Sustainable Policies

Retrieved From:http://www.rethink-group.com/resources/
municipal-sustainability-indicators/

Sustainable policies have to work very hard, and be excellent multitaskers.

Creating a sustainable policy involves thinking long-term, and considering the impact a company has on the environment, economy, and global community. Sustainable policies are a change from previous business practices which put profit the primary goal, which is short-sighted, and detrimental to people and the environment. However, a business cannot succeed by putting the environment and social concerns as the only priorities either. Companies like to make claims as to how environmentally conscious they are, but we have to consider the evidence to decide if that is just a marketing claim.

Sustainable choices must be profitable, or rewarded in such a way as to have value. Inversely, unsustainable choices can be penalized. An example of penalization is a carbon tax, or recycling fee. Governments may choose to become involved in the market by passing legislation to reward or penalize organizations. Most companies, and individuals, will make the decision that yields the least financial cost to them.

When companies make environmentally conscious decisions that actually boost profits they are utilizing sustainable policies. Some ways to do this are:

Use less energy and water in company operations. Reducing electricity in your production/office facilities is better for the environment and costs less. There is no negative effect on the community. If you install solar panels on your building, excess power goes back into the grid which actually benefits your community.

Donate to charities. You can choose charities promoting better lives for people, or improving the environment. Environmental protection benefits people in the long-term as well. The resultant tax breaks will benefit the company financially. Also, proper media notification will inform consumers who may choose your business because you are socially conscious.

Adopt a green space. If possible, it would be great for an organization to assume responsibility for a nearby park, or to create one where there was an unattractive patch of urban waste. This could give employees am opportunity to volunteer. Many urban dwellers do not have yards, and an opportunity to garden could be fun. They could consider planting a vegetable patch. Also, it would give employees an attractive place to spend lunch breaks. The park could be made profitable by renting the space out to other organizations, or private parties. Produce from the garden could be sold to employees at a low price.

Sustainability is not a trend. It is a principle which should guide every business decision. If you want your business to succeed long-term you must think long-term.

Mutt-aroons Cookies For Canines

This is Ivy. She eats Dog Biscuits.

Mutt-aroon

Cookies for Canines

My ethical company idea is called Mutt-aroon. It would be a bakery producing naturally sourced and delicious dog biscuits. Week-old biscuits would go to the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), along with a small portion of profits. I adopted my dog, Ivy, from ARF and I believe they are a deserving charity.

Jones, George, Rock, & Haddad (2010) list the Ethical Models as the Utilitarian, Moral Rights, & Justice Model. In compliance with the Utilitarian Model, my company would help a large number of people by supplying customers with an ethically formulated product. Donations would be of benefit to ARF and the large number of dogs they foster. Theoretically the company would benefit me if it became profitable. In regards to the Moral Rights Model, I can not foresee in any way how my dog biscuits might interfere with any one’s fundamental rights. In terms of the Justice Model, I believe that as long as I charge a fair price, taking into account all costs and the ability to make a profit within reason, then the benefits and costs are distributed equally amongst all stakeholders. Of course there would be no actual costs in regards to ARF, but I would expect an on-package endorsement.

Mutt-aroon's Code of Ethics :

Our Dog Biscuits are formulated using only high quality and healthy ingredients

Our Dog Biscuits are fresh baked every week

Any overproduction of Biscuits goes to ARF, along with a portion of proceeds

We encourage you to test our products on animals. But we won't beg, because they will. 

My plans for being socially responsible are primarily centered on supporting ARF. Also, I believe in responsible treat formulation using only healthy and quality ingredients, no cheap garbage. The current trend in health conscious eating has definitely crossed over to the pet food sector as well. Other things that could be done which would in fact aid my business would be to focus on limited waste of resources. Closely monitoring energy and water consumption, as well as avoiding over purchasing and then disposal of fresh ingredients are things that benefit the whole community. Were my company to expand I would be fair in my hiring practices and hire individuals based on qualifications and shared ideology in regard to dog biscuits, without discrimination against diversity.

Being born in 1986, I appear to be in Generation Y. This should mean I have an innate belief in my abilities to succeed. However I feel as though the profit margins for my hypothetical business may be too slim. I would have to continue all of my current career responsibilities and attempt to make this venture a success at the same time. Consequently I believe I will practice dog biscuit formulations at home, much to the delight of our canine companions, and think of it as R&D with no immediate end goal.

References

Jones, G.R., George, J. M., Rock, M., Haddad, J.W., (2010) Essentials of Contemporary Management (3^rd Canadian Ed.) McGraw-Hill Ryerson

The Global Environment and The 7 Virtues

Photo retrieved from: http://www.the7virtues.com/
orange_blossom.html

The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc is a perfumer which started in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The CEO Barb Stegemann came to CBC’s Dragon’s Den where she partnered with W. Brett Wilson, CEO of CANOE Financial. (The 7 Virtues, 2011, The 7 Virtues Story) The key component of the fragrance marketed on Dragon’s Den was Afghanistan Orange Blossom. Now they also have scents featuring Afghani Noble Rose and Haitian Vetiver, available at The Bay.

The 7 Virtues purchases their orange blossom and rose essential oils from Abdullah Arsala, who employs his tribe seasonally as the owner of a distillery in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The intent is to encourage farmers to grow flowers for a legal perfume industry. (The 7 Virtues, 2001, Q & A) This is opposed to the illegal poppy industry in Afghanistan used to produce heroin. They also hope to encourage other businesses to trade with war-torn countries to aid rebuilding and promote peace. (The 7 Virtues, 2011, The 7 Virtues Story)

By design, The 7 Virtues purchases the signature ingredients of their perfumes from volatile countries. These countries experience intense political unrest. Possible outcomes could be violent events, trade embargoes, or farmers being forced into the illegal poppy trade to fund crimes of war. If something were to happen to Abdullah Arsala and his distillery in Jalalabad, The 7 Virtues would be without a product.  This is where they find their challenges and their opportunities. Undoubtedly there are less expensive and more reliable places to source essential oils than Afghanistan and Haiti. They must offer a reasonable price for the product, because they are competing with the poppy industry for workers.  Supplies could be cut off at any time.

The CEO of The 7 Virtues needs to have a contingency plan to deal with the uncertainties of their economy. However, the very existence of The 7 Virtues is a reaction to an unstable Global Economy. Barb Stegemann seeks to provide farmers with a legal means of subsistence in places where political instability and unrest had taken it away from them.

Where did the name come from? Stegemann’s book  “The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen - a woman’s guide to living & leading in an illogical world’ lists the seven virtues as “Wonder, Moderation, Truth, Courage, Justice, Wisdom and Beauty”.  (The 7 Virtues, 2001, Q & A, para.8) If we were to consider the traits of a leader, could some of these virtues be applicable? How would our management style differ if we were to incorporate “Wonder”, for example, into our daily lives?

 I believe that Barb Stegemann has become a Transformational Leader. (Jones, George, Rock, Haddad, 2010, pg.291)  On a small scale she has instigated ethical global reformative change. Her purchasing decisions are made in respect to the Global Economy, and bring Afghani and Haitian workers into that sphere of economy legally. This can inspire others to act on a larger scale.

References

The 7 Virtues, 2010, The 7 Virtues Fragrance Collection, Retrieved from: http://www.the7virtues.com/

Jones, G.R., George, J. M., Rock, M., Haddad, J.W., (2010) Essentials of Contemporary Management (3^rd Canadian Ed.) McGraw-Hill Ryerson

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

What is Emotional Intelligence? Having watched the Daniel Goleman interview, Social Intelligence and Leadership, I believe Emotional Intelligence is having an understanding of your emotions and how they affect you, and managing those emotions so they are an asset not a liability. Social Intelligence is translating those same skills into your interactions with others, most notably by listening and communicating effectively.

In the Emotional Intelligence test posted be McGraw-Hill the key traits they list are Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Self-Motivation, Empathy, and Social Skills. I believe these traits are important, but can be expanded upon. For one to practice leadership, Self-Awareness must become Social Awareness. Self-Management develops into managing and developing others.  Self-Motivation becomes the ability to inspire motivation.

With the insight of Emotional Intelligence if I were to define the traits necessary for managers and leaders they would be; confidence in yourself and the potential of others, high levels of motivation and the ability to motivate, effective goal setting for yourself and your employees, ability to monitor your emotions and recognize the emotions of others, listen and communicate effectively, and be capable of managing internal and external conflict.

The entire scope of Emotional intelligence is necessary from lower to mid to upper-level management. The degrees to which specific skills are required would depend on what a manager spends most of their time doing. A lower level front-line manager spends a lot of time with employees and should be able to motivate and negotiate conflict. Middle level management should be capable of effectively communicating the company directives to lower management, and receive feedback in regards to progress and obstacles. Upper management should employ goal setting for where the company should be in both short and long-term. They might take into account the emotional climate of the company when planning the best direction to move the company to maximize their human resources.

As Daniel Goleman says, we can learn Emotional Intelligence. This is reassuring for me. I recently failed a “Personality Characteristics Test” which would have allowed me to progress to a new employment opportunity. Now that I know it was in fact an evaluation of my Emotional Intelligence Quotient, I am better able to prepare myself for a rewrite. I am still not sure how I am going to prepare myself to embrace conflictive situations and possess the overt outgoing attitude I seem to lack. Not to mention learning to embrace my fuzzy feelings and using them to aid in decision making. I thought managers didn’t have feelings…

References

Jones, G.R., George, J. M., Rock, M., Haddad, J.W., (2010) Essentials of Contemporary Management (3^rd Canadian Ed.) McGraw-Hill Ryerson

Social Intelligence and Leadership [Video file], Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qv0o1oh9f4

Evolving Management Positions

Management Positions are changing because the way of thinking about the role and face of management is changing and organizational behavior will follow.

While large business organizations should recognize a need for change such as reduced hierarchy of management, such restructuring can be slow to occur in a large company. I am a first-line manager employed by a large retail chain. Greater employee empowerment using technological controls already in place could effectively cut costs and increase revenue in my industry. However, my employer chooses to keep costs low by hiring almost exclusively part-time employees, and engages in minimal training, resulting in a transient nonmanagerial workforce. As low-level management I answer to a number of managers higher than myself, who often possess different goals and directives.

With an increased focus on Diversity in business, more women are being promoted to management.  Within the company by which I am employed, I appreciate the opportunity and support I am provided. However, as I watch my female colleagues climb the ranks, I realize they are expected to fill the same roles as their male peers. Corporate culture has developed the idea that a dedicated manager spends long days at work with little time spent at home. However, while a male dominated society is prepared to give women equality in the workplace, the idea of gender differentiated roles is still going strong in many households.

Now women managers are faced with the either or scenario. Can we be effective, respected managers and still enjoy a fulfilling home life? Do we kill ourselves trying to keep our home lives in order or accept failure as wives and mothers? Men have home lives as well; this is a conflict that affects all managers. Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management in Toronto proposes a concept of “Opposable Thinking”. It is described as “the ability to hold opposing viewpoints and be successful with ‘both-and’ or integrative thinking”. (Jones, George, Rock, Haddad, 2010, pg. 4) Through creative use of opposable thinking we can hope to find a balance that works for us.

The concept of balance is important for me I consider furthering my career. I am trying to be a better manager and hopefully one day a leader. Through additional schooling I hope to help compensate for my inexperience, and to engage in a competitive work environment. I appreciate all the constructive criticism I receive, and seize every opportunity even when my plate is a little full. Some human relations skills that I would like to develop are increased confidence in workplace interactions, and better conflict resolution. Better stress management would be great as well, but I think that ties back in to work life balance. As Isabelle Marcoux, Vice-Chair of Transcontinental Inc says, “I don’t strive for perfection. Some days you lose, some days you win.” (Jones, George, Rock, Haddad, 2010, pg. 10)

References

Jones, G.R., George, J. M., Rock, M., Haddad, J.W., (2010) Essentials of Contemporary Management (3^rd Canadian ed.) McGraw-Hill Ryerson