Discuss about the Ecostore Sustainability for Management Analysis.
Management Analysis is that section of the Annual Report in which a firm analyzes its own performance till now. The elements that have played a crucial role in the company’s success are discussed in detail and even an analysis of future strategies is done. The future years are discussed by defining upcoming goals and approaches to new projects.
Ecostore was started by a New Zealand Couple, Malcolm Rands with his wife Melanie, in the year 1993. The couple was engaged in sustainable and organic gardening practices on their property, but still their products were affected by chemicals and fertilizers. This fact gave birth to the concept of Ecostore (Independent News Media, 2016). The store is known to source healthier and organic products which are entirely free from chemicals. At the initial level, the company was launched as a small mail-order business supplying green everyday household products. While delivering such services the firm promises that its products would work just well as the mainstream brands. The prime aim of the store is to consider the Health of its customers above everything else and this has helped the firm to attract and retain a number of loyal customers. Due to numerous benefits attached to the products, the customer base for the company grew rapidly which made the Rands family to shift in Auckland an open a Retail store in Freeman’s Bay. The company offers around 100 products in New Zealand and has dominated around 900 supermarkets in Australia. Also operates in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Korea (Soo, 2011).
As year by year, the importance of the preservation of the environment is growing, Companies with an idea of “Go Green” are becoming famous. When the Ecostore as moving from New Zealand to Australia, it was unveiled that the Australian Landscape was quite different from the former one. The Australians are more environmentally aware than the Kiwis and even have a strong leaning towards the companies that manufacture ethical products. Hence, the primary goal of the company to serve healthier products to the customers has helped it to gain the confidence of a number of loyal customers. Even an increment in the number of sustainable businesses in Australia has made the country to rank among the most eco-friendly nations across the globe. This in turn has attracted a number of foreign investors towards Australian markets (Katz, 2014).
At the international level, the company has helped in improving the economic status. For instance, such companies are said to use the most conservative for of energy which has low production cost. So the nations are able to cut the prices on energy production. Even the pollution at the Global level is reduced as these companies do not contribute in waste production and carbon emission levels (Business Review Australia, 2014).
Ecostore is committed to sustainability. The products produced at the company’s plants are safer for the customers as well as for the planet. The production process does not involve any cruelty towards animals and is even safe for the septic tanks and Grey water use. The products are also free from usage of any nasty chemicals that are harmful to mankind when used for a prolonged period. The company believes to grow its own herbs and other food items. This practice is not only better for health, but also helps in cutting down the grocery bills. Production own food items also help in decreasing the pressure of the overworked global food system in order to address the food requirements of the increasing population (Ecostore Company Limited, 2016).
For the environmental sustainability, the company through its products and product packaging tries to keep the waste levels at the minimum. In this case, the company has tried to replace the plastic packaging with other bio- degradable materials which does not contribute in the pollution level of the environment.
Organizational Behavior means the way in which individuals and groups interact within and towards the organization. In the Ecostore, like all the other organizations, Organizational Behavior aims to help managers and supervisors of the company in a number of ways. The elements of this behavior study the human behavior within an organization. Organizational Behavior elements also clarify the factors that affect the managing powers of the senior executives. For instance, if the employees are receiving good ambience at the workplace, they tend to deliver the best services. In such a case, it becomes easy for the managers to manage the satisfied workforce without any issues (Frederick, 2014). The managers, using elements of Organizational Behavior, studies the attitudes and behavior of the workforce towards the organization and evaluate the best ways to manage and change them. The organization’s internal working is also influenced by the external factors present in the markets. So, the organizational behavior also plays a pivotal role in identifying these factors and their good and bad influence on the operations of the firm. To provide the employees, a job structure that is a pure amalgamation of satisfaction, challenges and rewards, the managers adopt the approach of effective Organizational Behavior measures and succeed in building a loyal relationship with the employees (Robbins, 1996).
The company is committed to deliver environmentally sustainable products in the markets and as the firm thinks quite high for the sustainable practices, hence it emphasizes a lot on social sustainability too. In this reference it has succeeded in developing a set of good Human resource Management practices. The executives of the firm collaborate with the other leaders in the company to clarify the department’s strategic direction by articulating the Vision, Mission and Value Statements. The leaders in the firm also perform a pivotal role in establishing a strategic linkage and integrating the HR programs through HR plan. This integration helps in better implementation of the HRM activities over the employees and the latter are thought to be more benefitted by its elements (CSB Gov., 2012).
The HRM practices are said to improve the competencies of the workforce so that they can perform in a better manner and prove as a useful asset for the firm. If the manager introduces a number of incentives and perks in the reward policies of the company then it motivates the working staff towards delivering best services. The efficient HRM activities also include a number of training and skill-development sessions through which there is an establishment of a good service culture in the workplace and innovations tends to rebuild in the presence of a skilled workforce (Laursen & Foss, 2012).
The concept adopted by the Ecostore is trending at the global level too, and hence this gives an opportunity for the firm to expand into International markets. International Business is important to Ecostore as they give the domestic business a chance to access new markets and satiate different sets of consumer tastes (Cavusgil, et al., 2007). The Globalization concepts and approaches have allowed a number of firms to compete with businesses around the world and gain a new experience in the marketing fields.
The only recommendation over this expansion for the company is to have a deep knowledge about taking a good advantage of the opportunities of international business so that Ecostore continues to receive good advantages of the services offered. Another notable role of the International Business is that it helps in determining the strengths of a Nation’s Economy as it highly depends on the quantity of Imports and Exports to and fro from the international marketplace.
The other common benefits of the International Business to the considered firm are helps in meeting the imports of industrial requirements, natural resources are used profitably, numerous employment opportunities are generated in the foreign markets, the image of the producer as well as of the nation is improved in the eyes of the foreign customers, and the overall living Quality and Standard of the Consumers are raised.
In the modern era of business, selling something entirely natural is quite tough. The Ecostore has entered a market in which, if gaining customer attraction is easy then losing them is easier too. But, as Technology amalgamates with the firm’s operations, then this latter part is eliminated to a great extent. The problem arises in the management of the Technological elements installed in the firm’s operation.
Technology management, when defined in its purest form, is a set of disciplines that allows the entrepreneurs to manage its technological elements and attain a competitive advantage over the other rivals of the same genre present in the domestic as well as the foreign markets (Vienna International Centre, 2001). As the company highly relies on the technological reformations for stability and continuous increment in its success rates, so it is quite crucial to manage its Technology strategically. If not managed well then there are possibilities, then the company might face a huge loss in the coming future. Technology Management aims at maximizing the cost effectiveness of the capital invested in the Technological developments and thus adds to the company’s value. A well managed technological element allows the crucial information to flow at the required pace within an organization and thus each and every participant of the company remains connected with one another. If Ecostore Executives succeed in managing its technological aspect in a good manner, then the firm will definitely improve on its operations and have a reduction in the operational costs too (Larosiliere, et al., 2013).
The founders of the Ecostore are Malcolm Rands and his wife Melanie. They started this venture as a small business in an eco-village in New Zealand in the year 1993. At the initial level, the company was engaged with its customers via mail-order business, but as the company expanded so the couple shifted to Auckland in the year 2007 to set up a retail store. Ecostore products are believed to have a strong support of the scientific researchers and innovators behind them (Robb, 2014). Sir Ray Avery is the lead formulator and chemist of the company. He, along with his team, develops products by researching a lot for prolonged months to ensure that the new products meet the efficacy and environmental standards set up by the environmental agencies and the country’s government (Barnett, 2015).
The motivation for this concept has been derived from the perceptions of its leaders. The leaders of the firm have always believed in considering the health of the people above all the other elements and this has made them to find the best alternative of the products adulterated with unnecessary chemicals. The innovators have developed effective solutions through their products for the customers suffering with myriads of diseases and skin disorders like eczema, arthritis, asthma and other related allergies (Rands, 2014).
Ecostore has come up with an innovative idea in the domestic as well as foreign markets, but at the same time there are a number of challenges that could be faced by the company in the coming future as the competition in this stream too are increasing at a rapid pace. The company has to follow certain recommendations to stay for a longer duration in the race and introduce innovative products for the expanded customer bases.
As the public consciousness of ethically produced and eco-friendly products is increasing at a rapid pace, hence the company is required to expand its business to remote destinations too. The raw markets have a number of consumers that deliberately want these kinds of services. So the company could explore such markets to increase its customer base and moreover gain new experiences (NZME Publishing Limited, 2014).
The organic and natural products generally have exorbitant prices because the ingredients re natural without any adulterations. In such a case, only customers with good income and lavish lifestyle could afford it. As the company thinks to expand in International markets, so it becomes necessary to target all the social classes. This is crucial because the foreign markets, like in Asia, there are a number of social classes with different needs and perceptions. Hence, to target all possible target markets, the company has to introduce its products at a wide range of prices so that all types of people could afford and enjoy the company’s services.
Ecostore has not been able to reach and attract a lot of customers across the globe. This is because it has not adopted myriads of promotional strategies to attract and retain targeted consumers. So, in reference to this, the company should allot a pre- determined budget for its marketing strategies. Good advertisements will make a lot of customers to become aware of the existence of the brand. The promotion strategies will also help the firm to gain the feedback about the company’s products and then develop new products in close compliance to the customer’s requirements (Hinkin, 2012).
Conclusion:
From the above management analysis, it has been made clear that Ecostore has come up with an innovative concept that complies with the standards of all sorts of sustainability. The company has been able to attract lots of customers with its idea of promoting natural products over the chemical ingredients of the daily used products. Moreover, this approach has made a lot of contribution to the maintenance of ecological balance in the environment as most of the firm’s activities are designed to reduce wastage and pollution levels.
The effective roles of HRM practices, Organizational Behavior and Technological management have allowed the firm to maintain a good position among all the other rivals of the same genre. As the perceptions of the Customers keep on changing with time, hence the company needs to follow a set of recommendations to attract a huge customer base towards the natural products of the company. The company needs to pay attention towards the advertisements and other promotional activities to capture the minds of other customers belonging to different social classes. The entrepreneurs have already given a strong, innovative background to the firm and its participants and have to continue with the same to gain a competitive advantage over the others in the markets.
References
Barnett, D., 2015. Malcolm Rands | ecostore : a world of good – why not?. Malcolm Rands | ecostore : a world of good – why not? , 16 February.
Business Review Australia, 2014. Going Green: The benefits global businesses reap from environmental initiatives. Going Green: The benefits global businesses reap from environmental initiatives, 28 March.
Cavusgil, S., Knight, G. & Riesenberger, J., 2007. International Business: Strategy, Management, and the New Realities, Available at: https://www.prenhall.com/behindthebook/0131738607/pdf/CKR_Why_We_Wrote_This_Book.pdf
CSB Gov., 2012. Human Resource Management Good Practices. Human Resource Management Good Practices.
Ecostore Company Limited, 2016. Cut down on plastic with these 14 tips. Cut down on plastic with these 14 tips, 09 August.
Frederick, P., 2014. Organisational Behaviour and its Role in Management of Business. Global Journal of Finance and Management., 6(6), pp. 1-6, Available at: https://www.ripublication.com/gjfm-spl/gjfmv6n6_12.pdf
Hinkin, P., 2012. What’s Next for Sainsbury’s First Eco Store?. What’s Next for Sainsbury’s First Eco Store?, 09 January.
Independent News Media, 2016. Ecostore: No nasty chemicals. Ecostore: No nasty chemicals.
Katz, B., 2014. Aussies more eco-friendly. Aussies more eco-friendly, 19 November, Available at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/unlimited/63313716/Aussies-more-eco-friendly
Larosiliere, G., McHaney, R. & Kobelsky, K., 2013. Impact of Technology Management on Organization-Wide Integration, Available at: https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/hicss/2013/4892/00/4892a021.pdf
Laursen, K. & Foss, N., 2012. Human resource management practices and innovation, Available at: https://www.druid.dk/laursen/files/Handbook_of_Innovation_Management_LaursenFoss.pdf
NZME Publishing Limited, 2014. Ecostore paves the way to a sustainable future. ecostore paves the way to a sustainable future, 19 December.
Rands, M., 2014. Meet the boss: ecostore’s Malcolm Rands. Meet the boss: ecostore’s Malcolm Rands, 26 September.
Robbins, S., 1996. Organizational Behavior: Concepts controversies applications: CEIT, Available at: https://ceit.aut.ac.ir/~sa_hashemi/My%20Teachings/BS-CEIT-Organizational%20Behaviour%20Management/Z-Books%20&%20Resources/Stephen%20P.%20Robbins_Organizational%20Behavior%20full.pdf
Robb, K., 2014. Green at heart: How Malcolm Rands created a pioneering eco brand. Green at heart: How Malcolm Rands created a pioneering eco brand, 29 May.
Soo, S., 2011. “In Ecostore We Trust” Uncovering the Symbolic Meanings Of Sustainable Products & Their Use in Building Consumers’ Selfâ€ÂImage, Available at: https://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/1176/SooS.pdf?sequence=4
Vienna International Centre, 2001. Management of technology: UNIDO, Available at: https://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Publications/Pub_free/Management_of_technology_selected_papers_at_Vienna_Global_Forum.pdf.
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