The need for a “big picture” understanding

A holistic term like sustainability defies piecemeal understanding. In other words, in order to understand deeply what sustainability means for business, one must understand how business fits with larger systems and problems in ecology (e.g., the carbon cycle), sociology (e.g., meaning of community) and economics (e.g., varieties of capitalism). It requires understanding how sustainability at an organizational level is related to the larger issues facing humankind, such as economic inequality, climate change, and the growing power of multinational corporations. This demands understanding basic ecosystems and fundamentals about human nature and the social order. 

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Question. Do you agree that it is important for managers to learn about eco-systems and basic fundamentals of human nature? Or is it tough enough for managers to learn about accounting and finance and marketing, and we should leave it to others to learn about and care for the ‘big picture’? What are the dangers if the titans of industry, or even everyday managers, are not trained to think about these larger ‘big picture’ issues?​