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The Industrial Revolution

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The backdrop of the industrial revolution highlights one of the most significant growths in human history. Its development between the 18th and 19th century is often considered one of the leading causes for globalisation (Dunphy, Griffiths & Benn, 2003). In spite of this, humanity did not foresee the environmental consequences associated with the volatile expansion of the corporate world. To reinforce this notion, leading Australian change theorists and researchers Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn (2007) suggest that the emergent ecological crisis must be resolved in order to prevent a “cataclysmic collapse of human civilisation” (friedman, 2009 cited in Benn et al, 2011, p.i). Albeit alarming research, it has not triggered enough awareness …show more content…

However, despite this shift in societal values, the International Panel of Climate Change (ICCP) has indicated that the time to implement sustainable practices is running short. Based on climate change reports, our consumption rates are categorised within the “A1 Scenario”; this is where there is an emphasis on societal development through economic growth. Consequently, this has lead to a neglect of the environmental front, resulting in issues such as high carbon emissions, rising temperatures and scarcity of non-renewable resources. In order to combat this issue, the IPCC suggests that managers must simultaneously focus on both growth and sustainability, otherwise known as the “B1 Scenario”.
Even though organisations are able to identify the problem of sustainability, the unpredictable nature of this issue causes managers to struggle. It is difficult for managers to find a balance between satisfying organisational goals and meeting the society’s standards of going green. While examining an organisations structure, we often look upon the two main organisational change approaches – organisational development and organisational transformation.
Organisational development is often seen as being the more conservative approach, as it develops the organisational structure through an extended period of time. This approach has an emphasis that

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