Sustainability and human competences: a systematic literature review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss human competences required for sustainability management in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a systematic review of the literature, through qualitative thematic analysis.

Findings

The research covered 15 years of scientific publications and was summarised in 43 articles. It revealed that education, more than management, was the field of knowledge with more references in human competences, through exploratory methodological approaches. The competences found were plenty, but there is still some misunderstanding regarding their conceptual and theoretical bases.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides evidence that the academic knowledge on the subject is still at its initial stage, and it exposes the debility of the management area in addressing the subject.

Practical implications

The authors intend to indicate to managers some fundamentals for the adoption of human competences for sustainability aiming at a more sustainable performance in organisations.

Social implications

The results may instigate studies concerning the fit of sustainability competences developed on higher education institutions and the job market. From it, curricula and pedagogical projects can be proposed and revised with better alignment to the organisational context.

Originality/value

This paper presents a theoretical contribution by building bridges among different perspectives and fields of knowledge on the topic. The paper also offers a managerial contribution by stimulating practical discussions to develop sustainability in organisations through individuals.

Human competences for sustainable strategic management: evidence from Brazil

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify how human competences are associated with sustainable strategic management (SSM) within organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative study in two phases: first, a theoretical phase is developed, resulting in a proposal for the role of human competences in organisational sustainability; second, an empirical phase including instrumental case studies of two large, sustainability-oriented Brazilian companies. Data were obtained from interviews and companies’ reports. The authors used Atlas.ti software to perform the thematic content analysis.

Findings

Despite the importance of human competences in SSM, the authors find evidence that this concept has not been developed, even for companies with a consolidated position in sustainability. Human competences are a requirement for effective SSM.

Research limitations/implications

Coexisting elements within an organisation, often referred to as elements of organisational and human behaviour, can influence the dynamics of the expected interrelationships between human competences and sustainability management, in addition to the influencing factors presented in this study.

Originality/value

In general, studies advocate that the relationships among organisational competences, human competences and organisational strategies must be aligned and reinforced. Nevertheless, these relationships are not that solid as they should be as stated in both the literature and the conventional discourse of practitioners.

From slavery to incarceration: social forces affecting the epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases in the rural South

The high rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the southeastern United States have been shaped by historic and contemporary social forces. More than other regions of the country, the South was defined by slavery, an extremely hierarchical relationship between whites and blacks. Emancipation left much of the racial hierarchy intact with whites as farm owners and blacks as hired workers or sharecroppers. Agricultural policies that favored mechanization caused blacks to leave farm work and move into segregated towns, leading to the advent of the rural ghetto. Post-World War II mass migration, mostly by young men, to the industrial north altered the sex ratio and social capital of the southern towns left behind. The cocaine epidemic of the 1990s, followed by the high incarceration rates of the "War on Drugs," disproportionately affected low-income blacks. Each of these forces led to sexual and care-seeking behaviors that favor transmission of STDs.