This master's thesis deals with the potential for a car-sharing service in Prague. The service allows renting cars for a specified number of hours. Car-sharing is a commonly offered service in cities of the developed world. The theoretical section of the thesis introduces car-sharing and the current level of its adoption. Next, two conceptual bases for the development of the business plan are presented. The first is the macroeconomic theory of natural capitalism. At the theory's core is the recognition of the importance of natural capital. An improvement in protection of natural capital can be achieved by raising the consumption of services, instead of material products. In the case of car-sharing, the consumer only pays for the actual use of car, not for the ownership. The second concept is social entrepreneurship, which is an inspiring alternative to managing a business entity. Its goal is not only financial gain, but also positive social impact. The impact in case of car-sharing is in lowering the number of vehicles on the road and improvement of quality of life in cities. The business plan includes two financial alternatives. The thesis concludes that running a car-sharing organization in Prague is conceivable, but requires support from the municipality. Car-sharing cannot be expected to generate quick profit, but rather the profit model builds slowly. The final part of the thesis presents balanced scorecard developed for the first year of operation with the goal of achieving the optimistic alternative modeled in the business plan. The key to success in the first year is gaining and retaining customers.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:47:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JAQUELINE J SILVA OLIVEIRA.pdf: 13707963 bytes, checksum: bd45c58469f57bbb136769b65def47a7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-16 / The environmental problem is characterized essentially by a frenetic search to change the current economic model to a new stage of capitalism, called Natural Capitalism. This presents four principles as indispensable ways of maintaining the Earth and its species, without the naïve vision of non-development, limits to growth and the don quixotic cries to save the Earth from the obvious high global temperatures which provoke climate change. These changes are caused by polluting activities, especially those which increase the greenhouse effect, and by the lack of energetic measures to preserve the environment. A less romantic view of the proposals of Natural Capitalism will be discussed in this study which could lead to the reappropriation of nature, through the sustainable development discourse, which has attracted international agreements to guarantee sustainability (highlighting the Quioto Protocol and CON 15 in Copenhagen). This dissertation, for reasons which will become apparent, focuses on the question of environmental sustainability, based on the tripod (Triple Bottom Line) including economic, social and environmental dimensions. A significant issue that must be observed is the fact that in order to effectively guarantee a permanent adaptation of the new model of development being proposed, it is not sufficient that business leaders assimilate the concept of sustainability and produce without degrading the environment. Consumer awareness must be heightened in order to move towards an ethical market. It is up the consumer to get to know the economic, environmental and social impact of products which s/he rewards by purchase. The identification of products coming from politically correct companies will be carried out through stamps or certification, especially the green stamp, from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It aims to justify the guarantee and differentiation which the FSC offers to the investor, in this case, though the plantation Teak on Brazilian land, as compared to different kinds of forest certification around the world and in Brazil. / A presente dissertação objetiva, valendo-se de subsídios multidisciplinares, analisar e demonstrar a importância do Padrão de Certificação do FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) para o manejo de plantações de teca no Brasil, bem como confrontar as questões teóricojurídicas controvertidas que deverão alcançar o âmbito diferenciado deste programa de certificação florestal, comparado aos demais sistemas existentes. O trabalho orienta-se através dos métodos hipotético-dedutivo e comparativo, apropriados ao objeto de estudo, para sanar as questões levantadas e de técnicas de investigação seguras, notadamente histórica e a monográfica. Para tanto, fez-se uso de referenciais teóricos obtidos pelas pesquisas bibliográficas e em websites, dos esquemas de certificação florestal. No transcorrer do desenvolvimento deste trabalho, destaca-se a problemática ambiental, que se caracteriza, primordialmente, pela frenética busca de mudança do modelo econômico atual para uma nova era do capitalismo: o Capitalismo Natural (Natural Capitalism). Este apresenta quatro princípios como via imprescindível na manutenção do globo e suas espécies, sem a ingênua visão (do não-desenvolvimento e dos limites ao crescimento), ofuscada pela ideologia salvacionista do planeta em relação às evidentes elevações da temperatura média global, que ocasionaram alteração climática, provocada pelas atividades poluidoras, sobretudo, as que aumentaram o efeito estufa, somadas à falta de medidas enérgicas, com o propósito de preservação ambiental. A óptica menos romântica da proposta fundamentada nos quatro princípios do capitalismo natural, que serão citados ao longo deste estudo, desemboca na reapropriação da natureza, através do discurso de desenvolvimento sustentável, em que as dificuldades em resguardar o planeta atraíram acordos internacionais (destacando o Protocolo de Quioto e a Convenção 15, em Copenhague), para garantir a sustentabilidade. A abordagem deste tema, por razões que se tornarão evidentes, está voltada para a questão ambiental, no conceito de sustentabilidade, fundamentado no tripé (Triple Bottom Line) que abrange o econômico, o social e o ambiental. Um ponto importante a ser observado consiste no fato de que a garantia de uma efetiva adaptação ao novo modelo de desenvolvimento proposto não se encontra apenas no processo de as lideranças empresariais assimilarem o conceito de sustentabilidade e produzirem sem degradar o meio ambiente, mas, especialmente, na conscientização do consumidor, o qual norteará um mercado ético. Cabe a ele saber qual é o impacto econômico, ambiental e social, que geram os produtos que premia com a sua compra. A identificação dos produtos de empresas politicamente corretas será feita através de selos ou certificações, no caso específico, do selo verde - FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), almejado pelos empreendedores madeireiros, em particular, os de plantio da tectona grandis no Brasil.

This is a multi-disciplinary applied ethics thesis in the field of applied environmental business ethics. As such, whilst it is primarily anchored in philosophical literature; theory and literature from the fields of environment, education, management, social science, and psychology, all play a significant part. As this is an applied ethics thesis, as opposed to a traditional philosophy thesis, it not only addresses the issue concerned, but also theoretically demonstrates how the proposed alternative approaches might be applied. Methodologically, the underpinning assumption for the thesis stems from the social constructionist belief that external influences can result in internal personal change. The overall thesis has been designed and structured taking a systems approach. As in nature itself, there is an overall aim or system, within which there are many interconnecting sub-systems or theories that can stand alone, but are also directly linked to each other so that my desired outcome can be achieved. In addition, the McCarthy/Kolb 4 Mat System of learning style preference has been embedded into the structure. Due to the multi-disciplinary and applied nature of the thesis, together with the aim and content of the study, a number of specific writing techniques have been employed. These techniques are intended to model some of the recommended strategies, and include inclusive language where possible, and a minimum amount of assumed knowledge, with narratives and stories sprinkled throughout each chapter, where relevant. Finally, a number of established theories have been used to support my proposal for a Heart-Centred Virtue Ethics. The foundation theory is virtue-based ethics, with a primary focus on the work of David Hume, and to a lesser extent Aristotle. This foundation theory is, in turn, supported by a number of dimensions of environmental philosophy including ecofeminism, ethics of care, and the transformational aspect of deep ecology. The relatively new management field of emotional intelligence also plays a major role. The context in which the thesis is set is sustainability from an organisational perspective, and the motivations for caring for nature, which are generally based on externally imposed, content-driven rules, from an anthropocentric perspective. However, I argue that the ideal motivation for caring for nature is based internally, on environmental virtue. Thus, people are taking care of the environment because in their heart they want to, not begrudgingly because externally imposed rules say that they have to. I suggest that movement through various levels of motivation to virtue might occur with an increase in ecological consciousness. In support of these claims, the main elements of environmental philosophy are discussed, and the relevant theories of virtue are presented, including environmental virtue. It is then argued that virtue per se is not enough – that for one to be environmentally virtuous, one needs to have some kind of relationship with nature. To that end, the tenets of ecofeminism, and ethics of care, both based on the notion of relationship, are introduced. However, the dilemma is then presented; “How do you persuade the predominantly male business community of the benefits of the so-called soft skills of virtue, ecofeminism, and ethics of care?” An answer comes in the form of the new management field of emotional intelligence that is gaining acceptance amongst leading-edge organisations worldwide. Having introduced the concept of emotional intelligence, I then demonstrate that the main characteristics and aims of emotional intelligence are virtually identical to those of ethics of care and virtue, and ecofeminism. Therefore, initially the aims of these philosophies can be achieved within the business community, under the guise of emotional intelligence. With all the relevant theories firmly in place, I then return to the notion of raising ecological consciousness, and argue that one way that ecological consciousness might be raised is with a process-oriented, action strategy, that I call Heart-Centred Virtue Ethics. I then theoretically explore the application of heart-centred virtue ethics which is primarily based on emotional intelligence implementation strategies, combined with some intellectual intelligence procedures, and a third ingredient, meta-intelligence.