Environmental Responsiveness, Individuals and Organizational Learning: SME Experience

This paper explores the links between management and non-management attitudes to the environment and organizational responses within SMEs. It identifies the scope for, and means by which, personal attitudes can be harnessed to motivate, activate and help operationalize business responses. The paper identifies strong personal attitudes about the environment. In some more proactive companies it identifies some of the elements of organizational learning which may assist in translating attitudes into effective behaviour-including supportive management structures, training and two-way communication. However, it also identifies organizational limits in this regard. It draws parallels with management systems in relation to health and safety.