QSO 321 Module Three Assignment Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

Knowing the expectations involved with maintaining operational sustainability and who is responsible for meeting these expectations is an important part of being an effective practitioner. In this assignment, you will create a guide that can be used throughout this course and in the future to help you better understand the roles, influences, and responsibilities of internal and external stakeholders involved in maintaining ethical business practices related to the triple bottom line (TBL). This assignment will also support you in completing your course project, which is due in Module Seven.

Scenario

You are working on a collaborative project regarding sustainability initiatives. During recent meetings, the group realized there is much confusion surrounding who is responsible for regulations, governance, and responsibilities surrounding the new initiatives being planned. To help everyone understand the roles and responsibilities of both internal and external stakeholders, you have volunteered to create a brief guide.

Directions

Use course and external resources to complete the Module Three Assignment Template linked in the What to Support section below. Be certain to identify key stakeholders and their roles, responsibilities, and level of influence clearly and concisely in upholding sustainable business operations regarding each aspect of the TBL.

For the purposes of this assignment, you can select one of the following industries to help contextualize your response:

Food service
Office supply
Accounting and finance

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

Identification: Identify key internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBL.
Roles: Briefly describe the role of identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability.
Responsibilities: Briefly describe the responsibilities of identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBL, specifically regarding their level of responsibility and accountability in the following areas:
- Evaluating or enforcing sustainable operations
- Determining which aspects of the TBL framework they support most strongly
- Explaining how their responsibilities can help justify prioritizing the TBL
Influence: Briefly describe the level of influence of the identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBL. Be certain to note their ability to make decisions, enforce requirements, and justify prioritizing the TBL for an organization.

What to Submit

Submit the completed Module Three Assignment Template for this assignment. Use bullet points as appropriate when completing the template. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Module Three Assignment Rubric

CriteriaMeets Expectations (100%)Partially Meets Expectations (85%)Does Not Meet Expectations (0%)ValueIdentificationIdentifies key internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBLShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying more key stakeholders or correctly identifying stakeholders who are directly involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBLDoes not attempt criterion15RolesBriefly describes the role of identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainabilityShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include making connections between identified stakeholders’ roles and their role in maintaining operational sustainabilityDoes not attempt criterion25ResponsibilitiesBriefly describes the responsibilities of identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBLShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include further incorporating identified stakeholders’ responsibilities regarding evaluating or enforcing sustainable operations, aspects of the TBL framework they support most strongly, or responsibilities that can help justify prioritizing the TBL into the responseDoes not attempt criterion25InfluenceBriefly describes the level of influence of identified internal and external stakeholders, groups, and organizations involved in enforcing and maintaining operational sustainability regarding each aspect of the TBLShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include more clearly describing the influence each identified stakeholder has on maintaining operational sustainability or the stakeholders’ influence on justifying sustainable prioritiesDoes not attempt criterion25Clear CommunicationConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication5Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution5Total:100%

Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step 1: Understand the Assignment

You are creating a guide that identifies the roles, responsibilities, and influence of stakeholders (both internal and external) who are involved in maintaining operational sustainability using the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL) = People (social), Planet (environmental), and Profit (economic).

You must:

Identify stakeholders.
Describe their roles.
Explain their responsibilities.
Show their level of influence.

Step 2: Choose an Industry

Pick one industry (Food service, Office supply, or Accounting/Finance).
👉 For clarity, let’s use Food service (but you can swap with your chosen industry).

Step 3: Outline for the Template

Here’s how to structure your responses using the rubric criteria:

1. Identification (Who are the stakeholders?)

Internal Stakeholders (inside the company):

Executives and top managers
HR department
Operations/production staff (kitchen staff, servers, etc.)
Sustainability or compliance officers
Investors/owners

External Stakeholders (outside the company):

Customers
Suppliers and vendors (farmers, distributors)
Regulators (FDA, USDA, local health departments)
NGOs and advocacy groups (environmental, labor rights)
Local community
Industry associations

2. Roles (What do they do?)

Executives/Managers: Set sustainability goals, allocate resources, enforce policy.
HR Department: Hire/train staff with sustainability awareness, enforce ethical workplace practices.
Operations Staff: Implement daily practices (reduce food waste, recycle, follow green procedures).
Investors/Owners: Demand returns but also push for ESG (environmental, social, governance) compliance.
Customers: Drive demand for ethical sourcing and eco-friendly services.
Suppliers: Provide sustainable goods/materials.
Regulators: Enforce compliance with safety, labor, and environmental laws.
NGOs/Community: Advocate for fair labor, safe practices, and community well-being.

3. Responsibilities (What are they accountable for?)

Executives: Evaluate and prioritize TBL initiatives, justify costs/benefits.
HR: Support social sustainability (fair wages, diversity).
Operations Staff: Reduce waste, monitor energy/water usage.
Investors: Pressure for transparency, ESG reporting.
Customers: Choose sustainable businesses, provide feedback.
Suppliers: Ensure ethical sourcing (organic produce, fair-trade goods).
Regulators: Enforce environmental, safety, and labor standards.
NGOs/Community: Hold businesses accountable through campaigns or partnerships.

4. Influence (How much power do they have?)

Executives: High influence—make strategic decisions.
HR: Medium—shapes workforce policies.
Operations Staff: Medium—directly implement sustainability practices.
Investors: High—financial backing gives leverage.
Customers: High—demand drives sustainability trends.
Suppliers: Medium—can influence sourcing and costs.
Regulators: High—legal power to enforce penalties.
NGOs/Community: Medium—social influence, brand reputation pressure.

Step 4: APA Requirements

Use bullet points (as requested).
Cite at least 2–3 credible sources in APA. Examples:
- Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business.
- Epstein, M. J., & Buhovac, A. R. (2014). Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts.
- Scholarly articles from SNHU library.

Step 5: Submission Checklist

✔ Identify stakeholders (internal & external).
✔ Describe their roles.
✔ Define their responsibilities (TBL: people, planet, profit).
✔ Explain their influence level.
✔ Use APA citations and references.
✔ Submit completed template.

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