MMM132 Management
ASSESSMENT A1.3
Executive Summary
This report contains in-depth research about Body Shop through collating numerous
academic journals to ensure the information is credible and relevant to the business
management of Body-shop. I discussed the general environment of Body Shop and how
socio-cultural factors are contributing to Body Shop’s campaign and mission. When
discussing the broader environment of an organisation, it is also essential to discuss the
specific environment as they indirectly impact each other. Body Shop has a strong supplier
relationship as their suppliers are key to sustainable sourcing of products.
Furthermore, when discussing Body Shop, it is hard to miss their dedication towards ethics
and corporate social responsibility. This is because goals are the essence of their foundation
and organisational structure. Lastly, I identify team leader as my favourable managerial role.
In doing so, i analysed the critical aspects of a quality manager and chose Deakin Abroad
and the Bowater Business challenge to help me achieve the capabilities for a team leader
position.
Contents
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................. 1
1.
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4
2.
General Environment ................................................................................................................. 4
3.
Specific Environment ................................................................................................................ 5
4.
Ethics and Social Responsibilities............................................................................................... 7
5.
Managerial Roles ....................................................................................................................... 8
6.
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 9
Reference List.................................................................................................................................... 10
1. Introduction
The Body Shop is a world-renowned British Company that was founded in 1976 by
Anita Roddick. The company specialises in cosmetics, skincare and perfume with a
strong stance on environmental sustainability, displayed through their numerous
campaigns. Because of Body Shop’s “enrich not exploit” mission, they can maintain a
competitive advantage. General environment companies like Body Shop are heavily
impacted by socio-cultural factors. Body Shop is a proud supporter of eco-friendly
products, thus contributing to their economic and social success of being favoured by
consumers. Their zero-tolerance approach to sustainable sourcing has a substantial
impact on their specific environment. Body Shop’s Community Fair Trade programme
sees them only utilising environmentally friendly suppliers, which to date Body Shop
has 31 suppliers. As such Body Shop’s massive reliance on sustainable sourcing,
displays the importance of suppliers, because if they did not have sustainable
suppliers, then Body Shop would not be able to uphold their mission statement,
“enrich not exploit”. Moreover, their campaigns actively display their commitment
toward ethical consumption and duty towards social responsibility in their
management and products.
2. General Environment
The General environment is the broader factors consisting of the economy, the
technological, socio-cultural and the political/legal trends that ultimately shape the
way an organisation is run. The environment consists of all phenomena that exert a
direct influence on the system and which, in turn, are affected by it. No matter how
high the internal efficiency of a firm, its existence depends in no small measure on its
external efficiency (Correa, 2000). This means that despite the success of the Body
shop’s internal structure, such as the efficiency of their managerial roles, the
external environment will always have a direct influence on the way they behave.
In the modern era, socio cultural changes in behaviour, attitudes and beliefs affect the
demand for a business’ products and services. (Williams, McWilliams and Lawrence 2016).
There is an understanding by consumers that their participation in the purchasing of goods
from the marketplace has an indirect impact on an organisation’s production of goods and
services. Hence, customers have adjusted their spending activities by not only focusing on
what they want but instead considering of the ecological problems. For example, many
consumers will check if an item is made by recycled material and if the product will or has a
low environmental impact/such as biodegradable plastic bags which can be broken down by
bacteria. Because of the swing towards a more eco-centric consumer behaviour, customers
are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products (Laroche, Bergeron and
Barbaro‐Forleo, 2001). This preference of eco-friendly products is acted mainly upon by
“Body shop” as summarised in their mission statement “enrich our products, our people and
our planet. That means working somewhat with our farmers and suppliers and helping
communities thrive through our Community Trade programme, being 100% vegetarian and
always and forever being firmly against animal testing” (The Bodyshop, 2019).
The Bodyshop consistently utilises imagery and succinct words relating to the
environment, tapping into the consciousness of the buyer. Thus, customers will
often ignore the price tag when considering the positive environmental impacts. For
example, produces and promotes its product lines with environmental and social
sensitivity as a major theme. Information cards, window displays, and videos are
used throughout the store to inform the public on the environmental and social
impacts of their purchasing decisions (Menon et al., 1999)
. This constant reminder of Body Shop’s stance supporting sustainable
environmental usage develops strong customer attraction allowing them to have a
competitive advantage against other businesses while protecting the environment
and their brand.
The attitudes and behaviours of pro-environment consumers have shaped the way
Body Shop sources, packages and distribute their products. Consumers who perceive
a retailer as socially-oriented demonstrated more trust towards the retailer, the
organic products in general, and the private‐label organic products. This trust
translates into an intention to purchase the product (Pivato, Misani and Tencati,
2007). Body Shop continually adapts to the changing socio-cultural status, to ensure
continued community support and trust and this can only be achieved efficiently if
there are quality management practices- which there is because Body Shop is always
taking the initiative to improve their behaviour in terms of their products.
3. Specific Environment
Suppliers are companies that provide material, human, financial and information
resources to other companies. As such suppliers are integral to the efficiency and
smooth running of a company’s operations. Relating to this is the idea of “supplier
dependence” (Williams, McWilliams and Lawrence 2016) which is the extent a
company relies on a supplier because of the importance of the supplier’s product to
the company and the difficulty of finding other sources of that product. Of course,
supplier dependence can be reduced if there is more than one supplier of the same
product and similar quality.
To ensure sustainable and eco-friendly sources of products, The Body Shop has
created an innovative program, titled “Community Trade sourcing programme” in
1987. Not only does this initiative develop trust between the company and
consumer, but it also ensures their products are ethically sourced. As of 2017, the
Body shop is working with 31 suppliers worldwide, all of which were expected to
review the charter and sign it to indicate their understanding and commitment to
achieving Bodyshop’s objectives which are again described in their campaign “enrich
not exploit”.
Furthermore, another slogan utilised by Bodyshop in relation to their trade is the
“Trade not aid”. This premise endeavours to improve lives and reduce poverty,
mostly in developing communities while sourcing sustainable products
(Suppliers.thebodyshop.com, 2018). As such, Body Shop would purchase the highest
quality products from eco-friendly producers through fair trading conditions and
fairs prices to support the United Nations millennium development goals. In the
present, Bodyshop supports 300,000 people in marginalised communities, with 90%
of its products containing at least one fair trade ingredient (Forbes.com, 2017).
Suppliers play a vital role in helping firms develop and launch innovative products in
a competitive manner. They represent a potential source of product innovation. A
study of European companies indicated that suppliers were a vital source of ideas for
product innovation. Moreover, they found that suppliers were more willing to invest
in technology and share ideas with customers when buyer-supplier relationships
were strategic, collaborative, and open. Given that a supplier’s products are
embedded in a buyer’s product, supplier innovativeness directly impacts buyer
performance (Jajja et al., 2017)
From a supply-chain perspective, Body Shop’s mission to create an image of socially
and ethically sustainable may not be shared by suppliers within their chain, causing
dysfunctional and ineffective systems of management. For example, if the supplier
has a change of heart and decides to act less sustainably, then it may damage the
reputation of the business. Reasons that a supplier may choose to do this is because
they have considered the costs and benefits through relying on protective measures
and their power structures in the contract. (Lin, Yang and Liou, 2009)
A firm’s product innovation strategy plays a vital role in shaping organisational
priorities and supply chain extensive actions. The strategic, tactical, and operational
alignment of inter-organisational actions leads to innovative products, which are
commonly characterised as being novel, valuable, and frequently introduced.
However, significant managerial challenge organisations face is in developing supply
chains capable of producing innovative products in an effective, efficient, and
consistent manner. However, acquiring sustainable competitiveness through
innovation requires appropriate supply chain capabilities and practices (Jajja et al.,
2017).
4. Ethics and Social Responsibilities
Ethics and social responsibility are tied into the concept of corporate social
responsibility whereby businesses have a long-term commitment to not violate
accepted principles of right and wrong (Williams, McWilliams and Lawrence 2016).
Whether it is for their employees or the customers while creating profit. Since 1976
when Anita Roddick Human Rights Activists first opened body Shop, the core beliefs
of social and environmental responsibility has always been present in the company.
Starting from 1986 when Bodyshop created the “Save the whale campaign” to 2017
campaign “Enrich not exploit” (The Body Shop, 2019)
As part of Body Shop’s 2017 campaign, they have outlined many social
responsibilities concerning the people they work with, their products and the planet.
For example, Body Shop aims to increase their community trade program from 19 to
40 suppliers and help enrich supplier communities, ensure 100% of their natural
ingredients are traceable and sustainably sourced, protecting 10,000 hectares of
forest and other habitats as well as reduce environmental footprint of their stores
every time they refurbish or design them respectively (Sustainable Business, 2018).
Network, 2019).
The distinctive business models of Body Shop allow them to be classified as
“socially-oriented enterprises” that may—despite their for-profit orientation—be
counter-models to the “conventional” profit-maximising multinational corporation.
Socially oriented enterprises thus are hybrids that cover a middle ground between
conventional enterprises and “purely” social ones, as their focus on social goals is
highly salient, but not exclusive next to making profits (Wickert, Vaccaro and
Cornelissen, 2015). Businesses such as Bodyshop can project their position on ecofriendly products effectively and build consumer trust through their ethical and
social responsibility mission.
To further accentuate, Body Shops’ code of ethics, their Community Fairtrade, as
mentioned in the specific environment section much be examined again. Not only
does this program provide appropriate prices with trading partners, but Body Shop’s
management also ensures the supplier’s businesses and their families receive extra
income to develop their confidence and security in the developing business. This act
ensures suppliers complete their best work to source the best ingredients for Body
Shop. However, before doing so, they must sign the company’s code of conduct
which displays their comradery towards the company’s mission and ultimately
submit to the idea of providing ethical sourcing provided they are under contract.
“By harnessing their creativity and innovation, Body Shop can find new products,
new services, new initiatives, develop new markets and business models that can
deliver a better quality of life to all, for now, and for the future. Moreover, its
espousal of these values over time as guiding principles defined its principled ethical
position. It took an explicit stance on the natural orientation of its products and its
ethical supply chain and promoted five underlying value messages: against animal
testing, supporting community trade, defending human rights, protecting the planet
and activating self-esteem. The strength of these values underpinned the
consistency of its branding. In its internal and external communications, it
demonstrated a commitment to discover “who they are” and devoted itself to the
idea of a single, unified and consistent organisational “self” through its corporate
communications” (Kent and Stone, 2007).
5. Managerial Roles
There are four types of managers; top managers, middle managers, first-line
managers and team leaders. The top managers consist of executives responsible for
the overall direction of the organisation, while the middle managers are responsible
for setting objectives consistent with top management’s goals and for planning and
implementing subunit strategies for achieving these objectives. Furthermore, firstline managers train and supervise the performance of employees and team leaders
have the role of facilitating team activities toward goal accomplishment. I endeavour
to become a team leader, as I am interested in managing a store.
The team leader is an essential role and acts as the bridge or liaison between their
teams and other teams (Williams, McWilliams and Lawrence 2016).
Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend self-interest and perceptions
of their limitations to become more effective in pursuing collective goals
(Schaubroeck, Lam and Cha, 2007). Being a team leader requires various skills and
capabilities to become successful in a team-based environment. As postulated by
Mary Parker Follet, some critical features of management are constructive conflict
power, giving of orders, authority, leadership, coordination and control. Constructive
conflict power means being able to take opinion and ideas from members and
discuss it through constructive and positivity without out exerting too much power
and conflict as to cause resentment.
Similarly, the act of giving orders should be given in a way that is not overbearing
and allows all members to work in a non-resentful environment. Often team leaders
need to maintain authority; as such, it is important that they can gain vast amounts
of knowledge and experience. By having experiences, team members would be much
more obedient compared to someone who has little to no credibility. Furthermore, it
is crucial to display leadership. Not having leadership skills means disorder and
ultimately, the failure of a system. It is crucial to ensure every team member is of
one mind and is ready to fulfil the goal of the company. In terms of the Body shop, it
is about the sustainability of the company, including its code of ethics. Linking to
leadership is coordination. Coordination across members and chiefly the
departments, is vital, as it ensures the efficient running of the company and its
members concerning tasks.
To assist me in achieving these five key ideas of management by Mary Parker Follett,
I have decided to study a semester abroad and complete the Deakin Bowater
Business challenge as part of my Deakin experience. By completing a semester
abroad, I can not only become independent and looks great on my resume, but I am
also able to develop confidence, management skills and communication skills. Being
overseas alone is a great way to build up confidence as it requires a survival instinct,
thereby causing me to utilise management and communication to survive in a new
country. Apart from the development of skills, it is a great way to demonstrate your
experiences and knowledge when managing a team. Moreover, the Deakin Bowater
Business Challenge can further help me to improve my skills for management
purposes. This business challenge is a team competition, in which students
undertake research and develop a presentation on the future of a selected industry.
By competing in this competition, I can develop teamwork skills as well as problemsolving strategies involved, which is highly beneficial when considering become a
team leader in an organisation such as Body Shop.
6. Conclusion
This business report provided an in-depth analysis concerning different aspects of
Body Shop, focusing primarily on their mission and purpose. Over the past decade,
Body Shop has continuously developed campaigns for sustainable behaviours
because of not only their principles but also the changing socio-cultural trend where
consumers are more likely to purchase goods that they know are environmentally
sourced. Apart from the general environment, Body Shop’s specific environment was
also explicitly examined the impact of suppliers. Body Shop’s overarching mission of
“Enrich Not Exploit” and their Community trading programme displays the
importance of eco-friendly suppliers.
Moreover, Body Shop’s impact on the environment, displays its core values
regarding ethics and corporate social responsibility, not only in the external
environment but also the internal environment. Lastly, I pointed out my endeavour
to become a team leader and what it requires managing a team. As a result, I chose
two Deakin experiences which can assist me in becoming a competent team
manager.
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