Business Sustainability: Solid Inc. Case
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Developing a carbon footprint for an organization requires measuring the production of the raw materials, distribution of the raw materials, distribution of products and retail, consumption, reuse, recycle and disposal. The organizational footprints looks at the energy used in buildings, the industrial processes and the company vehicles. There are six carbon footprints that take into account the GHG emissions. These are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbon, perfluorocarbon and sulfur hexerfluide.
Solid, Inc.'s board of directors has recently hired a new CEO specifically to move the company in the direction of business sustainability. Solid has a large industrial manufacturing facility to make components, and it has a variety of manufacturing processes. Raw materials include a variety of different chemicals and minerals such as plastic, steel, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum. Their furnace-heat treatment processes use a variety of energy sources as well including natural gas, oil, and electricity. Most of its target market is in the United States, and the firm's marketing manager sees a slowing growth as penetration rates are already over 70% in the product category.
To help his with this new program, the CEO has hired you as the Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager (EH&S Manager). He has told you that your first assignment will be to participate in the upcoming annual strategic planning process and to inject the new paradigms into the management team's traditional thinking. He has stressed that your participation will be key to the creation of a different strategic plan that sounds entirely different from anything previous, and that implementing a business sustainability agenda will not be a separate part of the strategic plan but rather an integral part of the plan. He cautions you that the management team has little knowledge of business sustainability concepts.
Given the breadth of business sustainability issues the firm faces, the CEO has asked you to prepare a comprehensive report outlining at least 5 initiatives they could embark upon in each area listed following. Being a stickler for detail, the CEO asked for specific examples of what could be done in the strategic plan to address each of these issues. For each one he wants to know the following:
1. What is the business sustainability issue?
2. What is the risk if this issue is not addressed?
3. What are at least two options to address each of the issues, including the pros and cons of each of the two options?
Areas to address:
A. Likely poor pool of job applicants in the future
B. Likely tightening of standards on the current particulate emissions from the furnace stacks
C. Running out of certain of the firm's raw materials
For each of the 3 business sustainability areas (A, B, and C), address the 3 questions (1, 2, & 3). For example, for the poor pool of job applicants issue, you need to answer the 3 questions listed. Then do it again for areas B and C.
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Solution Summary
The expert examines business sustainability for Solid Inc case.
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Area A: Poor Pool of Job Applicants
Solid, Inc. is an industrial manufacturer that makes several industrial products based on plastic, steel, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum. Due to harmful nature of its products, competition in market and the changes in the environment of its business in US, the organization would face huge competitions. Thus, the organization could not be able to face and cope with the upcoming challenges in industrial manufacturing with the poor pool of job applicants (Rynes & Gerhart, 2003). It would grow the critical issue for the organization of Solid Inc. that is important for its management to address this issue effectively because it could affect the sustainability of the organization in USA.
Risks
To address this issue is important for Solid Inc. because it would increase risk as organization would not be able to counter the impact of changes in business environment of USA on the productivity of Solid Inc. products. This issue is also important for the organization for addressing timely because the growth of manufacturing industry in USA also increases that could make advantages for the organization in the field of industrial products. But, it would require knowledgeable employees in future (Ferrell & Hartline, 2010). Otherwise, the management of Solid Inc. could not be able to convert the opportunity in the market of USA into profitability.
Options to Address related Issues
Followings are some options that would help to address poor pool of job applicants in the organization:
Establishment of Performance Rules: These rules could be effective for an employee to know the actual expectation of Solid Inc. management on the basis of days, weeks and months from him (Abramson, 2001). This type of clear goal would encourage the workers towards the productivity, but it would also make huge distance between the management and people, if the employees could not be able to do so. It could make the negative image of employees in the mind of management. It would ...
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