ABSTRACT
A sustainable work system may be defined as one that cooperates with nature’s well-developed processes, allowing for feedback and self-regulation, such that activity may be sustained to meet present needs without reducing the capacity of future generations to meet their needs. This chapter proposes ways in which organizational leaders can collaborate across organizational boundaries to manage their work systems (including supply systems) more intelligently, toward such a sustainable future. The proposal is anchored in three action research cases. Enablers and obstacles are also identified. These ideas contribute to an emerging global conversation on learning processes for sustainability (Wals 2007). First I sketch the context of unsustainability to suggest design parameters for sustainable work systems.
