Problems of sustainable development and challenges related to production
Problems of sustainable development and challenges related to production

Author(s): Natalia Mazur, Dariusz Nowak, Vasyl Zalizko
Subject(s): Economy, Business Economy / Management, Energy and Environmental Studies, Sociology, Management and complex organizations, Economic development, Environmental interactions, Marketing / Advertising, Human Resources in Economy, Business Ethics, Globalization, Transport / Logistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu
Keywords: environment;sustainable development;waste;resources;innovations;technical progress;ecology;human resouces;
Summary/Abstract: Due to the changes taking place in the environment of enterprises, many problems arise in their strategic and operational activities. The basis of the emerging problems is primarily the over production associated with short product life cycles. It contributes to the excessive use of various types of natural resources, often in a predatory manner. On the one hand, such an approach increases waste,and on the other, contributes to the destructive degradation of the environment. The result is a lackof food and water in some countries, climate change and related extreme weather phenomena, as well as various types of disasters, such as pandemics, fires, floods, droughts, etc. Water, air and land pollution as well as global warming are reflected in deteriorating quality of life. Despite many threats, more and more enterprises perceive the danger and undertake various types of adaptive projects. It should also be emphasized that the environmental awareness of both micro-enterprises and large corporations is growing. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the basic problems that companies may encounter in their operations activity. First, changes in the environment are discussed, with particular emphasis on the depletion of natural resources, pollution of a destructive nature, as well as waste and its causes. The next part deals with the topic of globalization, pointing to both positive and negative aspects. Technical progress and related aspects such as new technologies, new processes and materials are discussed in the next part. In this part, particular attention is paid to improving productivity,thanks to the implementation of new technical solutions. Technical progress is directly related to the innovations presented in the next section. This section describes the types of innovation accordingto various criteria as well as factors that are conducive to increments in the level of innovation inthe enterprise. The last part is devoted to the most important factor in operational activity—human resources. Competences, qualifications and the importance of human resources in the production process were discussed.

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