| Abstract: | As the second part of a research agenda addressing the idea and meaning of Sustainable Development, this paper responds to the challenges set in the first paper. Using a Foucaudian perspective, we uncover and highlight the importance of discourse in the development of societal context which could lead to the radical change in our epistemological thought necessary for Sustainable Development to reach its potential. By developing an argument for an epistemological change, we suggest that business organizations have an ethical responsibility towards revaluating Sustainable Development, leading to a discourse based on an integrated inclusive process of celebrating diversity in all its forms. The paper goes on to explore the argument for such a change. This exploration is based on three issues: the notion of over simplification in the promotion of development; the idea of an imbalance in the interaction of business and government operating in the larger context of society; and the notion of increasing responsibility with increasing influence in terms of the business organization within society. Having established the argument for an ethical choice by business organizations, we then reflect on how such a change could be incorporated into an organization.Andrew Fergus is a PhD Candidate with a double major in Organizational Dynamics (Organizational theory/behavior) and Environmental Management/Sustainable Development. His research is focused towards the dynamic relationships found at the interface of organizations, society, and the environment.Dr Julie Rowney is a Professor, Human Resources and OrganizationalDynamics, and is the Director of the Faculties International Sustainable Energy Development Programs in Latin America, the Caribbean, Iran and China. Her researchactivities lie in the areas of diversity, gender, sustainable development, leadership, change, and international/crosscultural comparisons. |
