releasing bad thoughts, giving up of ourselves, practicing empathy, appreciation and calmness. Nonviolent Communication is a method that advises us to find the meaning behind every reaction or emotion, and finding and understanding the needs of each individual involved, therefore concluding mutually agreed upon peaceful decisions.

 4. What is one thing that you could suggest to the course design team for improvement next time around?

 I have no critiques. Class was well organized and managed.

 
5. What is next on your journey to advance your own change agency capabilities?

 Some of the course content we learned in class was very valuable and I will imply it in my work and personal life going forward. I enjoyed the lessons on change management and also the book review with my POD team. It was very interesting how all of the book assignments were very interconnected with the lecture content, having a kind of philosophical view on business and organizational management practices.

 6. Anything else you wish to share as you conclude S117??

 I really enjoyed the class, assigned readings and participating in the POD meetings. The content covered in this class actually changed and influenced my approach and understanding for management of sustainability.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

3RD Blog Assignment (wk5)

 

1. Your Final Project Feedback.

In reflecting upon the comments and grade you received for your project plan, please elaborate on what you will do next to strengthen your final project.
After reviewing feedback from Maggie, my plan changed slightly. I plan on narrowing down my project to a more reasonable scope, which will be easier accomplished within the time frame available. My goal is to come up with a green-team within my workplace, and initiate greening and recycling programs. Those including switching to recycled printing paper, sustainable ordering, recycling plastics and paper, and most important coming up with a vision statement which will guide us to developing a corporate sustainability policy.


2. Elaborate on two organizational systems that are important to the success of your project

Answer the following questions in relation to your final project. Please note: If one of these two organizational systems (Decision-making or Busines & Finance) does not seem important to the success of your project please discuss another organizational system that you do view to be central (governance, IT, management structure, HR, executive leadership etc) and explain why you've chosen that one instead.  
a) Decision Making Processes:
1. What are the key decisions that have to be made by your organization/s for your project to be a success?
In order to achieve my project, I have to have a committed group of individuals working towards the same goals, which are how to create a more sustainable workplace. We also have to agree upon a mission statement which will be communication tool for our employees, clients, community and other interested parties.
 
2. Describe the decision making processes relevant to your project success. That is, explain what you know about it so far such as: Who are the relevant decision makers and how to get access to them? What information they will need to make a decision?
The Green Team will present facts, about how our mission will positively impact the company. By having accurate and measurable data, the key decision makers will restore any untested assumptions and be able to do a cost analysis of the program.
Facts such as how we will reduce costs by switching to recycled products, how we can cut costs by replacing lightening throughout the office, how recycling programs will benefit the environment, and ideas on how we can cut down emissions. Our Vision statement will clearly state values, goals and commitments of our organization. And all those things would be integrated into our daily operations and it would involve a change of culture within the company.
 3. Discuss what your remaing blindspots and uncertainties may be regarding decision-making for your final project and how you might be able to address these?
As of now, I have come up with a Green Team, with whom I have met and discussed some of the ideas we could implement within our workplace. Some of my coworkers seemed very passionate about the subject and are willing to work towards improving our workplace and making it more sustainable. There seems to be no blind spots. We discussed the financial resources needed to switch to implement our programs, and the costs are very reasonable.
 4. Discuss your strategy for ensuring that you or your champions can have a seat at the right decision-making tables (or access to the right decision making individuals). If you or your champion do not yet have adequate access then what is your next move to address that?
Creating a green team allows us to draw from many strands of experience and combinations of many different ideas and points of view. This can be a challenging process because people view things differently and they all have different experiences, values and personalities. Coming up with a mutually agreed upon decision will be the key to success. Our goal is to assign different tasks to different members of the team. This will develop a sense of ownership and leadership to each member of the team.
b) Business and Finance: 
1. Explain what resources (money, time, expertise) your final project will require (both upfront and ongoing) and where those resources could come from in your organization? If your understanding is inadequate how can you expand it further?
The financial aspect of the project won’t be an issue, because the costs are very reasonable. Some of the costs we have discussed were switching to recycled printing paper, and the costs for that are about the same as regular paper. Being recycled bin for plastics that would be placed in the kitchen is about 40 dollars. We would work with the building management to implement the plastic recycling within the entire building, because as of now they only recycle paper.
We have also talked about recycling plastic bottles and cans which would be washed out prior to be placed in a bin, and once filled brought over for return deposit, and the money gathered from the deposit would be donated to local charities. This is something we are still discussing but it is an interesting option.
Once we some up with a vision statement for our sustainability policy, the costs will be much greater because we will be discussing options as to how to reduce our emissions. The costs would go towards planting trees in Costa Rica which would help offset out fleet emission. But this is something that will come later in the process once we have established a firm and committed green team committee.
 2. Describe what business rationale you have developed to justify this resource investment in your project.
This project will have a positive impact on company’s reputation.
 
3. What's your general plan for meeting your project's resource needs?
Work with our office manager to ensure that he knows where to order recycled products. He is the one that supplies the office with necessary supplies; therefore he will be one of the key people within our team, who will be executing the orders. For now, we just want to stay within the current budget we have for office supplies, and ensure that we are ordering products that can be easier recycled or reused.  So we want to be able to be committed to corporate sustainability and build additional organizational capacity.
 4. Is there a return on that investment either financial or in some other sense that have value to your organization (reputation)? Can you see any creative opportunities for an integrated design or systems thinking approach to help make the business case for your project? (Can you combine one element that will save money with one that may cost money to come out neutral or better? Will your project generate other kinds of returns that will offset costs or risks?)
Yes. There would definitely be a positive impact on the company’s reputation. By reducing waste and recycling plastics and paper, we will not only help the environment but reduce costs as well. We will also reduce energy bills by shutting off lights and computers when not in use. Donating to nonprofit organizations such as the one that helps us offset our emissions by planting trees in Costa Rica, can lead to tax credits.
 5. Does you project depend upon a single unit, mulitle units or the entire organization to make the investment or to benefit from any related financial or other returns?
I think that we as a company need to adapt to these changes and commitments towards more sustainable work environment. The company as a whole will benefit from increased cost savings, therefore leading to more budgets that could be spent elsewhere.
 

 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

2nd Blog Assignment

To begin the process of implementing an environmental policy within my company, I plan on first establishing a green team which will consist of diverse and influential members. It is important that these members show commitment and are motivated towards reaching our sustainability goals. We will become an influential team within Triumvirate, which will implement greening initiatives to reduce paper usage, increase recycling, and promote energy conservation and other environmentally friendly initiatives.

We will also encourage other co-workers from different departments and levels to get involved.
First we would strategize and come up with main goals, which we would then assign to different members of the group. This will develop a sense of ownership and leadership to each member of the team. At first we would have frequent meetings in order to come up with goals and changes we want to implement, and strategize on ways to continually improve the process and drive our daily operations to become more sustainable.
Once we start implementing changes within our workplace, we would work towards our commitments and develop a corporate sustainability policy. The green team would meet regularly to ensure that our goals are being met and that the policy reflects any changes within the company.
My initial big assumption was that if I propose changes within the office, people would look at me as being domineering, creating extra work load, and also judgmental, because in a way I am saying that the way we do things right now is not the way it should be done. Some of the changes I would propose are:

·         Recycling – plastics and paper

·         Green purchasing – use recycled paper, and other recycled office products.

·         Emissions – plant trees to help offset our emissions

·         Distribute check statements electronically

·         Electricity reduction – encourage employees to turn of computers when not in use. Turn off office lights when not in use.

Since no one else in the company is proposing these things or wants to take ownership, I felt like I was the only one that is trying to take a step towards sustainability.  But once I spoke to some of the executive team members, I got great feedback and support , and am now spreading the word to raise awareness of sustainability and advice on how we can save energy, reduce waste, and be more environmentally responsible.
First, the green team would come up with a baseline plan for our policy which we would use as a foundation and develop further through our meetings. For our opening meeting, we will discuss and identify improvements to help our company operate in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. Our key goal will be to educate our employees and to raise awareness around the impacts of different habits that impact the environment.

Establishing Thought Partnership with key people at work will be the solution to get my project completed. With the support from the key personnel I can make certain decisions to initiate changes I want. It is important for me to hear their thoughts on my project as they will be the vital decision makers in the whole process.  Active listening is all about understanding what the person is saying, therefore, any disagreements can be resolved and mutually agreed upon. Key players that I have identified are my direct manager who is also the executive vice president, 1 person from HR, head of the marketing department, and 3 account managers who are volunteers that I have identifies thus far. Active listening sessions will help me understand how other people see sustainability and gather additional ideas on how I can improve and accomplish my goals.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Project idea and its feasibility

Implementing Corporate Sustainability Policy

For my final project I would like to work with my employer, Triumvirate Environmental, Inc., to develop a corporate sustainability policy. Triumvirate is a leading provider in environmental waste management services to healthcare, higher education, life sciences and industrial markets. We provide a wide variety of services, from consulting, to waste disposal. We provide our clients with more compliant waste management practices and help them develop greener and more sustainable solutions. Unfortunately, Triumvirate does not have a corporate sustainability policy in place. For my final project, I would like to work with some key people at Triumvirate to develop a corporate sustainability policy.
Corporate sustainability is increasingly becoming important part of every business; it should be integrated into daily operations and it requires involvement of all departments. Currently Triumvirate practices sustainability by buying recycled paper, soy based printer ink, and uses florescent light bulbs throughout the office, but, to truly be sustainable, and to be recognized as an environmental steward, we need to develop a policy that we can present to the public and our clients, that shows our commitment to  conservation in all areas of operations. Corporate sustainability is going to be a change in culture that improves overall efficiency.  

While I am still in the developing stages of the project outline, I plan on focusing on the following key elements:
  • Resources/Expertise: Finding the right resources to help me develop a strategy
  • Conduct Internal Survey on sustainability and greening initiatives
  • Develop Triumvirate “Green Team”
  • Developing a Vision Statement
  • Create sustainable culture and encourage co-workers to reduce impact on local environment
  • Develop recycling program
  • Develop Cost/benefit analysis
  • Develop a budget
  • Timeline – target – milestone - Continuous improvement
  • Monitoring and reporting
-- Marina Nikolic