BSS053-6 Sustainable Business Management Assignment Sample

BSS053-6 Sustainable Business Management Assignment Sample

Introduction

The report contextualizes the importance of sustainability in the business procedures in the limelight of Bedfordshire University. The concerned report sheds light on the critical evaluation of business opportunities as well as threats of the above-mentioned organization. Further, the report has evaluated an elaborate internal along with external business environment analysis of Bedfordshire University. Changing business dynamics and current political turmoil around the world along with the aftermath of Covid-19 had thrived the importance of sustainability in business. The mentioned organization can improve their business tactics by curetting sustainability in its existing business tactics. Additionally, this dissimilar report entangles a profound proposal for the university to address business sustainability.

Critical evaluation of the threats and opportunities

Bedfordshire University has seen major business challenges in the wake of political turmoil in the UK. Additionally, the concerned organization has seen a decline in the number of students due to factors such as demographic changes, economic downturns and increased competition from other universities (Beds, 2022). Bedfordshire University may face declining enrollment numbers, which could influence its revenue and financial stability. As a public university, Bedfordshire University is dependent on government funding, which may be subject to cuts or changes in allocation, leading to financial challenges. As stated by Manninen and Huiskonen (2022), issues in business operations mainly raise the importance of sustainability.

On the other hand, changes in government policies regarding education, immigration, or international student recruitment could impact Bedfordshire University’s ability to attract and retain students, staff, and funding. The government of the UK has changed many of its legal attributes to handle political instability in the region. Certain changes in legal policies have affected the number of foreign students. The above-mentioned aspect has affected the business procedures of the university heavily. Additionally, technological advancements such as online learning platforms and remote working tools may disrupt the traditional model of higher education and affect the relevance and competitiveness of Bedfordshire University’s programs and services.

The above figure is showing Bedfordshire university’s business factors in the context of application fees for different courses along with the application deadline. The concerned university has faced many threats due to certain changes in the business market due to the outbreak of Covid-19, a decline in the number of foreign students, limited government funds and ongoing conflicts. However, aspects like growing demand for higher education, internalization, noteworthy progress in investment for research and innovation, UK’s capable education system and effective collaboration with the industry partners are standing as major opportunities for the concerned organization. It has been observed that UK’s literacy rate is 99%, which shows the efficacy of their education system (Worldpopulationreview, 2023). The demand for higher education is expected to continue to grow, driven by factors such as increased job requirements, technological advancements, and changing career paths. The above-mentioned factor presents an opportunity for Bedfordshire University to expand its student base and revenue streams.

The increasing trend of internationalization of higher education provides opportunities for Bedfordshire University to attract and retain international students, develop partnerships with other universities, and expand its global footprint. However, changes in the student visa allotment have limited the chances of retaining or increasing the number of foreign students. On the other hand, the concerned university’s investment in research and innovation can provide opportunities to develop new programs, attract external funding, and enhance the university’s reputation.

The earlier-mentioned university belongs to UK’s top-tier universities and is well-reputed among students due to its impressive course offering and great educational infrastructure (Topuniversities, 2022). Collaborating with industry partners can provide opportunities for Bedfordshire University to develop programs that align with industry needs, provide experiential learning opportunities for students, and develop research partnerships. Bedfordshire University faces various threats and opportunities that are common to many higher education institutions. Vidmar et al. (2021), mentioned that the inclusion of information technology in business activities can help an organization secure better business values. The university can mitigate the threats and capitalize on the opportunities by adopting a strategic and adaptive approach, focusing on innovation, collaboration, and engagement with its stakeholders.

Internal and external environment analysis of Bedfordshire University

Internal environment analysis

Bedfordshire University is facing persistent issues in its internal business climate and handling the issues is a paramount task for the administration of the concerned organization.

Table 1: SWOT analysis of Bedfordshire University (Source: Self-created)

The university has invested in state-of-the-art campus facilities, including modern lecture halls, computer labs, libraries, sports facilities and student accommodations. Additionally, the aforementioned university has a strong research culture, with a focus on practical and applied research in areas such as health, science and technology (Beds, 2021). The university is currently ranked lower in the UK university league tables, which may affect its ability to attract top students and faculty members. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the ripening of online learning, furnishing an opportunity for the concerned university to extend its online course offerings and call a wider audience of students.

Economic apprehension, both in the UK and globally, may influence the university’s funding, as well as its ability to lure students and faculty members. On the other hand, technological advancements, such as automation and artificial intelligence, may disrupt orthodox teaching and learning models, hosting a challenge for the university to adapt and remain competitive in the market due to limitations in fund allocation. The mentioned organization has gone through vicissitudes and the above-mentioned factors have raised concerns for the university. Sivarajah et al. (2020) argued that big data analytics is crucial to assess the impact of business weaknesses and develop data-driven business strategies. Such situations have thrived the importance of curetting sustainability in the business aspects of the university to remain competitive in the market.

External environment analysis

Table 2: PESTLE analysis (Source: Self-created)

The UK government sets policies and regulations that affect the education sector, such as funding, curriculum, and standards. However, Brexit has created uncertainties for schools and universities, especially in terms of international pupil enrollment and research associations. Recent political instability in the country has fueled the tensions for Bedfordshire University further. Funding is a major issue for UK universities, with many facing budget cuts and increasing competition for resources as an impact of the decline in the country’s economic conditions (Pestleanalysis, 2022). Student debt is also an alarming concern, as tuition fees continue to ascend and living expenses remain high. Demographic changes are affecting the education sector, with an ageing population and changing attitudes towards higher education.

However, there are also concerns about the digital divide and ensuring that all students have access to the necessary technology. Such kind of issues has created several barriers for the management of the university to sustain business development and continue business growth (Beds, 2023). UK’s education sector is subject to a range of legal requirements, including health and safety regulations, safeguarding, and data protection. Changes in immigration laws and student visa policies have affected international student enrollment significantly. It can be postulated that in spite of many difficulties, some positivity like strong legal infrastructure and technological advancement as well as social factors can hoist great opportunities for Bedfordshire University to extract steady business improvement.

Impact of wider sustainability on the business performance of Bedfordshire University

Sustainable business management refers to the practice of operating a business in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the environment and society while also promoting economic growth and profitability. It involves integrating sustainable practices into all aspects of business operations, from sourcing raw materials to product design, production, distribution, and disposal. Embracing wider sustainability practices can enhance the reputation and brand image of Bedfordshire University. Demonstrating its commitment to sustainability, the University can attract environmentally and socially conscious students, staff, and other stakeholders, which can enhance its business performance. According to the study by Mio et al. (2020), defining sustainable goals and objectives is crucial to underpin the necessary improvements in the business. Students are increasingly looking for universities that demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Additionally, by incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, promoting green initiatives, and creating an eco-friendly campus, the University can attract and retain more students, which can lead to higher revenue and better business performance. The University must capitulate to diverse social and environmental regulations. Failing to comply with these regulations can result in penalties and fines, which can negatively affect the business performance of the University. Embracing wider sustainability practices can be beneficial for the university to ensure adherence to these regulations and avoid any legal penalties. On the other hand, Dey et al. (2019), opined that lean business practices deliver wider benefits to eliminate business difficulties. It has been observed that the concerned university has gone through continuous business vicissitudes due to certain business limitations.

As part of the 2021-2026 strategy, the management of the concerned organization is proceeding ahead to ensure the academic community, transformative power of education and securing diversity (Beds, 2023). Additionally, the organization is focusing on nine ambitious goals to transform Bedfordshire and the management is heading to create new opportunities for both employees and students. On the other hand, the university must think to increase the number of offered courses and educational services (Store, 2023). Brexit along with Covid-19 thrived the importance of sustainability in the business process of Bedfordshire University. The management of the university is aware of the necessity of crucial improvements in order to achieve business resilience. In total, practices of wider sustainability can have a positive impact on the business performance of Bedfordshire University. By enhancing its reputation, reducing costs, accessing funding opportunities, attracting more students, and ensuring regulatory compliance, the University can improve its overall business performance.

Proposal for the university to address sustainability.

According to the report, it has been founded that the University of the Country UK faced several challenges, which affected sustainability, which influenced negatively. During the COVID-19 pandemic time, the university faced major challenges regarding sustainability (Zimmermann et al. 2020). International students of this university are not able to attend any classes because of the sudden lockdown period. Due to not getting enough international students from various countries, affected the sustainability management of the business, which was definitely not a concern, a good one. The sudden outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic affected all over the globe, especially universities (Adam, and Alofaysan, 2023). Most universities only rely on international students and Bedfordshire University is not exceptional. Besides, the political factor is one of the major objects, which affected a country’s education system as well as even other matters.

Therefore, it can be stated based on the report that COVID-19 and political matters are the main factors which created issues regarding the sustainability of the business of the university in the country UK (Laurell et al. 2019). Sustainability in business is an important factor and if the sustainability is not enough strong any time business can face challenges which cannot be bearable. Additionally, international students are the ones that a university is able to maintain its business because they gain finance (Cheng et al. 2020). Financial factor is one of the important factors of a business as well as it helps to create suitability in business. Political factors affected the business and because of that international students do not want to come or visit those countries to avoid critical circumstances.

The proposal for re-build the sustainability of the business need to use appropriate theories or models which help to give effective and efficient result for the business of the university. The theory of the triple-bottom-line is help to measure sustainability by presenting a proper framework which highlights important factors (Cole et al. 2019). Therefore, it can be stated that the theory helps to expand conventional for the success of the business by contributing a few effective factors of objectives for development. The organization need to contribute its best to create proper sustainability in business as well as give focus on social well-being factors. It is important for the organization to rebuild or re-structure the growth of the economy for the purpose of stabilization of business in the market.

Additionally, for that stakeholder theory is one of the effective ones, which might help the business by providing enough funds and support. An institution or educational industry cannot able to continue its business without proper stakeholders because economic support is also a mandatory factor (Handfield et al. 2020). Engaging more stakeholders are with business help in the evolution as well as in the process of development of sustainability. During the pandemic period, major universities in the counties face losses because international students were not visiting. Students and investors are counted as a stakeholder for the company that provided support by giving funds (Adam, and Alofaysan, 2023). It is an important factor that the university is needs to provide extra facilities to attract stakeholders and students are towards the University for the Growth of the business. It becomes the biggest concerned matter for foreign universities that do not get enough students after a pandemic and get affected severely including sustainability factors.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1 Make the SC stronger than ever.

It is important for a business or an organization to have strong supply chain management in business because a strong connection with the supply chain helps to restructure the institution. The supply chain of the educational industry helps to achieve the goal as well as help to create a strong sustainable business in the market (Zimmermann et al. 2020). The education industries need to be an amount of knowledge on how to rebuild the financial structure of the institute after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is an outbreak all over the globe and because of that; educational industries are not able to get enough supplies of needed products.

Therefore, it can be recommended that, the supply chain of an organization needed to be strong rather than other things because if time students did not get enough cooperation, it affected the business (Handfield et al. 2020). Additionally, because of the political factors affected supply chain of the university, which created a big mess. Therefore, it can be recommended to improve the sustainability of the business of Bedfordshire University of the country UK needs to gather more resources for business evaluation. Develop a proper plan and execute it properly with time to avoid any other disruption in business to gain sustainability.

Recommendation 2: Engage stakeholders.

Engaging more stakeholders with the business is an excellent idea to gain competitive advantages as well as develop or evaluate the situation of the business in the market. Educational industries need more support to recreate the financial structure after the devastating effect of COVID-19 across the globe (Adam, and Alofaysan, 2023). Foreign students are counted as a stakeholder in the business of the educational industries therefore, it is important to have an excellent offer to attract them. Even as stakeholders education industries need to engage strong and powerful political persons to get support during the crisis period.

Additionally, without stakeholders, it is impossible to get success in the market and education institutes to need this most (Cole et al. 2019). Stakeholders provided the best options and opportunities to the students of the university, especially to the foreign students who came from abroad. It helps to reach at the common goal of education through the effort of the team, which is an important factor. After analyzing all of those factors, it is important that the organization need to engage more stakeholders for the development purpose of the business in the country UK. Stakeholders are the main part of the business because they help by providing the best opportunity for the business, especially from the side of sustainability.

Recommendation 3: Conduct a Sustainability Audit

Executing a sustainability audit can help Bedfordshire University identify concerned areas where it can enhance its sustainability performance. The audit must cover areas such as energy consumption, water use, waste generation, procurement, and transportation. The aforementioned strategy can provide a baseline for measuring advancement towards sustainability goals. As per the statement by Shad et al. (2019), sustainability reporting increases the effectiveness of risk management within the internal environment of an organization. The management might be able to develop an effective business pathway with the help of a sustainability audit. Moreover, the identification of market challenges and changes in market behavior can be done easily. Therefore, it is highly recommended that Bedfordshire University must consider a sustainability audit for the sake of fostering greater sustainability in business.

Conclusion

Bedfordshire University possesses a great brand identity in the business market of the UK. However, certain market limitations have created paramount challenges for the organization to continue business growth. It has been identified that enclosing sustainable business attributes is effective to sidestep the challenges and soar in the business market. UK’s great education infrastructure hoists promising future development for the concerned university. Minor rectification in the existing business approach of the organization with the help of a sustainable business approach can revert the complex business situation. It can be postulated that an increase in the number of courses and decreasing the course fees can be effective approaches to attracting more students. The inclusion of the triple bottom line and stakeholder theory can be beneficial for the university to foster sustainability in business.

Reference list

Journals

Adam, N. A., and Always, H. (2023). External Knowledge Flows and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ Innovation Capabilities Enhancement: An Empirical Investigation. Sustainability, 15(5), 4071.

AlMulhim, A. F. (2021). The role of internal and external sources of knowledge on frugal innovation: moderating role of innovation capabilities. International Journal of Innovation Science, 13(3), 341-363.

Cheng, M., Adekola, O., Albia, J., & Cai, S. (2022). Employability in higher education: a review of key stakeholders’ perspectives. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 16(1), 16-31.

Cole, R., Stevenson, M., & Aitken, J. (2019). Blockchain technology: implications for operations and supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 24(4), 469-483.

Dey, P. K., Malesios, C., De, D., Chowdhury, S., and Abdelaziz, F. B. (2019). Could lean practices and process innovation enhance supply chain sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises?. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(4), 582-598.

Handfield, R. B., Graham, G., & Burns, L. (2020). Corona virus, tariffs, trade wars and supply chain evolutionary design. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 40(10), 1649-1660.

Laurell, H., Karlsson, N. P., Lindgren, J., Andersson, S., and Svensson, G. (2019). Re-testing and validating a triple bottom line dominant logic for business sustainability. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 30(3), 518-537.

Manninen, K., and Huiskonen, J. (2022). Factors influencing the implementation of an integrated corporate sustainability and business strategy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 343, 131036.

Mio, C., Panfilo, S., and Blundo, B. (2020). Sustainable development goals and the strategic role of business: A systematic literature review. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3220-3245.

Shad, M. K., Lai, F. W., Fatt, C. L., Klemeš, J. J., and Bokhari, A. (2019). Integrating sustainability reporting into enterprise risk management and its relationship with business performance: A conceptual framework. Journal of Cleaner production, 208, 415-425.

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Zimmermann, R., Ferreira, L. M. D., and Moreira, A. C. (2020). How supply chain strategies moderate the relationship between innovation capabilities and business performance. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 26(5), 100658.

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