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QSO 328 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
The Final Project for this course is the creation of an Environmental and Social Sustainability Plan.
Sustainability has moved beyond being a buzzword to become an integral consideration for planning and executing business processes. The term sustainability embodies not only environmental considerations, but also social and financial aspects. Combined, these three aspects comprise the “triple bottom line.” Arguably, the operations function is the best focus area for an organization to enhance the triple bottom line. Operations is the function that transforms inputs (such as raw materials and supplies) into outputs (such as finished goods ready to ship to consumers, or other products that are used as inputs for downstream customers). Properly managing and leading the workforce and using lean tools are just some of the means by which major sustainability improvements can be made in operations.
For your final assessment, you will benchmark sustainability practices from a company of your choice to develop an environmental and social sustainability plan for a fictional company. It is important that you incorporate both the knowledge you gained from this course and research on a company that currently uses the triple bottom line strategy to achieve sustainability goals.
The project is divided into four milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules One, Two, Four, and Five.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Analyze operations and supply chain trends for their benefits and drawbacks regarding social, environmental, and financial sustainability
Assess the coordination of sustainability efforts with trading partners across the supply chain for the extent to which it reduces environmental impacts
Assess organizational performance by applying triple bottom line theory in balancing social, environmental, and financial requirements
Evaluate business practices for their appropriateness in achieving sustainable operations in manufacturing and service operations
Prompt
You are the director of operations at XYZ Manufacturing Company. Your boss, who is the VP for Operations, came to your office to vent. She just got out of a meeting where senior executives were pressuring her for increased output and better financial performance in the company’s operations. However, she is concerned that the company has been focused too much on short-term financial performance, and not on the long-term sustainability of the company. She worries that employees are not satisfied, and the company is currently experiencing a “brain drain,” where many top performers are actively searching for employment elsewhere. Unfortunately, some employees have already left, and they are helping to convince others to leave too. She also is concerned about constant threats from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has recently questioned whether or not some of the firm’s processes are polluting local water sources. In addition, customer focus groups have indicated that the company does not have a good environmental reputation, and data from the focus groups suggests companies’ environmental efforts are becoming increasingly important to consumers.
In summary, she is worried that the company will not last if it keeps going in the same direction. She wants to develop a plan to present to the COO that addresses some of the issues described above, but she’s not sure where to start. She has asked you to do some research on ways the company can improve, but beyond just financial performance. She understands that there must be a balance and that financial performance measures will always be important, but you know that “performance” is not based on financial statements alone. To get started, she has been considering some environmental and social sustainability goals for the company, such as:
Exceed all EPA and other environmental regulatory standards.
Reduce carbon footprint by 50% in the next 20 years.
Attract and retain the best talent.
Improve the company’s reputation in the local community and with customers.
With your instructor’s help, you will choose a company to research to inform a sustainability strategy for the hypothetical XYZ company. You may choose to use the company at which you currently work if there is enough information to inform sustainability recommendations for XYZ Manufacturing Company. When researching your chosen company, focus specifically on social, environmental, and financial stability. Next, apply what you have researched to inform sustainability choices for XYZ Manufacturing Company.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Overview
Briefly introduce the company you researched. Focus on the company’s sustainability efforts, especially its efforts to maintain financial, environmental, and social sustainability and what the results of these efforts have been.
How do emerging technologies or best practices affect environmental and social sustainability efforts at the company you researched? How do they affect the financial bottom line at this company? Be sure to provide support for your analysis.
Assess this company’s collaboration with its suppliers and customers. Does this collaboration improve its environmental sustainability across the entire supply chain? If it does, what evidence is there of this? If it doesn’t, why do you think this is? Support your reasoning with evidence.
What metrics are this company using to assess how well it is meeting its environmental and social impact goals? What data are used to support these metrics, and how are these data collected? Explain why you think the company chose these metrics.
Environmental and Social Sustainability Plan
How might the technologies or best practices described in the overview be effective in meeting XYZ’s environmental and social sustainability goals? How might they hinder XYZ’s pursuit of environmental and social sustainability? Be sure to support your analysis.
How could XYZ collaborate with its suppliers to improve environmental and social sustainability across the entire supply chain? Be sure to support your assessment with the information you have previously researched.
Assess these efforts to collaborate with suppliers for their effectiveness in reducing XYZ’s environmental and social impact and provide support for your conclusions.
How could XYZ collaborate with its customers to improve environmental and social sustainability across the entire supply chain? Remember, customers can be both businesses and direct consumers. Be sure to support your assessment with the information you have previously researched.
Assess these efforts to collaborate with customers for their effectiveness in reducing XYZ’s environmental and social impact and provide support for your conclusions.
Choose metrics to assess how well XYZ Manufacturing Company is meeting its environmental and social impact goals. What data would be used to support these metrics? How would you collect these data? Explain why these metrics would be effective.
Implications for Financial Sustainability
How could this environmental and social sustainability plan potentially affect the financial sustainability of XYZ Manufacturing Company in the long term? Provide support for your explanation.
What are the implications of emerging technology or best practices for environmental and social sustainability on the financial bottom line of XYZ? How does this differ from the implications discussed earlier on your researched company? Provide supporting evidence for your answers.
Integration
How do the financial, social, and environmental plans at XYZ come together to represent the best practices of sustainability? How do the practices suggested in the environmental and social sustainability plan relate to the company you researched previously? Provide support for your answers.
How do you balance and remove conflict among all three aspects of the triple bottom line? For example, how do you ensure that your plans for environmental sustainability do not negatively impact your plans for financial and social sustainability? Provide support for your answers.
Outline key milestones that XYZ Manufacturing Company would need to meet to achieve the same level of environmental, social, and financial sustainability as your researched company based on the timeline that it took your researched company to achieve its current level of sustainability and your current knowledge of the triple bottom line.
Milestones
Milestone One: Company Case Study Selection
In Module One, submit the name of the company you have chosen to use as a comparative model for your Final Project. Answer the first question of the first section of the Final Project (Section I, Question A) by including a brief one-paragraph explanation of why you choose your company. Your selection will be approved by your instructor. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Company Case Study Overview
In Module Two, write a two- to three-page paper answering questions B–D in the Overview, Section I of the Final Project. Be sure to identify emerging technologies that affect your company’s triple bottom line. In addition, determine how the company’s relationship with its supply chain does or does not promote sustainability, and identify what metrics track this collaboration. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric
Milestone Three: Implementing Your Case Study’s Environmental and Social Plan
In Module Four, you will submit a two- to three-page paper assessing the feasibility of implementing your case study’s environmental and social sustainability plans for XYZ Manufacturing. Addressing the questions in Section II of the Final Project, be sure to explain the entire supply chain, including how XYZ could collaborate with suppliers and customers as well as assessing what benefits XYZ might see in environmental and social sustainability through these efforts. Finally, be sure to choose metrics that you think would identify success in these endeavors. This paper should focus on where your company is heading with regard to social and environmental sustainability. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Milestone Four: Financial Impact of Sustainability
In Module Five, you will submit a two- to three-page paper considering the questions in Sections III and IV of the Final Project. These questions concern the financial impact to XYZ Manufacturing Company of implementing the environmental and social sustainability measures discussed in Milestone Three. While examining the financial sustainability forecast, discuss what impact emerging technologies or industry best practices will have on the environmental and social sustainability plans. Be sure to address how these will affect the overall plan, either positively or negatively. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.
Final Submission: Environmental and Social Sustainability Plan
In Module Seven, you will submit an eight- to 10-page paper addressing the assignment for XYZ Manufacturing Company. Based on what you learned from your case study and throughout this course, formulate a plan to improve the company’s triple bottom line while addressing the specific goals that the VP of Operations initially proposed. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the Final Project. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission is graded with the Final Project Rubric.
What to Submit
Your environmental and social sustainability plan should be well developed, comprehensive, and formatted to meet APA 6th Edition standards, including in-text citations. Your eight- to 10-page paper should be double spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins. Include at least four references cited in APA format.
Final Project Rubric
Criteria Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Overview: Introduce Meets “Proficient” criteria and discusses sustainability efforts in the context of the triple bottom line Introduces researched company, focusing on efforts to maintain financial, environmental, and social sustainability and the results of these efforts Introduces researched company, but focus is not on efforts to maintain financial, environmental, and social sustainability or the results of these efforts Does not introduce researched company 5.94
Overview: Technologies Meets “Proficient” criteria and analysis demonstrates a nuanced insight into sustainability efforts’ abilities to affect the financial bottom line Logically analyzes how emerging technologies or best practices affect environmental and social sustainability efforts and the financial bottom line at researched company and provides applicable support for answers Analyzes how emerging technologies or best practices affect environmental and social sustainability efforts and the financial bottom line at researched company but explanation is cursory or missing components, or support provided for analysis is not applicable Does not analyze how emerging technologies or best practices affect environmental and social sustainability efforts and the financial bottom line at researched company 5.94
Overview: Assess Meets “Proficient” criteria and assessment provides nuanced insight into collaboration’s influence on sustainability Assesses researched company’s collaboration with suppliers and customers for how collaboration does or does not improve its environmental sustainability, supported by appropriate evidence provided Assesses researched company’s collaboration with suppliers and customers for how collaboration does or does not improve its environmental sustainability, but evaluation is cursory; or is supported by evidence, but evidence is inappropriate Does not assess researched company’s collaboration with suppliers and customers for how collaboration does or does not improve its environmental sustainability 4.75
Overview: Metrics Meets “Proficient” criteria and assessment demonstrates keen insight into components of metrics successfully used to analyze environmental and social sustainability Comprehensively assesses performance metrics being used to analyze environmental and social sustainability Assesses performance metrics being used to analyze environmental and social sustainability, but some aspects of assessment are missing Does not assess performance metrics being used to analyze environmental and social sustainability 7.92
Sustainability Plan: Technologies Meets “Proficient” criteria and explains how emerging technologies can be integrated with best practices to provide tailored solutions for XYZ Logically explains how technologies or best practices described in overview could be effective and could hinder XYZ’s pursuit of environmental and social sustainability Explains how technologies or best practices described in overview could be effective and could hinder XYZ’s pursuit of environmental and social sustainability, but explanation is cursory or illogical Does not explain how technologies or best practices described in overview could be effective and could hinder XYZ’s pursuit of environmental and social sustainability 5.94
Sustainability Plan: Collaborate With Suppliers Meets “Proficient” criteria and includes suppliers and upstream channels in assessment Logically assesses how XYZ could collaborate with its suppliers to improve environmental and social sustainability across the entire supply chain and provides appropriate support Assesses how XYZ could collaborate with its suppliers to improve environmental and social sustainability but evaluation is cursory, illogical, or does not consider the entire supply chain, or support is inappropriate or weak Does not assess how XYZ could collaborate with its suppliers to improve environmental and social sustainability 4.75
Sustainability Plan: Assess Efforts With Suppliers Meets “Proficient” criteria and support includes information from previously researched company Logically assesses how effective efforts to collaborate with suppliers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impact and provides appropriate support for assessment Assesses how effective efforts to collaborate with suppliers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impact, but support provided is cursory, inappropriate, or weak Does not assess how effective efforts to collaborate with suppliers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impacts 4.75
Sustainability Plan: Collaborate With Customers Meets “Proficient” criteria and assessment addresses customers as both businesses and direct consumers Logically assesses how XYZ could collaborate with its customers to improve environmental and social sustainability across the entire supply chain and provides appropriate support Assesses how XYZ could collaborate with its customers to improve environmental and social sustainability but evaluation is cursory, illogical, or does not consider the entire supply chain, or support is inappropriate or weak Does not assess how XYZ could collaborate with its customers to improve environmental and social sustainability 4.75
Sustainability Plan: Assess Efforts With Customers Meets “Proficient” criteria and assessment addresses customers as both businesses and direct consumers Logically assesses how effective efforts to collaborate with customers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impact and provides appropriate support for assessment Assesses how effective efforts to collaborate with customers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impact or support provided is cursory, inappropriate, or weak Does not assess how effective efforts to collaborate with customers might be in attempts to reduce XYZ’s environmental and social impacts 4.75
Sustainability Plan: Metrics Meets “Proficient” criteria and chosen metrics encompass supply chain partners and/or other external elements Chooses appropriate metrics to assess environmental and social impacts and includes what data would be used to support metrics, how these data would be collected, and a logical explanation of why these metrics would be effective Chooses metrics to assess environmental and social impacts but choices are inappropriate or lack detail, or explanation of why these metrics would be effective is cursory or illogical Does not choose metrics to assess environmental and social impacts 7.92
Implications for Financial: Plan Meets “Proficient” criteria and clearly describes both potentially positive and negative impacts on financial sustainability Logically explains how environmental and social sustainability plan could potentially affect financial sustainability of XYZ in the long term and provides appropriate support for explanation Explains how environmental and social sustainability plan could potentially affect financial sustainability of XYZ but explanation is cursory, illogical, or short-sighted; or support for explanation is inappropriate or weak Does not explain how environmental and social sustainability plan could potentially affect financial sustainability of XYZ 7.92
Implications on Financial: Technology Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides subtle differences between implications in researched company and implications in XYZ Accurately analyzes the implications of emerging technology or best practices on environmental and social sustainability on the financial bottom line of XYZ, how these differ from the company researched in the overview, and provides appropriate support for answers Analyzes the implications of emerging technology or best practices on environmental and social sustainability on the financial bottom line of XYZ but analysis is inaccurate or cursory, or support for answers is inappropriate Does not analyze the implications of emerging technology or best practices on environmental and social sustainability on the financial bottom line of XYZ and how these differ from the company researched in the overview 5.94
Integration: Come Together Meets “Proficient” criteria and explains how their plan will be an improvement over the researched company’s plan Logically explains how financial, social, and environmental plans of XYZ come together to represent the best practices of sustainability; logically explains how these plans relate to the researched company’s plans; and provides support for answers Explains how financial, social, and environmental plans of XYZ come together to represent the best practices of sustainability, but explanation is cursory or illogical; and explains how these plans relate to the researched company, but explanation is cursory or illogical; or support for answers is inappropriate Does not explain how financial, social, and environmental plans of company XYZ come together to represent best practices of sustainability and does not logically explain how these plans relate to the researched company 7.92
Integration: Balance Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation also describes how all aspects of the triple bottom line enhance one another Explains how to balance and remove conflict among all aspects of the triple bottom line and provides support for answer Explains how to balance and remove conflict among aspects of the triple bottom line but explanation is cursory, some elements are missing, or support for answers is inappropriate Does not explain how to balance and remove conflict among all aspects of the triple bottom line 7.92
Integration: Outline Meets “Proficient” criteria and also includes future milestones for reaching levels above what the researched company has currently achieved Outlines logical key milestones XYZ would need to meet to achieve the level of environmental, social, and financial sustainability that the researched company has currently achieved Outlines key milestones XYZ would need to meet to achieve the level of environmental, social, and financial sustainability that the researched company has currently achieved but key milestones are not logical steps toward achieving sustainability levels Does not outline key milestones XYZ would need to meet to achieve the level of environmental, social, and financial sustainability that the researched company has currently achieved 7.92
Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 4.97
Total: 100%
Please incorprate 4-2 assignemnt feedback into the final project.
4-2 Final Project Milestone Three: Implementing Your Case Study’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Plan
Submission Feedback
Overall Feedback
For Milestone Three, the focus should be XYZ Manufacturing, which is a separate company from the one you researched (Amazon). So in this Milestone, you must write it from XYZ’s point of view and use your research of Amazon to suggest what XYZ should do. So in the final version, please re-write this Milestone from the perspective of XYZ Manufacturing with supporting examples from Amazon. For example, XYZ can implement best practices to become more sustainable, similar to when Amazon….