Task and Challenge That Timberland Faced - Research Paper Example

?Case Study Analysis Introduction The core problem of the case study is an embodiment of a larger problem that Timberland as a corporate organizationis seeking to tackle. This larger problem lies in achieving social justice in the face of the need to ensure that regular and usual commercial activity goes on. It would, however, be noted that in a typical society (and a competitive one for that matter) like the United States, the work and regulations of financial organizations are mostly focused on the creation of commercial value. For this reason, Timberland is faced with the task and challenge of fusing commercial wealth and creation of social justice together. It is for this reason that the CEO of the company recommends the creation of a model that brings an era whereby “under the model, creating commercial value and social value, commerce and justice were “inextricably linked”” (Austin, Leonard, and Quinn, 2004, p. 1). Reading through the case study, it could be noticed that there is the likelihood that there could arise a subsequent problem that has to do with the implementation of the designed model. This problem is projected in the face of having to satisfy the stake of all stakeholders to accepting the innovative business model as the most suitable for the present needs of the company. Identified "stakeholders" The running of any public interest organization such as Timberland can never be complete in the absence of a well regulated and coordinated effort among some key players, commonly referred to as stakeholders (Maremont, 1993). The term ‘stakeholders’ is used to refer to these players because with their roles in the organizations, they could be said to be people who can legitimately claim stakes in the successful running of given organizations. In other words, the roles of each stakeholder are so important that eliminating the functions of one of them could cause the doom of the company involved. A critical review of the case in which Timberland finds itself brings out who the company’s stakeholders are and the roles played in the successful story of the company over the years. Employees, consumers, customers, partners, the community and the investment community all come together to act as stakeholders of Timberland (Austin, Leonard, and Quinn, 2004, p. 11). Employees of the company act as the engine of production, whose tasks include the need to ensure that there is an adequate supply margin to the demand chain on the company (Esposito, 2001). Customers and consumers are the financial lifeline to the company, whose purchases account for the company’s revenues. Partners and the investing community also play important roles in fueling the company with fiscal resources though they come in as beneficiaries in the long run. The community, on the other hand, is an important stakeholder in the social justice phenomenon; as the community ought to benefit exclusively from the company without any thought of reciprocate in return. Important Target Groups Still on the commerce and justice vision of the company, there are some key target groups that ought to be considered in the rendering of the innovative business model of the company. Apart from the stakeholders who have been mentioned earlier as employees, consumers, customers, partners, the community and the investment community, suppliers and the government are two other important target groups. The justification in considering suppliers as important target group comes from one major factor and that is, Timberland as a company does a lot of outsourcing in the procurement and acquisition of raw materials for its operations. This, therefore, means that for a lot of times that the company will be in the quest to go into production in order to meet demand from customers and consumers, the company would have to fall on its suppliers (Ducharme, 2002). It is for this reason that the role of suppliers as important target group cannot be underestimated. With government, not much needs to be said to justify its role as an important target group. This is because government is responsible for most of the external financial factors that set the pace for the creation of globalised competition. In effect, factors like inflation, interest rate and rate of income tax are all external factors that affect the running of Timberland as a company. Yet, these factors are in the hands of government. The role of management, Production and Service providers The CEO of the company has showed a lot of class and maturity in approaching the role of management of Timberland b leading the advocacy to come up with an innovative business model. Indeed, the role of management is to do a lot of the thinking and boardroom discussions that are centered on the identification of core needs of society (Ducharme, 2002). Reading through the case study, it could be seen that the CEO has had the interest of the larger society at hand and this is a step in the right direction as far as the role of management is concerned. Indeed, it is after discovering such key problems of society that the need to design innovative interventions in dealing with them comes in. As management comes up with the paperwork, the production team is also expected to boost their productivity levels to create a production environment that is viable enough to raise financial resources to undertake the proposed innovative business model. Service providers should also be up to the rate of demand from the company. Clearly, the innovative business model would create a situation whereby the demands from service providers will be increased (Austin, Leonard, and Quinn, 2004). They should, therefore, be up to the task of meeting the demand. Strategic Issues One focal point that the present justice and commerce intention needs to look at has to do with strategic implementation. First and foremast, Timberland must not forget or forgo its core mission for existence and establishment which makes it a profit making organization. Thus, the company must undertake its implementation in such a way that there would always be an eye on the actual field work. After all, should production be ineffective, funding of the project will be jeopardized. The company, therefore, needs to adapt a concentric strategic approach that will ensure that there is a gradual discharge of the implementation. This means that the company must start from a small central point of reaching out to society before it finally takes off on a giant scale (Maremont, 1993). The diagram below describes the concentric strategic approach suggested for the company. Fig 1: Concentric Strategic Approach for Timberland Risk Factors As the company embarks on the commerce and justice policy, there remain some key risk factors that must be dealt with. Whiles some of these risk factors may come with their pros and merits, others come with several cons and demerits. Three of such risk factors are competitive factors, global economic factors and social perception risk (Maremont, 1993). From a competitive view point, there are going to be a number of similar social response initiated programs from other competitors with whom Timberland does business. The advantage of this is that Timberland would be given an opportunity to prove itself above its competitors. However, there is no denying the fact that some level of media and public attention would have to be shared among all competitors and this will take some level of shine away from Timberland. Again, the global economic trend comes with its own risk factor whereby Timberland will not be in apposition to determine the general temperature of world economy. In effect, it is important to have a resilient backup budget that will ensure that in an unlikely situation where the world economy melts down, the program of the company will not be affected. Finally, the company faces the risk of social misinterpretation whereby the society is likely to see the intervention from a point whereby the company is only doing so to gain popularity for their own profit and benefit. The company can thus address this issue by establishing an entirely different approach that will actually proof to the people that the core focus is social justice and not just commerce. Conclusions and Recommendation From the analysis so far, it has been established that the commerce and justice projection of the company is a step in the right direction. The company would however have to face a number of challenges and surmount certain key risk factors. Regardless of this, the company should remain focused on implementing the innovative business model. This is because this model is going to serve as the basis for bringing out the true identity of Timberland as a human centered company. In order that the company remains focused on its strategic plan, it is recommended that the company do not undertake the project as in integrated strategy on its larger strategic plan. This means that it is important that the company sets up an entirely new outfit in all its departments and offices to cater for the commerce and justice project. This would ensure that the core responsibilities of the company do not become handicapped in the face of growing world economic demands. References Austin, J., Leonard, H. B., & Quinn, J. W. (2004). Timberland Commerce and Justice. Harvard Business School. Ducharme, M. (2002, December 1). Building on Excellence: NH’s 10 Best Companies to Work For. Business NH Magazine Esposito, M. (2001, March 25). CEO Stresses Making a Difference in Society. Worcester Telegram & Gazette, p. E1. Maremont, M. (1993, September 13). Timberland Comes out of the Woods. Business Week, p. 78. Read More