Critically analyse and discuss how the concepts of Motivation and Empowerment (Chapter 3) will

affect an organisations transition to becoming a sustainable business

A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still..
Benjamin Franklin
While considerable research has been undertaken in the subject of environmental
sustainability, but little of it simultaneously looks at all three pillars of sustainable business,
namely environmental, economic and social aspects (Santos, Goran and Cameron, 2013,
104-108) and this is where companies encounter their first disconnect from sustainability.
Sustainability in itself is something that has been in companies but for decades their
environmental, social and governance activities have been disconnected from core strategy
as most still take a fragmented and reactive approach-launching ad-hoc initiatives to
enhance their green credentials, to comply with regulations, or to deal with emergencies
(Santos, Goran and Cameron, 2013, 104-108) without considering sustainability as a direct
brunt on business.
Behaviour change is at best complex and adamant as Benjamin Franklin rightly said; still if
sustainability is to be embraced all along the corporate sphere, the use of personal motivation
instead of monotonous repetition is the key as any and all initiative starts and ends with the
companys most important stakeholders: employees.
Compliance without belief, faith and personal need and satisfaction is ultimately detrimental
to the organization. For example, if a facility manager is required to collect and compile data
in a new and enhanced way to allow better transparency into energy efficiency measures, the
facility manager personally might not feel the need to go through with this as it would mean a
greater weight on paperwork, more process and more forms which are all to-dos added to an
already long list. Hence, it is imperative to have strategies bearing conditions where
individuals can elect to embrace. The perfect example for this is the Bank of Americas My
environment employee initiative which dramatically grew to 12, 000 active participants
across 26 countries1.
People need to not only discern why whatever they do is imperative but they also need to
appreciate what they do and be appreciated in return so endowing people with knowledge
would be the foundation of sustainability. However, positive reinforcement and messages
should be the norm: for example, people are more affected by stories than by abstract

statements (Santos, Goran and Cameron, 2013, 104-108). Theyre intimately moved by an
effective positive message than a gloomy message so no more images of drowning polar
bears but instead pictures of beautiful and lush landscapes achieved by sustainable
development would take the cue2!
The first step in McClellands Acquired needs theory: The need for achievement (nACH) The
desire to undertake something better or more efficient can be linked to this where a person is
made to understand that endorsing and acquiring sustainable behaviour for the company
would be highly beneficial than their regular practices, both in profitable terms and in ethical
terms where the corporate social image is also enhanced; thereby leading to the employee
feeling satisfied being linked to a company of such high social standing and working for that
company as the employee firmly believes in the behaviour he or she undertakes. Again his
second factor: The need for affiliation (nAFF) to establish and maintain friendly
relationships with others is also fulfilled when organizational leaders or public figures who
others strive to emulate endorse sustainable behaviour prompting others around them to
follow them, creating a friendly and beneficial relationship catered on the central and
common behaviour patterns. His third aspect, the need for power (nPOWER) the desire to
influence or to be responsible for others is satisfied when employees are empowered to be
Green Leaders3, where they take control of teams dedicated for sustainable development
throughout the organization and the whole workforce take responsibility by themselves for a
greener and more sustainable organization while being satisfied internally as they are armed
with the knowledge of what their actions will bring to the company and for themselves:
sustainability which promotes job security which in turn satisfies a major need for any
employee which is also mentioned by Maslow in the safety needs aspect of his motivation
theory.
However, for this strategy to thrive, employees need to see sustainable development goals
aligned with their goals even in terms of rewards and achievements. Performance appraisal
must take into account the contribution of individuals and teams to longer term social and
environmental goals as well as short-term financial objectives. Gentle nudges should be
used and not shoved to direct people towards this goal while enjoyment and participation
should formulated so that people don't get weary of sustainable development. Rewards are
perhaps the most controversial as extrinsic rewards might lead to diversions in forms of just
monetary involvement while intrinsic rewards by themselves might not be enough for some
employees.

On the same note empowering employees is critical as it is to motivate them in order to

promote a sustainable business as employees help define how the program is implemented by
possessing the unique perspective of knowing the needs of both the community and the
company; most importantly they can identify, the impediments whether they be cultural or
religious or maybe impediments in the established official and unofficial power and system
structures. Empowering as mentioned earlier could be done through green teams where
employees of separate divisions form their own teams to monitor and evaluate the department
s performance on the green scale. Along with that, open communication is imperative as
empowerment is all about enabling an employee to behave, think and take action and control
decision making in autonomous habits or as some critics call it participative management and
to do this proper open two way communication is the key as the employee should also get the
feedback from managers to align their individual needs towards the companys needs and
vice versa this in turn will be the catalyst to have the employees relate themselves to their
organization and sustainable behaviour would be automatically endorsed as the company has
already embraced it.
This could be achieved by developing the employees self-efficacy through motivation: by
properly educating and training a person to be able to handle any given specific situation so
that he or she develops the confidence to tackle that task without hesitation. Hence, if an
employee has developed self-efficacy in sustainable development then the company as a
whole will benefit from it as the employee is headed towards sustainability and the driving
force behind the company is the employee, the company itself will be headed towards the
same goals which are aligned with the companys goals. However, this should be two way
and not only on the employees side as the company should rewards self-efficacy either
intrinsically or extrinsically to sustain it and align motivational strategies to develop and
maintain the employees self-efficacy and needs in parallel with the organizations.
What Motivation and empowerment does is, actually act as a catalyst, the starting step the
solid and focal point of sustainability for an organization as both motivation and
empowerment affects the companys largest and most important stakeholders: employees. It
gives them a solid path to follow and a satisfying one at that as well and gives them pride to
be affiliated to the company and let them feel appreciated and valued whatever they do.
Google as a company, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Caesars Entertainment, Sony Electronics,
Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Pepsi4 and so many other big names in every industry is

embracing sustainability through employee motivation empowerment, as they understand that

its only through those imperatives that true sustainable sustainability could be reached.