Best Buys Fight against E-Waste - Case Study Example

University: Best Buy’s Fight against E-Waste. Name: Date: Best Buy’s Fight against E-Waste. Why do you think Best Buy has been able to gain competitive advantage in the retail electronics market while also driving many initiatives to support sustainability? One of major reasons that have tremendously facilitated to making Best Buy to stand out in the retail electronics market has been its consistent focus on providing customers with value for their money. Best Buy has been keen on ensuring that customers come first in their business and this active engagement of customers in the day to day running of the business through seeking for their feedback on how they can make their services better has ultimately led to attracting and keeping a large number of the customers coming back. Moreover, Best Buy has engaged platforms to enable customers air their views and this has given the company a platform to assess their performance through social platforms such as Facebook and twitter (Westkämper, 2009, p.97) Another critical factor that brought sharp competitive advantage to the company has been the selective manner in which the company recruits its workers. The company has over the years been able to bring on board a team of dedicated, talented and highly skilled employees who have majorly facilitated in portraying a good image of the company as well as providing quality services (Ciulla, 2011, p.84). Moreover, the company has unfailingly paid attention to employees’ views through active engagement on their online forums, blogs, and networks. In addition to this, and in a bid to enhance sustainability, the company has given employees the freedom to initiate projects geared towards improvement of the existing products. Consequently, this has earned the company remarkable competitive advantage as innovation is very crucial in every business organization. (Adeola, 2011, p.95). Finally, the Return on Work Environment system has tremendously ensured sustainable employment and subsequently lowered turnover rates due to the flexibility in employees working hours. This has had the effect of making the company highly competitive as the productivity of the employees is not inhibited. Do you think the resources that Best Buy is investing to help consumers recycle their old electronic devices is a good investment for Best Buy? Definitely, I do think that these resources invested in assisting consumers in recycling is a good investment. First, the core objective of this program is to reduce the massive amounts of e-waste. Therefore, eradicating these e-wastes will undoubtedly lead to encouraging customers to buy new and better products. Moreover, the issue of Gift Cards to customers is a remarkable incentive that will not only allow customers to go shop for newer and more innovative products at the Best Buy stores but will also be a smart way of marketing the company among those who are not aware of their range of products (United States, 2009, p.43). Similarly, this strategy will prove to be very effective in the long run as it enables customers use the Gift Cards only on the Best Buy Stores. In the same light, the $10 that the company issues to compel customers to offer up to their obsolete electronics is such a small price for Best Buys to pay in comparison to the new business that the initiative offers. Besides, most customers who will prove responsive in the recycling of their e-waste will most definitely gain confidence in the electronics and appliance that are offered at Best Buys stores. However, most importantly, this initiative has fostered massive savings in the costs of production (Adeola, 2011, p.37). Undoubtedly, recycling has the effect of reducing Best Buy’s cost of doing business since as they recycle the electronics, they gain in raw materials. Moreover, the awards, recognition and appreciation that Best Buy has received since it initiated this project has highly publicized the brand which is a positive impact for the company in the long term. How does Best Buy’s social responsibility efforts impact key stakeholders such as employees, shareholders, consumers, and suppliers? As a company develops and seeks to get involved in corporate social responsibility, one of the key people that the business usually has in mind are the shareholders. The core business of any business is to safeguard the welfare of its shareholders. Being the company owners, the shareholders have boosted their confidence in the direction that the company is taking. There is increased investor confidence that comes when the company has a strong reputation. Similarly, rewarding employees for their productivity outside the workplace has fostered increased motivation among employees. This has helped the employees share in the company’s vision and inevitably made them more goal oriented and satisfied with the jobs that they undertake (Ciulla, 2011, p.67). Best Buy’s social responsibility efforts have also seen tremendous positive effects on its consumers. Consumers have over time gained confidence that the company has their best interests at heart. Moreover, the efficiency with they conduct their at-home services has accelerated the consumers’ admiration of the company and enhanced good relations between the company and the consumers. The customer-centric approach when addressing customer needs has been instrumental in promoting the good image of the company in a rather competitive market (Westkämper, 2009, p.42). Furthermore, Best Buy’s involvement with social responsibility has had the impact of encouraging suppliers to engage in ethical practices with the company. Since the company has proved to be socially responsible, the challenge of keeping up with these high standards have been passed even to suppliers as Best Buy’s takes the place of a trend setter. Moreover, the challenge of remaining competitive while also engaging in socially and ethically correct practices has enabled supplier gain additional confidence that the company is on a path of sustainability and conducting business with the company will also involve ethical and fair terms(Crampton, 2012, p.39). Ultimately, Best Buy has been able to project its brand in a very positive light to all its stakeholders through it engagement in social responsibility. What are the key ethical challenges facing businesses in the 21st century? Why? Ethics deals with the judgment of what is morally right or wrong by and individual. The decisions made by organizations are usually either made by a group of individuals or sometimes by one individual (Mirvis, 2013, p.104). However, the company’s culture inevitably plays a major role and impacts greatly on the decisions made in any business. Therefore, as companies expand and seek to rake in larger profits, there are invariably a variety of ethical challenges that the business has to encounter. First, the company’s culture plays a pivotal role in many companies. Employees who are engaged in a company whose ethical standards are low usually blend in and further compromise ethical standards. Therefore, changing the company’s culture by management should be the top priority for any business seeking to be involved and engaged in sustainable ethical practices. In addition to this, mismanagement of companies’ resources by top management has been a major ethical challenge (Grossman, 2007, p.86). Since management are entrusted with the huge portfolios, using these resources for personal gain has led to bringing in bad publicity for organizations. Further, misleading consumers through false advertisements so as to make more profit margins has been a major hurdle in creating sustainable business and has affected good consumer ethics. Moreover, provision of employees with conducive working environments has equally been a great ethical challenge for many businesses. In addition to this, giving them fair working hours and paying them in time is also crucial for any business. Another ethical challenge comes in the relationship between the suppliers. It is a challenge for a business which is ethical to do business with suppliers who engage in unethical practices (Crampton, 2012, p.112). Similarly, businesses have the responsibility of giving sound advice where needed by its consumers. Finally, ensuring compliance with the standards set by the laws regarding how to conduct business is also another challenge facing businesses in today’s work environment where businesses want to circumvent laid down procedures of doing business that have been set by statutory bodies in their respective countries. What recommendations would you make to companies (such as in your case) to improve and create a more ethical culture? To foster an ethical culture at Best Buys, the first important thing is to communicate effectively to its employees. Communication of the management’s expectation is important in instilling correct behavior among employees. In addition to this, creating and improving a more ethical culture involves taking due care of the employee’s working environment. Proper treatment of employees is an ethical issue with legal implications. (Adeola, 2011, p.46). Therefore, shunning any discriminatory conduct either on the basis of religion, gender, or ethnicity should be emphasized. In addition to this, creating an ethical culture also involves transparency with the consumers and suppliers. In this regard, I would recommend Best Buy to protect their customers and honor the trust that their clients have put in them that they will deliver high quality products at a fair price. Also, making the right quotations to supplies and timely payments is an ethical responsibility that I would recommend Best Buy and any business to promote good relations between a business and its suppliers (Hitt, 2010, p.49). Additionally, creating a more ethical culture involves clear and accurate response to consumers (Ciulla, 2011, p.54). It is the ethical responsibility of Best Buy to give sound advice to its customers and also offer to assist in the best way possible. Addressing customer concerns and questions in an amicable manner is one of the most fundamental ethical responsibilities of businesses seeking to conduct businesses in an ethical manner. Finally, inculcating an ethical culture in a nosiness involves the guidance and leadership of a company’s executives who should model best practices and behavior for Best Buy’s management as well as the staff members to emulate. Incorporating an ethical culture throughout the entire business boosts confidence and trust by clients, employees, society, and the larger business community (Ciulla, 2011, p.106) REFERENCES. ADEOLA, F. O. (2011). Hazardous wastes, industrial disasters, and environmental health risks local and global environmental struggles. New York, NY, Palgrave Macmillan. CIULLA, J. B. (2011). Ethics, the heart of leadership. Westport, Conn, Praeger. CIULLA, J. B. (2010). The ethics of leadership. Belmont, Calif, Thomson/Wadsworth. CRAMPTON, N. (2012). Green House Eco-Friendly Recycling and Disposal at Home. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Pub. Group. GROSSMAN, E. (2007). High tech trash digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health. Washington, Island Press/Shearwater Books. HITT, W. D. (2010). Ethics and leadership: putting theory into practice. Columbus, Battelle Press. KNAPP, J. C., & CARTER, J. (2006). For the common good: the ethics of leadership in the 21st century. Westport, Conn, Praeger Publishers. MIRVIS, P. (2013). Building Networks for Sustainable Effectiveness. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. UNITED STATES. (2009). Electronic waste: an examination of current activity, implications for environmental stewardship, and the proper federal role : hearings before the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, July 20 and September 8, 2005. Washington, U.S. G.P.O WESTKÄMPER, E. (2009). National registration for producers of electronic waste. Dordrecht, Springer. Read More