This chapter reconceptualises environmental competence as a dynamic capability rooted in an interconnected blend of knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, understanding and desire. Drawing on foundational models, it examines the structural components of pro-environmental behaviour and links these to empirical studies emphasising the foundations of ecological action. Building on this, the chapter introduces dynamic frameworks – particularly the sustainability competency models developed by Wiek, Withycombe and Redman and extended by Redman and Wiek – which emphasise collaborative, anticipatory, normative and strategic dimensions of sustainability planning. Through reflective tasks and case-based learning, readers are encouraged to recognise and cultivate transformative competencies, such as intercultural mediation and intra-personal awareness, essential for navigating global environmental challenges. The chapter also highlights concepts like Kickwa alli kawsay and Japanese kizuna as culturally embedded pathways towards sustainable living, reinforcing the argument that environmental competence must be pluralistic, inclusive and action-oriented. Ultimately, the text advocates for a holistic shift from static notions of competence to adaptive, integrative models that empower individuals and communities to enact meaningful change within diverse societal contexts.

There is no officially recognised ‘Code of Tort Law’. The law of torts has to be distilled from two sources: case law and statutes. It has been formed primarily by the decisions of the common law judges who have developed the law case by case over hundreds of years. To an increasing extent, it has also been shaped by the acts of parliaments, which have responded to the perceived shortcomings of the common law. The role played by each of these two law-making institutions is different, and the range of choices open to them varies. This chapter will explain how these different roles allow different goals to be taken into account when the law is shaped into an integrated system that best serves the needs of the community – and again, remember that this is not an immutable objective standard, but rather one that is dictated by evolving relations of power and influence in our communities and societies.

Today’s organizations face rapid change, digital disruption, and rising demands for sustainability and resilience. This fifth-edition text equips executives, students, and educators with a proven framework for designing effective organizations in complex environments. Built on decades of research, the multi-contingency model provides a step-by-step guide from diagnosis to design and implementation – now expanded to include knowledge interdependence, AI integration, sustainable development, and organizational resilience.

Rich with real-world cases from LEGO, Microsoft, Haier, and BlackBerry, the book blends theory with practice and offers clear visuals, intuitive two-by-two models, and tools to support hands-on learning and application. It helps readers understand who should do what, who should talk to whom, and – crucially – who should know what, in today’s increasingly dynamic settings. Whether used in executive education or as a core text in MBA and business school courses, this updated edition is a comprehensive, accessible, and globally trusted guide to modern organizational design.

Today’s organizations face rapid change, digital disruption, and rising demands for sustainability and resilience. This fifth-edition text equips executives, students, and educators with a proven framework for designing effective organizations in complex environments. Built on decades of research, the multi-contingency model provides a step-by-step guide from diagnosis to design and implementation – now expanded to include knowledge interdependence, AI integration, sustainable development, and organizational resilience.

Rich with real-world cases from LEGO, Microsoft, Haier, and BlackBerry, the book blends theory with practice and offers clear visuals, intuitive two-by-two models, and tools to support hands-on learning and application. It helps readers understand who should do what, who should talk to whom, and – crucially – who should know what, in today’s increasingly dynamic settings. Whether used in executive education or as a core text in MBA and business school courses, this updated edition is a comprehensive, accessible, and globally trusted guide to modern organizational design.

This chapter focuses on how organizations manage misfits over time and implement change effectively. Misfits must be addressed holistically due to the interdependence of design components. Continuous misfit correction – iterative diagnosis and redesign – is key to resilience, enabling organizations to adapt while maintaining functionality. Resilience is supported by agile coordination, distributed decision-making, and real-time learning. Examples like Danish hospitals and LEGO show how redesign can be embedded into daily operations. Tools such as scenario planning, design thinking, and digital twins help anticipate misfits and test new configurations. Temporal dynamics matter – some components change quickly, others slowly – so organizations must balance short-term fixes with long-term goals. Change strategies include time-paced innovation, punctuated equilibrium, and self-organization. Process and content costs help evaluate change paths. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; organizations must choose strategies that align with their context, capabilities, and goals.

This chapter explores the key aims and methods of environmental education, emphasising its significance in fostering environmental competence. It begins with an overview of the origins of environmental education, highlighting the Tbilisi Declaration and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s emphasis on public education. The chapter examines various approaches, including place-based learning, gamification and citizen science, illustrating their effectiveness in engaging learners. It also discusses the role of visual storytelling, particularly through picture books, in making complex environmental issues accessible to young children. The chapter highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of Indigenous cultural practices in environmental education, particularly in the Global South. By combining formal and informal methods, the chapter argues for a holistic approach to environmental education that inspires active participation in environmental protection and fosters a deeper understanding of environmental challenges.

This chapter discusses the role of environmental journalism in shaping public understanding and response to ecological issues. It explores the evolution of environmental journalism from traditional print to digital platforms, highlighting key milestones and events such as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Flint Water Crisis. The chapter examines the challenges faced by environmental journalists in the Global South, including political pressures and safety concerns, such as the Bhopal disaster, but also attempts to remedy this through policy, as exemplified by the Windhoek Declaration. It also discusses the impact of visual imagery and data journalism in conveying environmental stories. The chapter also addresses the increasing and persistent threats to press freedom and the safety of journalists in both the physical and digital world. It emphasises the importance of robust, independent environmental journalism in fostering informed public discourse and driving socioecological change.

In this chapter, we have included the leadership style measured as preference for delegation and uncertainty avoidance and organizational climate measured as tension and readiness for change to the set of relations which should fit together to meet a firm’s goals. There are four leader styles: maestro, manager, leader, and producer; and there are four climates: group, internal process, developmental, and rational goal. We discuss fit and misfit possibilities for all of these. Finally, we show how to make short-term and long-term changes to address misfit situations.

The chapter discusses how the Gulf republics, namely Iran and Iraq, have distinct political cultures shaped by historical factors. In contrast, the monarchies, often underestimated by rentier theory, have exhibited resilience and adaptability. The analysis encompasses the Gulf states’ political institutions, examining the role of constitutions, electoral chambers, and guarantees of political and civil liberties. It highlights the political diversity within the Gulf subregion, showcasing various political systems beyond simplistic labels of ‘republic’ or ‘monarchy’. Despite these apparent structures, the chapter underscores the limitations on political and civil activities, judicial independence and press freedom in the Gulf. The discussion delves into the nuanced nature of political activism, from platforms in Iraq and Iran to the emergence of political tendencies in Bahrain and Kuwait. The text further explores the use of force to suppress dissent in various Gulf states, leading to a lack of transparency and the absence of the rule of law. Finally, the chapter assesses the IDEA ratings, revealing the subregion’s generally low scores on the ‘democratic index’. Despite the challenges and limitations, the Gulf states remain dynamic entities with diverse political organisations, and in the absence of shocks or geopolitical disruptions, the author anticipates an evolutionary rather than revolutionary change in these countries’ political systems.

Negligence is the most intellectually and morally challenging of all the torts. It was called into being by the social, political and economic changes in society that were brought about by the Industrial Revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It continued to expand in new directions because of the more sophisticated financial systems and market economies that developed in its wake, and is now grappling with the existential questions of the 21st century, such as climate change and the digital revolution. These changes continue to make it possible for people to harm others in ways that were inconceivable in earlier times. The need for this form of tort liability grew out of the perceived inability of the older causes of action to deal with new, more devastating and potentially more widespread mass harms that new technologies could cause. The birth of negligence in the 1930s (and its subsequent expansion during the rise of the welfare state) was accompanied by a deeply felt fear of its limitless scope – a fear that still dominates the debates over the tort’s future to this day – and one that may never be resolved because of the inherent features of this tort.

This chapter on special topics in negligence will look at some examples where the High Court has justified either expanding or denying liability in negligence. Each section summarises the approaches that have emerged in each of these special areas and will alert you to the relevance of the civil liability legislation as enacted by states and territories in response to the Ipp Report. Before you begin this chapter, it may be useful to revisit Chapter 11, particularly the section on key salient features in negligence.

This chapter introduces the field of econarratology, situating it at the intersection of ecocriticism and narratology to examine how stories shape environmental understanding. It defines econarratology as the analysis of material environments and their narrative representations, emphasising the cultural, ethical and political implications of storytelling. The chapter explores emerging econarratives that challenge anthropocentric traditions and promote ecological awareness through linguistic strategies, which reframe nature as an active agent, undermining dualistic human-versus-nature (subject-object) paradigms. A critical examination of narratives propagated by the meat industry illustrates how traditional storytelling sustains environmental injustice, gender hierarchies and colonial ideologies. Through examples ranging from literature and music to documentaries, the chapter demonstrates how econarratives can foster ethical reflection, mobilise resistance and catalyse social change. Highlighting interdisciplinary approaches, it calls for inclusive, sentience-aware narratives that recognise the agency of non-human beings. Ultimately, the chapter advocates for transformative storytelling as a powerful tool to counter environmental degradation, dismantle oppressive ideologies and inspire sustainable futures.

This chapter critically examines the discipline of environmental economics, assessing its potential to reduce ecological degradation through realistic cost calculations and interdisciplinary collaboration. It begins by defining key aims, including the internalisation of environmental externalities, and evaluates policy instruments like carbon taxation and emissions trading systems (ETS). The chapter then critiques widespread greenwashing and carewashing, revealing how corporate and governmental strategies mislead consumers while perpetuating harmful practices. Further, it explores limits of mainstream economic paradigms, particularly GDP-centric models and growth-oriented sustainability discourse, and highlights resulting climate injustices across the Global North/South divide. It argues that effective reform requires more than market rationality – demanding behavioural insights, natural science integration and humanities-informed understandings of ecological ethics and intergenerational equity. Examples from Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Town and northern Tanzania demonstrate the feasibility of such cross-sectoral approaches. The chapter ultimately positions environmental economics as necessary but insufficient without satisfactory structural and cultural transformations based on interdisciplinary work.

If the past decade has challenged how we design organizations, the coming decade will upend the very assumptions those designs rest upon. Organizational design has always been a critical determinant of performance, adaptability, and long-term viability. As we bring this book to a close, it is both timely and essential to look forward to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the evolving landscape of organizational life. Throughout this book, we have emphasized that organizations are fundamentally information-processing systems. This foundational perspective has underpinned our exploration of structural forms, coordination mechanisms, and the ways in which organizational agents, both human and increasingly digital agents, collaborate to achieve collective goals.