MBA517 Ikea and Child Labor

Discussion Forum: Ikea and Child Labor

On page 259, read Illustration Capsule 9.1: IKEA's Global Supplier Standards. Ikea is trying to balance low costs with child labor. How would you advise Ikea on handling its challenge?

Child labor is often used in developing countries due to several factors. A lack of schooling for children can cause them to work instead, family may have health problems and need additional money in order to stay or get healthy, and inefficiencies which result in the need for the extremely cheap labor that children can provide. IKEA is working to end this by attempting to resolve the underlying issues behind child labor in these areas (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland III, 2016).

For example, they are introducing resources in those areas which will encourage community programs for children which will keep them occupied during the workday. They have teamed up with UNICEF and Save the Children in order to facilitate these programs. They have also created a code of conduct for their suppliers to abide by in order to maintain a relationship (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland III, 2016).

While these programs are great, there will still be issues with child labor in these countries until government regulations change. I believe IKEA, along with other large companies utilizing suppliers in these areas, could really be effective in causing governments to change their regulations regarding child labor. If all large companies rally behind eliminating child labor, the governments and supply companies will be forced to comply with the standards of more developed countries.

References

Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. (2016). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage (20 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Discussion Forum: Burt’s Bees Success

Burt's Bees is an American personal care products company. It has been successful in achieving a triple bottom line.

Read the Illustration Capsule 9.3: Burt's Bees: A Strategy Based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) On page 271.
Read the company sustainability report. Click here to read https://www.bee2bee.com/sustain-reports.html.
Describe what impact Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has had on Burt's Bees.
Comment on other student posts on CSR. Your initial response post to the chapter question is due by Saturday 11:59 PM and to at least one other student peer by Sunday 11:59 PM. Include a reference for your post

The biggest impact Corporate Social Responsibility has had on Burt’s Bees is that they are widely recognized as being environmentally conscious. According to their last full sustainability report in 2012 (they now have goal-updates instead of full reports), they have a “supply chain of more than 400 ingredients from more than 60 countries.” Their goal is to have a completely transparent supply chain made up of reputable suppliers who hold the same environmental ideals as Burt’s Bees (Burt's Bees, 2012).

Now, Burt’s Bees is considered one of the top leaders representing CSR. In fact, CSR consultants often use them as an example when consulting other companies on improving sustainability. Each and every product they product is created with sustainability in mind. They are also giving back to the community with their Natural Launchpad grant program, which provides funding and mentorship for startups that focus on improving the environment (602 Communications, 2019).

References

602 Communications. (2019). Corporate Social Responsibility Consultants Love Burt's Bees. Retrieved from 602 Communications: http://602communications.com/burts-bees-corporate-social-responsibility-consultants/

Burt's Bees. (2012). 2012 Sustainability Report. Retrieved from Burt's Bees:

Assurance of Learning: Chapter 9, #4

Go to https://environment.google/ and explore the website.

Then, answer Question # 4 in the Assurance of Learning Exercises on page 282

What are Google’s key policies and actions that help it reduce its environmental footprint? How does the company integrate the idea of creating a “better web that’s better for the environment” with its strategies for creating profit and value? How do these initiatives help build competitive advantage for Google?

Google has a Supplier Code of Conduct which regulates how they choose and retain suppliers for all of their supply chain needs. They encourage their supplier to adopt systems which are energy efficient, while reducing their carbon footprint; this applies to their suppliers’ suppliers as well. This largely translates to finding reliable and renewable energy sources. Google promotes transparency with all of their operations. A good example is their Conflict Minerals program which improves transparency in tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold mining (Google, 2019).

In order to reduce waste in landfills, Google has established a circular economy model, in which products, components, and materials are intended to be used over and over again through recycling or refurbishing. Through this circular economy model, they have overhauled their data centers in order to ensure items can be maintained, refurbished, reused, or recycled, which decreased their landfill contributions by 86% (Google, 2019).

References

Burt's Bees. (2012). 2012 Sustainability Report. Retrieved from Burt's Bees:

Google. (2019). Environment Projects: Once Is Never Enough. Retrieved from Google: https://sustainability.google/projects/circular-economy/

Google. (2019). Google Supplier Code of Conduct. Retrieved from Google: https://about.google/supplier-code-of-conduct/

Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. (2016). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage (20 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.