Ethical Practices within Best Buy - Case Study Example

Ethical Practices within Best Buy Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Ethical Practices within Best Buy 1) 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? Best Buy’s blue collared technical support staff, named the Geek Squad, has widened the scope of PC-centric services beyond the traditional norms. Besides, the foundation of the sustainable competitive advantage of Best Buy is its huge stores that exhibit an array of different electronic devices, home appliances. And above all, its sales force, particularly the Geek Squad that assists the customers in buying, installing, and service the product they purchase are very attentive to the people who visit their stores and they are also very customer-friendly. “A majority of customers continued to value the experience of shopping there despite the presence of new and ever-stronger competition” (Best Buy and the Challenge of Real Change, 2009, p.1). This enable Best Buy to remain customer focuses and the customer, in turn, remain loyal to them. Best Buy has thus become a favorite choice in the customers mind by providing specialized service to them in order to meet their unique needs at all times by providing a assortment of products and services in specialized store layouts. Best Buys focus on developing a better service and installation capacity than its peers also offers them a significant competitive advantage. The company enjoys an edge over its competitors as it has more widespread carrier rapports, better access to high profile phones and a superior stock of non-wireless products. One of the key competitive strategies of Best Buy has been to highlight their services especially, the after sales support they promptly provide. This converts into selling warranties of product, or to help by configuring a computer or installing a home theater. Best Buy opens its stores by purchasing their premises by not renting and leasing. Thus, the development becomes stable and completely under control. This is one of the main reason for their great advantage as compared to competing firms. Besides, low hierarchy facilitates innovation among employees of Best Buy in US which fosters the sustainable competitive advantages of company. Similarly, Best Buy recognizes that it is significant to identify the interplay between “substance” and “form” and that while substance remains the same, forms may vary in diverse cultures. The current trends are encouraging the green technology and the company is more likely to maintain their eco-friendly products as enduring additions to the varieties they off and increase the sales in all their stores throughout the US. The company is focusing on product development and sustainable supply chains using green technology so as to achieve a competitive advantage while conforming to global standards after environmental compliance. 2) Do you think the resources that Best Buy is dedicating to help consumers recycle their old electronic devices represent a good investment for Best Buy? The problem of e-waste is quite common in the world and not all companies in the production area concentrates on the process of recycling and reducing wastage. However, Best Buy stands as a good example for all such companies. By adopting a Green Together Program, the company has been able to change the process of recycling of electronic waste into a more effective and simple process. It helps the customers to recycle the old electronic products into a new one and thus eliminating the e-waste from the environment. For example to recycle a 32 inch LCD TV, they charge £ 10 but offers the customer a gift coupon of an equivalent sum, which the customer can redeem at any Best Buy store. Thus, in effect the customer acquires a feeling that the recycling is free for cost. On the other hand, the gift voucher encourages the customer to buy more products of the company, which boosts their sales. Thus, strategy enables Best Buy to increase their profitability. The support Best Buy extends to customers to recycle their electronic devices is a good strategy to enhance their profits. It will also help them to reuse some components of the old items and benefits from it. Best Buy also has a practice of reselling the usable parts of the old electronic devices to other companies. This process goes on and they make more profits through this, apart from gaining custome retention and loyalty through the gift voucher strategy. The recycling process helps the company to serve customers at anytime and anywhere they need, which also enable them to increase returns and distribute worth for their shareholders. With the collection of other resources such as trade-in-program and recycling kiosks, Best Buy generates highest sales and also expands the companys multi-channel business. As a part of the recycling program and making the recycling process an easy one, the company forms partnerships and acquisitions with other major electronic companies. This again enables Best Buy to invest in more business opportunities. 3) How do Best Buys social responsibility efforts impact key stakeholders such as, shareholders, consumers, and suppliers? Best Buy aims to be a responsible, value-driven international enterprise by honoring the concepts of corporate social responsibility. All its employees play significant role in ensuring corporate social responsibility of the company and its role in living values as concentrate on the social, environmental and financial performance. Best Buy employees and operations are subject to the rules of several countries and other statutory authorities around the world. Agents and employees involved in their business are encouraged to comply with the policies and all rules, regulations and laws. When managers receive the notification of an alleged unethical conduct they take direct action. The action taken depends on the proven misconduct. Managers must be able identify key stakeholders who can be impacts by the unethical conduct including customers, employees, shareholders or others important to the business. The company’s stakeholder’s orientation focuses on quality relations with the different groups. Best Buy views itself as a consumer centered industry and aims to attain better consumer relationships greater understanding of continued rapport and customer preferences. Besides, the company strives incessantly to develop and enhance customer services. Employees are an essential element of the vision of Best Buy. The employees are encouraged to post their ideas on online forums for instance an internal news site and at the water cooler. Best Buy also imparts a variety training programs for its workers. The company embraces a decentralized arrangement in which workers are given with better flexibility and the chance to engage in the operations of the company. The company has taken on work approaches to promote dedication on the part of its workers. Employees are also encouraged to participate in projects to develop the company’s operations. For example Best Buy staffs have formed groups to increase social responsibility ideas for the company. The company uses an important relation in the supply chain of the electronic products that reach customers. In many ways, the company can influence suppliers and producers to become sustainable by promoting products that decrease waste and are more user-friendly. Its current plans help customers to recycle old electronic devices, which in several ways supports their sustainability. Thus, the overall adherences to social responsibility has been effective in recognizing the stakeholders and to incorporate significant social and ethical conformation in the business strategy of Best Buy. 4) What did you personally learn from reviewing this company and business ethics case? Best Buy, has been incorporated in 1996, and it is a multinational retailer of customer electronics, entertainment products, mobile phone and computing products, appliances and associated services. The company operates call centers and retail stores and carries out online retail operations in various brand names, such as Best Buy Mobile (BestBuyMobile.com), Five Star, Geek Squad, Magnolia Video Audio, The Phone House, Future Shop, Pacific Sales, The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy (BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca). Daily workers are around 180, 000 and all of them remain dedicated and are helping to deliver the solutions of technology that facilitate easy access to ideas, knowledge, people and fun. Best Buy envisages a global portfolio of brands by a commitment to innovation and growth. Employees of the Best Buy strive to offer consumers around the world with higher experiences of satisfaction by reacting to their unique requirements and aspirations. This dedication to growth and consumers has driven consistent in flow of strong earnings. Retail is a business that needs constant novelty, new thoughts, new methods to delight consumers and new methods to work jointly and Best Buy religiously follows these concepts. To meet the unique service and product requirements of consumers they run stores and working models constantly transforming and altering to shift focus from product-centric to consumer-centric, a move that elevates Best Buy to a higher level than their competitors. “Best Buy has been recognized as a company that values their ethics system as one of the most important aspects of their company. They continue to improve on the way they handle ethical issues and constantly devise plans for dealing with issues before they become a hazard to the company” (Best Buy a Best at Business ethics, n.d, p.5). Best Buy has realized the need for adherence to the ethics management, which can save them large amounts of money and eliminate problems. They strictly follow environmental norms, eco-friendly standards while at the same time tapping the potential for profitability from such endeavors. They support their employees in all possible manners and ensure that they comply with a high standard of corporate social responsibility. Thus, by adhering to all ethical requirements and by maintaining strong customer relations, the company has been able to attain long term sustain ability and potential to stay ahead of their competitors in the marketplace. Reference List Best Buy and the Challenge of Real Change. (2009). Efficient Guide. Retrieved from. http://efficientguide.com/blog/2012/03/best-buy-competitive-advantage-and-the-challenge-of-change/ Best Buy a Best at Business ethics, (n.d). Word Press .com. 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