Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Marketing Essay

Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Marketing Essay Building an efficient ethical supply chain requires applying strict measures which comprises of identifying, forming and maintaining good supplier relationship with both upstream and upstream. It is important that companies build a viable ethical supply chain as well encourage good working condition in accordance to existing labor laws in other improve brand image and build a strong reputation. In todays business world, building ethical supply chains is extremely vital as it also comes with a lot of benefits attached to the practice. Ethical supply chain is the practice of providing goods and services to customers while sure that the rule to ethical code is adhered to (Beamon, 2005) The world is becoming a global marketplace and companies must ensure that they have morally strong brand image and create a well trusted supply chain so as to add value not only to their brand but to their image in general, with the wide spread of internet and effective communication consumers are becoming aware of what is actually involve in production and distribution of goods and services. With the increasing rate of climate change people are becoming more conscious of how to care for the environment and the ways of how resources are being exploited. Interestingly, in these recent economic downturns big multinationals companies such as Kraft, Nestle and Starbucks have all managed to form strategic partnership with Rainforest Alliance for Ethical Sourcing of Coffee beans, according to (IGD.com, 2009) Kraft started working with Rainforest Alliance to show support as part of their contribution towards sustainability and helping the environment, shortly after gaining great experience Kraft successfully expanded more work with Rainforest Alliance and included other brands and with this, a total of 150,000 farmers benefited by gaining improved working conditions and better wages, they also helped to protect 70,000 acres of coffee farmland and helped protect rainforest plant and animal species as reported by (IGD.com, 2009) Nestle announced in 2005 to support sourcing its coffee beans ethically after bagging the title in the UK of being the most unethical company and partly responsible for driving down prices of coffee beans at the expense of poor small farmers, they decided to make a serious commitment to support Fair trade and fight poverty, invest in community projects such as improving schools and clinics, providing clean water and repairing roads. Fair Trade label is particularly strong and popular in the United Kingdom, The United States Starbucks made a pledge to make all of its popular espresso brand Fair Trade by the end of 2009 on the other hand, Nestlà © who happens to be a bigger brand with numerous has also join the bandwagon and made commitment to the mass consumer market like its number one rival Kraft, whose brands such as Maxwell house and Kenco has made sure all its coffee beans are from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. (Russell, 2009) Starbucks made a commitment to ethical sourcing in 2009, and has become one of the largest buyers of fair-trade coffee, they also made a decision to have 100% of its coffee certified or verified by an independent third party, such as TransFair USA. To show their commitment to the sustainability, they have planned to invest in communities by doubling loans to farmers by 2015. According to Starbucks, (starbucks.co.uk, 2011)responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee means working with farmers to produce coffee in ways that help provide benefits to their business, their communities and the environment. This falls in line with the Fair Trade objectives, which states that, coffee bean growers should be adequately compensated for their harvest. In addition, Fair Trades primary objectives is ensure that its sets standards for farmers organizations and labor are adhered to by all, they also work in the interest of small-scale producers and help them work in an organized manner, such as in a co-op and make sure all decisions are made democratically and not influenced. In Fair Trade, the farmers are allowed to form unions. While in the Rainforest Alliances standard, they do not get involved with the cooperation of farm workers, and are somewhat laidback. The Rainforest Alliance does not have any existing baseline premium for wages, and they only maintains the low wage bar set by local governments (Trauben, 2009) 2. According to research expert, (Johnson, 2010) who carried out a research in the UK to understand what consumers actually wants, in his studies he discovered that food is the most misunderstood area of public policy, as it accounts for 10% of household expenditure and is linked to 12% of employment, 70% of land use and 20% of energy use in the UK. He also mentioned that demand for food is higher than supply bearing in mind price, quality, availability and access such as logistics issues which play a very vital role in supply chain. (Doane, 2001) Defined ethical consumption as the purchase of a product that concerns a certain ethical issue human rights, labor conditions, animal well-being, and environment it is chosen freely by an individual consumer. With growing trends and change in lifestyle consumer behavior and expectations have changed, due to various issues which ranges from Self-interest to Purchasing Power. People are getting busier and barely have to cook and therefore have to rely on instant junk foods, maintaining a healthy diet is increasing becoming a difficult task but it is important to make sure that they consume ethically by making sure they are well informed of the food being sourced in a sustainable way. Sending out clear information to create awareness should be encouraged by the government so as to enable the food retailers provide more knowledge and give more information to improve the eating habit of consumers said the Chief Executive of Wm Morrison Supermarkets (Philips, 2010) it is the fourth biggest grocery retailer in the UK and has 479 stores with a strong focus on fresh products. However, having access to affordable healthy foods should be greatly encouraged and not excluded economically from enjoying healthy meals as these tends to be more expensive. With the recent economic downturn more people have very little disposable income to spend on buying food stuff as price for simple basic commodities such as rice witnessed an increase in price globally. (Philips, 2010) also said Key to the affordability of food is choice. Supermarkets offer wide choice in order not only to meet customers expectations but also to drive competition. This encourages innovation to help ensure excellent quality as well as to keep prices down. The conclusion of the research carried out by the (Johnson, 2010) is that consumers have growing expectations and it is the responsibility of the supermarkets to act sustainably, and not increase prices of more healthier foods, Fair trade products should be made affordable and serve as an economically sustainability initiative which helps the environment and must be backed by clear information and honest Fair Trade labeling of products so that consumers have clear knowledge of where the products originates from and the environmental impact. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands that practice responsible sourcing and procurement, carbon footprints and favorable ethical trade practices. Brands who adopt ethical sourcing are perceived as being environment friendly, these ethical firms avoid actions that may somewhat negatively influence, or appear to influence, supply management decisions for sourcing of resources. 3. Recommendations to help cure the ills of the coffee market would be as follows: a) Ethical Consumption should be encouraged in great measures so as to make consumers use their purchasing power as a means to change questionable ills of the coffee market business as well as the severe oversupply of low cost substandard coffee beans. According to (Jeremy, 2007) Fair Trade is defined as a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seek greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers especially in the South. One complaint amongst many coffee drinkers is that the quality of Fair Trade coffee varies widely. The fact that the growers are guaranteed a minimum price for their product may have unintended consequences, one being that there is no incentive to improve quality. b) Reward companies that practice high ethical standards to set an example for other unethical companies to change their ways of doing business, for example according to a recent study carried out by (Remi Trudel et el, 2012) in trying to understand how much more would consumers be willing pay for an ethically produced product? and also how much less would consumers be willing to pay for the product they think is unethical? 97 coffee drinkers were radomly chosen for the experiment and were told about the companys production standards, the result from the experiment showed that people punished unethical goods with a bigger discount than they rewarded ethical ones with premiums. c) Consume authentic ethical products d) Always check labels and investigate popular brands to understand its history of productionand encourage fairness in labor.

How Important Are Customer Expectations

Customer expectations are very important because depending on their satisfaction, they are more likely to return for service or refer other customers. The company needs knowledge if satisfaction is rising and which are the areas in which customers are satisfied so the company can continue with that same service. There needs to be an observation when customer's satisfaction level is changing since it affects their expectations and or perceptions. Constant diligence in observing your customers' environment and your own can affect their satisfaction level. A good way to exceed service quality to switch from service provider mentality to being the customers. Observe what would be your expectations as a customer. For the most part, customer will not demand service that is in executable, it is usually reasonable. Customers like to be treated with courtesy, appreciation and listened to as well. Customer service includes not only how the customer is treated, it is the entire process of obtaining the product and after the product has been purchase. Acknowledgement of voicemail and service request is a very important factor. Customers many times have questions on the product, it is essential for them to obtain correct responses and together with friendliness and dedicated attention. Due to the economic status of this nation there has been many jobs positions that has been made to the minimum amount of employees needed. Customers do not like to wait for service, therefore, once they receive service it should be the best quality to make them feel it was worth the time they waited to obtain the service. ttp://www. nkarten. com/mce. html The company also needs knowledge in the areas in which the customers are not satisfied, they need to track and cout the frequency of complaints and if they are the same or similar complaints. Company may opt to send periodically Mystery Shoppers. A survey to customers is a good idea because it give them the opportunity to express their experience and also to make suggestions. When Customer satisfact ion has been met or exceeded, it leads to company loyalty and product repurchase. Customer should be inform about changes made as the direct result of listening to their needs. All survey of customer service should be made available to all employees to make them aware of the positive and negative feedback and changes could be made accordingly. Quality measure should both be made internal and external. Customer service should be such that it exceeds that of competitors. Proper training to employees should be given so they can provide excellent customer service. The company should also look for ways for the employees to be happy with their employment, so they can offer unique happiness as they perform their duties. Many times if employees encounter work problems such as conflicts with their superiors, coworkers and or disappointed because they would like to have the opportunity to advance professionally, this does affect their performance in a negative way. Employees needs must be met, company have to communicate with them as they have to with their customers. Problems at work has to be approach and resolve. http://www.qualitydigest.com/sept00/html/satisfaction.html

Altria’s Contingent Liabilities

Altria Group is the parent of Philip Morris USA Inc. and John Middleton, Inc. , which produces and sell cigarettes and other tobacco products. Altria also owns Philip Morris Capital Corp, which maintains a portfolio of finance leases. On March 30, 2007, Altria Group distributed all of its remaining interest in Kraft Foods Inc. to its stockholders. It also completed the spin-off of its subsidiary Philip Morris International Inc. As of Dec. 31, Altria declared $57,211,000,000 in total assets, and debts of $38,657,000,000. A mounts owed by Altria's consumer products units total $33,054,000,000, with $17,782,000,000 constituting as current debts. Accordign to its balance sheet, Altria's liabilities include short-term borrowings; accrued liabilities for marketing, taxes, employment costs, and settlement charges; dividends payable, accrued pension and healthcare costs, and long-term debt. It is Altria's obligation to report all liabilities in its balance sheet in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U. S. GAAP). For example, if Philip Morris obtains a EUR1. 5 billion, 364-day term loan, expiring Dec. 2, 2008, from Bank of America, it is expected to list in its balance sheet that it has debts of EUR1. 5 billion on account of the term loan. If Bank of America asserts that an additional EUR500 million is due on the term loan due to Philip Morris' violations of its covenant that Philip Morris should limit allowed debt expenditures, but Phillip Morris disputes the claim, Philip Morris need not include BofA's claim in its balance sheet. BofA's claim will still be subject to arbitration or litigation, and courts may rule in favour of Philip Morris. Hence, Altria does not disclose these types of events in its balance sheet. Altria, however, has fiduciary duties to disclose to shareholders all potential liabilities that may become actual liabilities in the future. These include liabilities that are contingent, disputed or un-liquidated. For Atria's case, some of these liabilities will likely include pending lawsuits filed against the company. Pending lawsuits are subject to trial, may be sent to appeal after a ruling is served, may result to settlement between parties, may end up being dismissed, or may end up with monetary judgment, either substantial sums or de minimis amounts, against the defendant. Because of the varied possible outcomes, Atria maybe unable to provide reasonable estimates on the debts they may incur as a result of these lawsuits. Regardless, shareholders have to be aware of the potential losses they may incur as a result of these contingencies. Investors also have to be aware of potential risks the company is facing. Hence, contingencies and other   potential liabilities are listed as footnotes to financial statements. In its Annual Report, Altria discussed contingencies to its financial statements. It stated that legal proceedings are pending or threatened in various U. S. and foreign jurisdictions against Altria and its subsidiaries on account of tobacco-related issues. However, it admitted that its management is unable to estimate the possible loss that could arise from an unfavorable outcome of any of these cases. Accordingly, Altria has not provided any amounts in its financial statements for unfavourable outcomes of pending litigations. For tobacco-related lawsuits that have been resolved through settlements, Altria included these items in its balance sheet because its liabilities on account of those disputes have already been determined. For example, Altria has stated settlement payments it owes on account of the Master Settlement Agreement reached by PM USA with 46 states and other governments for health care cost recovery and other claims. REFERENCES â€Å"2007 Annual Report. † Altria Group, Inc. http://www. altria. com/download/pdf/investors_AltriaGroupInc_2007_AnnualRpt. pdf

Leadership, a Gender Comparison - 2709 Words

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