Indicators Formulation Process For Sustainable Operations Management

• The trend of globalization stimulated discussions concerning sustainability, creating a new context and, as a consequence, a new strategic operations vision related to the production of goods and services. Companies start to manage their processes seeking not to compromise the needs and interests of their stakeholders, adopting best practices in corporate governance and continuously assessing the impact of their operations on society and the environment in general, as well as on quality of working life in particular. This article purpose is to develop a sustainability indicators formulation process that could be applied to companies’ value chain operations, observing corporate governance best practices and the 3BL model, and taking as references a group of standards and guidelines based on the construction of socially responsible organizations, in relation to sustainable development: ISO 26000, ISO 14000, OHSAS 18000, SA 8000, ISO 9001, Global Compact and others. The methodology adopted is Cambridge’s Process Approach, in which the requirements presented by standards and guidelines set performance strategic objectives that could be converted into concrete actions that will be managed, evaluated and measured through sustainability indicators. These indicators are structured by performance measurement systems theoretical models integration, the insertion and categorization of the requirements referring to standards at the operations value chain context, and the structure of decision areas that bounds operations strategy. The validation of the formulated sustainability indicators consists of aspects regarding its consistency, accuracy, updatability and justification, together with its characteristics related to feasibility, utility and usability. Based on process application in a sustainable management innovation project, its usefulness in clarifying the standards requirements was verified. Additionally, a better view of the existent relationships between different standards, correlation between indicators, for measurement optimization and management was identified, in complement to a more direct association with the operations value chain. Therefore, the operations management based on indicators creates conditions for the continuous evaluation of the operations strategy in a sustainable development context.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

operations management

performance measurement

sustainability

social responsibility

process approach

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