Monitoring System

Monitoring System
Question
Answered

Students will be required to choose a specific enterprise (it should ideally be one with which they are somewhat familiar) and develop a sustainability indicators monitoring system for that enterprise. Examples of the enterprises you might consider include, a day care centre, a carpet manufacturing business, a small zoo, an insurance office, a bank, an auto repair shop, a veterinary surgery, and many other possibilities including a global corporation like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Vale, Estée Lauder, Dior, Hugo Boss or Nike for instance.  
 
To provide a realistic account of the enterprise you will need to access a web site or undertake a site visit.
 
Ideally you shouldn’t use a place where you work or have worked because it becomes difficult to separate the creative and learning purpose of the assignment from the issue of students simply reporting the monitoring systems of the known work place. If you do choose to write about your current place of employment, ideally you should get the owner’s approval and support. You may choose a place similar to your own work place if that is how you feel you will get the most benefit from doing the assignment.
 
Structure of the Report
The report should ideally be 6 to 10 pages long, Arial 10 point font with 1.15 line spacing. The length specified does not include references and appendices. The report should ideally have the following sections but make sure you read the assessment guide in Section 6 as to how marks will be awarded.
 
Having found an enterprise to write about, the job is to analyse the enterprise to determine if it is fully sustainable, and if it is not, to work out why it is not, what needs to change, how it could be transformed, and then how it could be monitored so as to prevent any backwardation. The following five points should be used as a guide.
 
1: figure out what ‘Dunphy Phase’ the enterprise is currently at (Point A)
2: figure out what ‘Dunphy Phase’ the enterprise could be elevated to (Point B)
3. figure out a business case for sustainability for this particular enterprise
4: figure out how the enterprise could be transformed from Point A to Point B
5: figure out how the enterprise should be monitored so as to remain at Point B
Begin with a clear TITLE page with at least your name, JCU number and subject number and title plus subject Lecturer’s name with the assignment due date and time.  You may, if you wish, take the opportunity to illustrate the business of choice on this page – Photo, Logo, Depiction etc.
 
•    INTRODUCTION. Introduction to monitoring systems and the development of indicators in general. In this section students should review the literature on the characteristics of good monitoring systems and the features that contribute to effective indicators. This part of the report should be in essay form but it may be useful to use a Table or tables to summarise indicator characteristics.(2-4 pages)
•    THE ENTERPRISE. Description of the enterprise. This part of the report should be in essay form (1-2 pages). Illustration optional.
•    SUSTAINABILITY DIMENSIONS. Consider 1, 2 or all 3 sustainability dimensions as they apply to this enterprise. In this section students should identify and describe the range of socio-cultural, economic and environmental dimensions that apply to the operation of the chosen enterprise and explain how each is relevant. Some dimensions may apply more to specific enterprises but some treatment of all three dimensions for all enterprises is required. This part of the report should be in essay form. (2-3 pages).
•    SPECIFIC SUSTAINABILITY AREA. Next select ONE (1) of the three areas (economic, environmental or socio-cultural) (needs only to be stated at the top of the next section – no pages required)
•    LIST AND ASSESSMENT OF INDICATORS FOR MONITORING. Develop and present a list of indicators to monitor this one specific dimension. The description of each indicator must include what the indicator is, how it will be measured and reported and any limitations or challenges associated with it. It is likely to be an effective use of space to incorporate the required information in an initial one page summary Table using the columns: Indicator name, its definition, its measurement, key challenges/limitations and then base the essay discussion around the points in this Table (2-3 further pages).