Activities
Activity 5
Quality Management
Please take a minute to consider a situation where:
- A seemingly good decision put the business into financial trouble.
- An opportunity to enter a new, profitable market niche was lost.
- Valuable knowledge and processes were lost as the company changed staff.
Could adopting a Quality management system have helped avoid some of these situations? In what manner?
Graphic by Dirk Wouters from Pixabay
Activity 6
Quality Management Approaches
For each of the previously presented quality management approach (PDCA Cycle, EFQM, ISO, EMAS), consider the following questions:
- What are the strengths of this approach?
- Where lie its limitations?
- What environment is it best suited for?
After completing your analysis, which approach do you feel is best suited for your needs? Is there anything you would consider to borrow from the others? Do you know of any other approaches?
Graphic source: qualityinspection.org
Activity 7
Sustainability Risk Model
Using the sustainability risk model, please give one example each of a situation with:
- A low consequence risk with a low likelihood of occurrence;
- A high consequence risk with a low likelihood of occurrence;
- A low consequence with a high likelihood of occurrence ;
- A high consequence risk with a high likelihood of occurrence ;
Is any of the categories hard to populate? If you had to choose between a low consequence, but very probable risk, and a high consequence, and less probable risk, which is the one you would prioritize? Why?
Source picture: self made
Activity 8
Open Organisational Culture
Open culture is more than a buzzword! Reflect on the question „What, in your opinion, constitutes an open culture?“
Consider in particular the following elements:
- Mindset
- Communication
- Diversity
- Leadership
- Processes
- Innovation
- Stakeholder Involvement
Activity 9
Create a Vision for Promoting your Brand Image through CSR
Describe for your start-up: How can relevant CSR activities contribute to the brand awareness and a positive image?
Graphic by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Independent Self-Study
Activity 15 (Unit 2)
- Please read the ISO Quality Management principles.
- Which of the proposed actions are relevant to you? Would you consider undertaking any of them?
Activity 16 (Unit 2)
- Please read about the EMAS implementation tools and instructions.
- Do you feel that Environmental Management is relevant for your start-up? Is the EMAS tool a practial answer to your needs? Would you consider using any of them? Why (not)?
Activity 17 (Unit 2)
- Please find some of the EMAS case studies.
- Review their topic and select one that is the closest to your field of action. Based on the study you read, can you idenfify a good practice you would like to borrow for your business? Are there any pinfalls that you might want to avoid?
Activity 18 (Unit 2)
Try out the EFQM “light touch” assessment for “curious/less mature” organisations to identify their current position and determine potential improvement opportunities:
Activity 19 (Unit 3)
Please review the 17 Sustainable Development Goals on the SGD Compass website. Please select one that you can identify as a main priority and one as a secondary one.
- What targets do you subscribe to?
- What key business actions do you consider relevant?
- Can you define any indicators for them?
- What tools would you consider using?
Activity 20 (Unit 3)
Please read the SGD Compass Guide. Do you feel prepared to implement the SGD Compass in your practice. Is it well-suited to you needs? Do you find it easy to understand and explain to others?
Activity 21 (Unit 3)
EQFM offers a questionnaire to help an organisation identify those SDGs that are relevant to its purpose and assess its approach to integrating and embedding them in its strategy. It assists organisations to identify their current position and determine potential improvement opportunities to strengthen the relationship. The questionnaire follows the logic of the EFQM Model with its focus on “Why,” “How,” & “What” but it is not necessary to have any prior knowledge of the Model to gain the benefits of using the questionnaire.
Activity 22 (Unit 3)
For each of the 17 SDGs, ISO has compiled those standards that can make the greatest contributions to successful implementation, from technical solutions to organisational structures.
Please watch the ISO and the Sustainable Development Goals Video and review the ISO list per SDG. Is there any standard particularly relevant to you?