The Role of Management in the Movement Towards Sustainability : Perceived Responsibilities, Challenges, and Opportunities

The aim of this thesis was to explore the role of management in the movement towards ecologically sustainable development (ESD), investigating perceived responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities facing business management today. The point of departure for this study was the acknowledgement of the present paucity of references to ESD within the management literature, widespread amoral business conduct, and the dominance of economic rationalism within business science. This research provided an analytical review of ESD related literature, concentrating on the history and rise of the ESD paradigm, its ethical underpinnings, and economic implications to management practice. The paper highlighted the importance of ESD to management theory and practice, urging for a re-conceptualisation of business core values and a redirection of economic systems onto a development path that is economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable in the long-term.