CIS 599 the Natural Step Research Paper
Order ID |
53563633773 |
Type |
Essay |
Writer Level |
Masters |
Style |
APA |
Sources/References |
4 |
Perfect Number of Pages to Order |
5-10 Pages |
Description/Paper Instructions
CIS 599 the Natural Step Research Paper
The Natural Step One of the most well known and widely applied sustainability frameworks is The Natural Step (TNS), founded by Karl – Henrik Rob è rt in Sweden in 1989.
TNS is an internationally recognized organization with offices located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. It ’ s been successfully applied across a wide variety of industries, including real estate, metals, appliances, utilities, food, retail, apparel, fast food, healthcare, paints, chemicals, furniture, and more. TNS has been adopted and successfully used by over 100 major companies including Bank of America, McDonald’ s, Nike, Interface, Starbucks, Home Depot, and Ikea.
TNS represents a systems approach to sustainability analysis and is based on four fundamental Principles of Sustainability.
- “ Prevent the progressive buildup of substances extracted from the Earth ’ s crust. ” For example, mining, extracting, and refining of the naturally occurring and highly toxic element mercury from cinnabar ore and preventing its subsequent accumulation in our environment through sustainable, lossless reuse.
- “ Prevent the progressive buildup of chemicals and compounds produced by society. ” For example, avoiding the buildup of highly toxic man – made compounds in the environment such as dioxins, PCBs and DDT, by using non – toxic, sustainable alternatives.
- “ Prevent progressive physical degradation and destruction of nature and natural processes. ” Examples include sustainable harvesting and replanting of forest regions, avoiding depletion of soil nutrients by using sustainable agriculture practices, and preserving fi sheries and diversity of species through sustainable commercial fi shing practices.
- “ Promote conditions that empower people ’ s capacity to meet their basic human needs (for example, safe working conditions and suffi cient pay to live on). ” Other examples include offshoring and outsourcing operations that promote safe working conditions and standard wage levels, which combat the causes of social unrest, violence, and political instability.
The TNS Framework employs a practice of “ backcasting, ” or working backwards, from a desired future state, one of ideal sustainability. In backcasting, you start with a vision of the future, and iteratively plan actions that take you ever closer your future ideal.
This is similar to traditional strategic planning methodologies, such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and SCAN (Strategic Creative Analysis) that begin with a desired end state or objective, identify internal and external factors that are favorable or unfavorable to achieving success, and then plan incremental steps to reach the desired objective. There are now many successful case studies of this process to draw from.
Ashforth Pacific, Inc., is a typical, successful example of the TNS framework that produced a wealth of tangible and intangible benefits. Ashforth Pacific has a total of 55 employees and provides third – party property management, construction, and parking management services to markets throughout the Western United States.
The company currently manages over 15 million square feet of office space. By applying the four TNS Principles, Ashforth developed a variety of sustainability programs that focused on energy, water, waste, and toxic materials. Over a five – year period, Ashforth saved a total of $654,000 by reducing energy consumption through adjustments to lighting, heating, and cooling systems throughout its building inventory.
They saved over $43,000 annually through several water conservation projects that included sustainable improvements to their landscape irrigation systems. They also instituted a variety of waste reduction programs, including increased emphasis on electronic communication, double – sided copying, use of recycled paper ($15,000 annual savings), recycling of construction materials, and centralization of trash collection.
At the other end of the spectrum is Nike, Inc., with annual revenues of over $18 billion and nearly 800,000 workers in contract factories spread across the world. Nike senior management, led by CEO Phil Knight, began adopting the principles of TNS in 1997.
Nike has continued to infuse TNS principles into their product lifecycle, strategic decision process, and employee culture for over ten years. By 2003, Nike manufacturing operations reduced their solvent use by 95 percent by instituting the use of alternative water – based cements, cleaners, and similar materials.
The reduction in the use of hazardous chemicals not only improved worker safety, it significantly reduced the environmental impact of Nike manufacturing operations. The resulting annual cost savings on materials alone amounted to nearly $4.5 million in 2003.
In another example, Nike introduced improved machine technology for manufacturing its shoeboxes (which were already using recycled materials) in 2008 and realized not only a material savings of 4,000 tons per year, but an additional annual cost savings of $1.6 million.
Over the years Nike has increasingly woven the principles of sustainability into its product line and design philosophy, and earned rewards in the form of tangible cost savings and intangible social capital, market positioning, and competitive advantage.
These are just a few examples drawn from a much larger collection of case studies that span the entire spectrum of industries worldwide. They consistently demonstrate not only tangible cost benefits but a broad range of intangible benefits resulting from increased sustainability. The next section narrows this focus to a particular aspect of the enterprise, IT.
RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE |
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POOR / UNSATISFACTORY |
SATISFACTORY |
GOOD |
EXCELLENT |
Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) |
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20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. |
30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. |
40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. |
50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. |
Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). |
Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. |
5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. |
10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. |
15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. |
20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. |
Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) |
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5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors |
10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors |
15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. |
20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. |
Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) |
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3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. |
5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper |
7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. |
10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. |
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