Reflection Questions 3

Question 1

What are evolutionary goals in comparison to proximate goals?

Answer 1

Proximate goals: mechanistic explanations for HOW biological systems do what they do
Evolutionary goals: evolutionary explanations for WHY biological systems are what they are

Question 2

What are 5 ways that current and ancestral practices do not match in terms of evolutionary foundations of behavior?

Answer 2

1. Propensity of self interest
2. Motivation for relative rather than absolute status
3. Proclivity to unconsciously copy others
4. Predisposition to be short sighted
5. Proneness to disregard impalpable concerns

Question 3

How can evolutionary practices be put in practice to advance sustainability?

Answer 3

1. Self interest: highlight individual benefits; create small dense networks
2. Relative status: pro social competition and rankings; easily identifiable self sacrificing behavior
3. Social imitation: depict high prevalence of desired behavior; use of social approval
4. Future discounting: emphasize present consequences; attractiveness of social and sustainable behavior
5. Impalpable concerns: locality of environmental problems; create links between behavior and consequences

Question 4

What is corporate sustainability

Answer 4

Approach to conducting business while achieving long term environmental, social and economic sustainability

Question 5

What is corporate responsibility

Answer 5

Based on the belief that organizations have a greater duty to society; it asks leaders to consider their decisions environmental and social impacts in order to reduce hard wherever possible

Question 6

What is the difference between CSR and CS

Answer 6

CSR is a subset that focuses on its ethical responsibilities to stakeholders while sustainability is broader and more long term; focusing on an ethical responsibility to do what’s right for the world and its future

Question 7

How can we categorize CS trends?

Answer 7

severity of ESG challenges
Rising scale and scope of corporate activities
Increase of digitalization and datafication
Globalization of markets and gaps of global governance

Question 8

How can we categorize CS issues

Answer 8

ESG issues
Environmental, social and governance issues
With addition of technology

Question 9

How can we categorize CS motives?

Answer 9

Instrumental [it pays to be sustainable]
Ethical [it is the right thing to do]
Stakeholder [others ask us to do it]
Political [there is a public responsibility for us]

Question 10

Who are sustainability professionals and what are key trends in their work profiles

Answer 10

Sustainability professionals are tasked with advancing and implementing sustainability in organizations

Trends:
Around 47% have CSR manager as the title
Climate change is biggest concern
Average team is 1 to 2 people
Earn between fifty and one hundred k
34% report to communications department
66% interact with CEO at least 4 times per year

Question 11

What is a stakeholder and what are 3 focus areas of stakeholder theory

Answer 11

Stakeholder is any group or individual that can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organizations objectives

1. Descriptive [outline critical relationships]
2. Instrumental [identify effective practices]
3. Normative [critique the role and purpose of the firm]

Question 12

What are the stages of stakeholder mapping and what does each entail?

Answer 12

1. Identify stakeholders: list relevant groups, organizations, and people, and identify their focus areas
2. Analyse: analyze and rank stakeholder relevance
3. Map: visualize relationships to objectives and to other stakeholders
4. Select engagement approaches: assign specific approaches to your stakeholders