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The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for rapidly and reliably capturing, representing and analysing process systems to facilitate the potential for operations performance improvement within a complex product design and manufacturing facility operating in a high‐performance business environment.

This paper demonstrates the proposed methodology within an electro‐mechanical design and manufacturing environment producing complex non‐standard products for a global market. The technique has national and international application for a wide spectrum of design and manufacturing facilities.

The authors also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in capturing, representing and analysing processes to assess the feasibility of and identify the issues involved in realising further performance improvements in an existing complex product, high variety, design and manufacturing facility.

Through the enhanced level of understanding of business processes and knowledge intensive operations, the design and manufacturing facilities managers can now realise the next level of performance enhancement by fully exploiting the potential of performance improvement initiatives. Since the proposed methodology creates an environment in which risks inherent in new techniques are controlled, the facilities managers can also gain competitive advantage by becoming the early adopters of radical performance enhancement approaches.

Most major and many smaller manufacturing companies have adopted the popular performance improvement initiatives. These companies are now striving to achieve the next level of performance enhancement at the system or enterprise level and require a better understanding of their business processes and knowledge intensive operations. This understanding needs to be achieved rapidly, cost effectively and in a readily communicable and quantifiable form to allow analysis and ongoing re‐analysis within the volatile industrial environment. The proposed methodology achieves this through the identification, communication, understanding and analysis of the internal and external interactions and dependencies of the facility.

The main goal of this study is to develop accounting students’ solidarity with and sensitivity to cooperation for sustainable development. This study also aims to analyze the role of participatory learning activities in developing the dimensions of involvement, critical reflection and thinking analysis.

This empirical study analyzes a case study activity conducted in accounting seminars with students from different universities in Spain. After completing the activity, the students completed a questionnaire divided into four areas: sociodemographic information, involvement, critical reflection and creativity. Students also answered an open-response question that asked them to propose new activities to enhance their learning experience and contribute more to sustainable development. The study thus used mixed methods, complementing quantitative analysis with qualitative data.

The multivariate analysis obtained significant results showing that female students were more willing to help and that most students said they were more sensitive to these issues after the participatory learning activity. Furthermore, the items and dimensions analyzed revealed a positive impact of involvement, critical and creative thinking and participatory learning on accounting students’ commitment to cooperation for sustainable development. When students answered the open-response question, they proposed more activities to enhance their learning and improve the functioning of the Non-Governmental Organization’s (NGO’s) beneficiary. HEIs must design more transversal courses aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals in their social science degrees.

The study not only examines university education in sustainable development but goes a step further in trying to involve students in a real development project from a financial and accounting point of view. The study also focuses on education for sustainability, and the project invites the students to think critically, reflect and assess real situations.