Design Thinking for Sustainability in Management Education

Abstract

Recently, the adoption of design approach and thinking in sustainability for business and management education has been the key movement by business schools and educators worldwide. Both academics and management practitioners criticize management education for their lack of relevance to practitioners, the values they impart to students, and their teaching methods. The poor integration of sustainability in management education can potentially contribute to poor management outcomes for most organisations. In this paper, we argue that design thinking allows management students to think and act sustainably. The data were collected from undergraduate students and academics teaching in the management programs in Australia and China. Results indicate that students’ involvement in the ‘problem identification’ and ‘ideation’ stages can contribute to their understanding of sustainability in management. Roles of educators, approaches in learning and teaching, and learning resources can also contribute to students’ understanding of complex issues in sustainability and management. As such, the researcher proposes a set of four recommendations for the adoption of design thinking for sustainability in management education.

Keywords: Management educationsocial innovationsustainability

Introduction

Design thinking had recently been adopted by a many business schools worldwide. The design approach can help students to identify various solutions for existing or future challenges in business. Hence, it helps students in business and management to examine issues from the multi-disciplinary perspectives. Design thinking can be described as “a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity” (Stubbs & Cocklin, 2008). Design thinking is generally referred to as “applying a designer’s sensibility and methods to problem solving, no matter what the problem is … a methodology for problem solving and enablement” (Lockwood, 2010).

Design involves purposeful behaviour that is targeted toward certain goals and the creation of solutions. The goal of design may be to solve a ‘wicked problem’ that affects one or many people in one place or different societies. In fact, design is not seen as the prerogative of a select few. On the contrary, “we all can, and do, design and that we can learn to design better” (Lawson, 2006). Within the academic discipline of design, the notion of design thinking has been of central importance for more than thirty years. Schön (1983) in education and Lawson (2006) in architecture, in their respective ways described and reflected upon how designers think. Lawson (2006), for example, claimed that the design process includes formulating, moving, representing, evaluating, and reflecting.

When it comes to business education, design thinking is described as ‘integrative thinking’ helping students to transform how to view and perceive the management issues from various viewpoints. This approach to design thinking centers on innovation and business transformation, the discovery of unmet needs and opportunities, and the creation of new visions and alternative scenarios. A core element of design thinking is its ability to capture new concept in knowledge, whereby practitioners might differ in their technique and tools (Lawson, 2006). It will, however, be the combination of applying design tools with a strong understanding or organisational innovation that identifies the strategic value of design thinking.

Problem Statement

A timely discussion by stakeholders in business education is how to effectively teach sustainability to business and management students. It is obvious that a number of business students are exposed to neo-classical economic thinking, which focuses on unlimited economic growth through increasing production and consumption via a free market system (America, 2014). This is predominantly because of the larger provision of classic economics and business frameworks available in business education programmes at all levels (Fleetwood, 2005). In the main, the business sector places a high premium on competitiveness, profit maximisation and shareholder wealth (Banerjee, 2008, Bond, 2006). Business schools, in their quest to achieve effective learning and teaching in sustainability, incorporated the In the current social climate, where we tend to face numerous challenges such as climate change, the growth of aging populations, food crisis etc., business will need to play pivotal roles to promote sustainability. Hence, problem-solving nature of design thinking is appropriate for what we need to prepare future graduates in management.

Comparing the problem-solving strategies of designers with those of scientists, for example, Lawson (2006) found that scientists focused on the problem to discover the fundamental rule to be applied, while designers learned about the problem by trying out various solutions. This solution-focused strategy has been observed in architects, urban designers, and engineers (America, 2014).

Stubbs and Cocklin (2008) put forward a sustainability framework which relates basic concepts and assumptions within the eco-centric, ecological modernisation and neoclassical paradigms in organisational practice and behaviour. Their framework is also useful in developing critical and reflective thinking. Foster (2011) highlights the importance of critical self-awareness as one of the cornerstones of the learning virtues of sustainability. Such awareness develops from first-order learning which signifies an adaptive learning process.

From there the second-order learning leads to examining assumptions and the third-order learning leads to a transformative perspective. These virtues can be introduced at school level in a “real sustainability curriculum” which would allow broadening of understanding, to imagine the possibilities and create the emergent future as one delves into the issues of sustainability (Foster, 2011:401).

Research Questions

• What promote design thinking in learning and teaching in the area of sustainability management?

Purpose of the Study

A timely discussion by stakeholders in business education is how to effectively teach sustainability to business and management students. It is obvious that a number of business students are exposed to neo-classical economic thinking, which focuses on unlimited economic growth through increasing production and consumption via a free market system (America, 2014). This is predominantly because of the larger provision of classic economics and business frameworks available in business education programmes at all levels (Fleetwood, 2005). In the main, the business sector places a high premium on competitiveness, profit maximisation and shareholder wealth (Wright, Cain, & Monsour 2015). Business schools, in their quest to achieve effective learning and teaching in sustainability, incorporated the In the current social climate, where we tend to face numerous challenges such as climate change, the growth of aging populations, food crisis etc., business will need to play pivotal roles to promote sustainability. Hence, problem-solving nature of design thinking is appropriate for what we need to prepare future graduates in management.

Comparing the problem-solving strategies of designers with those of scientists, for example, Lawson (1979) found that scientists focused on the problem to discover the fundamental rule to be applied, while designers learned about the problem by trying out various solutions. This solution-focused strategy has been observed in architects, urban designers, and engineers (America, 2014). Certain stage of design thinking can help learners to relate problem and learning. For instance, the first stage of the design thinking process is to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. This involves consulting experts to find out more about the area of concern through observing, engaging and empathizing with people to understand their experiences and motivations, as well as immersing yourself in the physical environment to have a deeper personal understanding of the issues involved.

Wright et al (2015) put forward a sustainability framework which relates basic concepts and assumptions within the eco-centric, ecological modernisation and neoclassical paradigms in organisational practice and behaviour. Their framework is also useful in developing critical and reflective thinking. Foster (2011) highlights the importance of critical self-awareness as one of the cornerstones of the learning virtues of sustainability. Such awareness develops from first-order learning which signifies an adaptive learning process. From there the second-order learning leads to examining assumptions and the third-order learning leads to a transformative perspective. These virtues can be introduced at school level in a “real sustainability curriculum” which would allow broadening of understanding, to imagine the possibilities and create the emergent future as one delves into the issues of sustainability (Foster, 2011:401). This study, hence, aims to understand how can a business school promote the concept of design thinking to help students to develop their skills in management sustainable

Research Methods

The present study targets at understanding the possible kinds of views management students at a higher education institution might have on design thinking, as we ll as their relationships with sustainability management. We are alos interested in how students’ views might be interrelated with each other and their backgrounds. Qualitative method was chosen to achieve this goal as this study is a new research area with needs of exploration for theory development (Creswell, 2015) and understanding the current phenomenon from different viewpoints (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

To document findings, the researcher followed these three steps. The first step was to create a conversational platform. We aim to use platform such as Line and email to create a platform for conversation. Both the line Messenger and e-mail group discussions were moderated by the lecturers. Second step, an introductory session was held with all the groups and the ground rules were set up. The moderators controlled the discussions and ensured that ground rules set were adhered to by all participants. On a weekly basis, different discussion topics were posted and all participants were encouraged to fully contribute so that others can learn. The topics being posted were derived from the Mini curriculum specifically developed to guide the moderation process. The curriculum comprised of modules in sustainability management. Finally, students were observed during the development of the project while in their groups. The instructor evaluated each group on the level of student engagement observed. The final method of evaluation was to determine the success of the groups through how the students felt about their groups. To document this, students were administered a survey at the conclusion of the project to rate their feelings about the effectiveness of the way the groups were designed.

Findings

Conclusion

We learn from the project that, when design thinking is adopted in learning and teaching of sustainable management, the dialogue shifted quickly from how to create opportunities for business and management students, to how to remove the barriers that exist to prevent student opportunities from flourishing. The ability to combine problem-based learning, case study, field observation, and small group discussion enables students to deeply understand the relationship between business, policy and sustainability issues.

Participants suggested that faculty members need to identify the student change agents within their schools and to collaborate with them to develop prospects for sustainability integration. Engaging students with stakeholders from the operational, policy, and community in the learning process help students to further explore the ideas for future solutions to maintain sustainable business.

This study also finds that collaboration with peers is an important element of the design process when students develop their sustainability project. Mutual understanding involves a commonly agreed upon set of facts and an appreciation of the underlying mental models being applied by different students.

Sustainability curriculum requires vision, purposeful design and action. Dialogue as a way to connect concepts of self, community and the urgency of current choices related to sustainability, is a place to begin understanding that we are a critical part of the transformative curriculum we write (Wright et al, 2015). Design thinking is one of many learning and teaching approaches that promote a high-level understanding of sustainability concept to business and management students. Creativity and Ability to connect to the problems in the design thinking should be promoted to support learning and teaching in sustainable management

Acknowledgments

I sincerely thank my colleagues at RMIT and Mahidol Universities for your support while working with them on this project.

References

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