Patagonia Case Study free essay sample

Patagonia is a high-end outdoor apparel company founded in 1972 by Yvon Chouinard, a self-described ‘dirtbag’. The company remains private. Has experienced strong growth to date (6% sales growth Y-oY) while maintaining its commitment to sustainability and the environment Industry includes Columbia Sportswear, The North Face (VF Corp. ), and many general retailers Strategy Business Model: Customers: median age of 38 years old, average household income of $160K Products (% revenue): Sportswear (47%), Technical Outerwear (30%), Technical Knits (12%), and Hard Goods (6%). High quality, priced 20% higher than other outdoor apparel. ‘Ironclad Guarantee’ to repair, refund, or replace any product that does not fully satisfy customers Financials: 50%-55% gross margin on goods sold. High environmental and social standards for suppliers, though selectivity also leads to lower product defect rates Sales (% sales): Wholesale (44%), Retail (33%), Catalog + Internet (23%) – fewer distributors than competitors; retail stores and catalog play important role in communicating brand connecting to customers Marketing: environmental / social stance often attracted free media attention; careful conscious effort to not exploit position for monetary gain Culture: strong culture, family-friendly workplace, environmental perks for employees, low employee turnover Questions In spring 2010, Patagonia was in the process of implementing a new, radical environmental initiative called â€Å"Product Lifecycle Initiative† (PLI). We will write a custom essay sample on Patagonia Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This initiative represented a holistic commitment to lengthen the lifecycle of each product and reduce landfill waste. It constituted Patagonia’s efforts to take responsibility for the products it made, â€Å"from birth to death and then beyond death, back to rebirth. † The initiative consisted of a mutual contract between the company and its customers to â€Å"reduce, repair, reuse, and recycle† the apparel that they consumed. This case invites you to  understand a unique approach to creating and capturing value, assess its sustainability, and evaluate innovative ways to compete. 1. Evaluate Patagonia’s strategy: how does Patagonia create and capture value? Patagonia sells high quality products to outdoor enthusiasts – its products are cutting edge in terms of the materials used (and the value they generate for the customer), as are their manufacturing methods. Patagonia embeds environmental sustainability into its production methods, allowing it to meet its own mission while appealing to customers who share those values. Also see above outline. 2. How important to Patagonia’s strategy is its stated mission: â€Å"Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis†? Each of the three parts of the mission statement guide Patagonia day to day business decisions: Build the best product: high RD spend ($3M annually), focus on innovation, ambassador model for testing and feedback Cause no unnecessary harm: environmentally friendly manufacturing techniques, supplier selectivity and environmental standards, raw materials sourcing (e.g. organic cotton), Footprint Chronicles to analyze impact, energy efficient buildings and recycling processes Use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis: 1% of revenue donated to environmental causes, sharing of sustainability processes with other companies / competitors, grants and other campaigns (see Exhibit 10) 3. What is your assessment of Patagonia’s product lifecycle initiative (Reduce, Repair, Reuse, and Recycle)? Will it be a success? Evaluating PLI hinges on the definition of success: how heavily the company weighs achieving its annual growth targets against achieving its sustainability mission. The innovative program will likely be a success in raising awareness on over-consumption, but Patagonia will need to focus on aggressively growing its customer base (vs. repeat sales to existing customers) in order to achieve targets. Patagonia may also want to find ways to monetize the online swap market they create to supplement some of the potential lost revenue from individuals who buy second hand (membership fee, repair fee, flat fee on each swap, charge other retailers for access, etc. ). In the long-term the second-hand buyers may become future Patagonia customers, who at present cannot afford the high-end new products, creating a new customer acquisition vehicle.

Malaysia Unemployment Rate Essay Example

Malaysia Unemployment Rate Essay Example Malaysia Unemployment Rate Essay Malaysia Unemployment Rate Essay An unemployed individual is one who is able and willing to work yet is unable to happen a occupation. Unemployment rate is the figure of people officially unemployed divided by the labour force. Official unemployment steps those over the age of 16 who are able for employment. but are unable to obtain a occupation. The labour force is the figure of people over the age of 16 who are either employed or unemployed. In twelvemonth 2005. unemployment rate in Malaysia ( 3. 0 % ) higher than unemployment rate in Cambodia ( 2. 5 % ) . Malaysia is a Eden for occupation searchers who are non so peculiar on what occupation is available. Equally long as there is a occupation. they will merely take it. The fact is true for aliens particularly from Indonesia. Philippines. Bangladesh. China and many more. With their presence. the field of occupation market in Malaysia is going more competitory. This is because employers prefer to engage these foreigner instead than Malayan due to the comparatively inexpensive labour cost and easier to pull off. That is why graduate Malaysian who is holding consecutive A’s is no longer to procure a occupation or to give one a competitory border in calling promotion. Unemployment rate in Malaysia additions to 3. 6 % while Cambodia remains the same which is 2. 5 % in twelvemonth 2006. Another lending factor of higher unemployment rate in Malaysia is due to occupation fiting. Even though there is over 300 thousand of alumnus Malaysian from university or college come ining the occupation market in 2006. the competence of these alumnuss is still a concern where their making and experiences can non straight fit the demands of the employers. Alumnus might taking the incorrect class or with the hapless consequence. Nowadays. the employer will engage the worker who had a batch of experient one. In Malaysia. the private sector today is non interested in enrolling local alumnuss because they lack of indispensable accomplishments. such as proficiency in English. a deficiency of ICT proficiency and interpersonal accomplishment. This leads to appears to be spreads between what employers require and what accomplishments alumnuss have. Graduates themselves have to recognize that they need to accommodate to the demands and wants of their hereafter employers. In twelvemonth 2007. the unemployment rate in Cambodia still remains changeless which is 2. 5 % . Unemployment rate in Malaysia had decreased to 3. 5 % . The unemployment rate in Cambodia does non diminish and remains changeless in three old ages started from 2005 until 2007. The first cause is poverty. Most of the Cambodia citizens are hapless. that is why they can non direct their kids to school. Children will be deficiency of cognition. accomplishments and making. As a consequence. it will be hard for them to happen a occupation. Besides. with the hapless quality of instruction system in Cambodia. schools can bring forth merely non-quality human resources. With the limited figure of university. there is no warrant that all calibrated pupils will happen occupation which relevant to them because merely people with quality are selected to work. The unemployment rate in Cambodia is 3. 5 % in twelvemonth 2008 is greater than in Malaysia. 3. 2 % . The unemployment rate in Cambodia all of a sudden increased 1. 0 % from twelvemonth 2007 to 2008. This happened due to the occupation chance. Since Cambodia is little and hapless. it is non good plenty to pull foreign investor. In this instance. merely little Numberss of occupation chances are available for the remainder of population. Furthermore. this cause might due to miss of encouragement from authorities in the investing clime. In add-on. the development of engineering is another ground why unemployment rate in Cambodia increased. With the advantages of utilizing machinery in their mill. some proprietors have dismissed their workers. Therefore. many people all of a sudden lose their occupation. This helps nil but to increase unemployment rate higher and higher. In twelvemonth 2009. the unemployment rate in Cambodia remains the same as the twelvemonth of 2008. 3. 5 % while there is an addition in Malaysia unemployment rate which is 3. 3 % . Even though there are many occupation chances in Malaysia. the unemployment rate among Malayan are additions. Obviously the ground lending this factor is due to the universe economic system meltdown. Malaysia is a developing state which to the full relies on foreign direct investing ( FDI ) particularly from states such as Americas. Japan and Europe. Most of these FDI are into the fabrication sector. Many major transnational companies ( MNC ) in Malaysia have announced layoff programs including mill and office closures to extenuate the impact of the economic lag. With the presence of fabrication of MNC in Malaysia are important. the layoff programs contributed to the addition of the unemployment rate.

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

Business - Essay Example Abu Dhabi is keeping a silence ever since the report of the crisis has started. Some people think that Abu Dhabi may come for the rescue of Dubai while others have different opinions. Dubai might be escaped from the current crisis; but the damages caused by the current crisis have spoiled the image of Dubai and more time needed Dubai to regain the lost confidence of investors in Dubai ventures. The article concluded that it is difficult for Dubai to regain its lost face even if they were able to come out of the crisis. The article also concludes that Abu Dhabi has a major role in solving the Dubai crisis. The article beautifully explained the pros and cons of the current Dubai crisis. The article has ridiculed the existing Dubai governmental functioning. Moreover, it is indirectly blaming the foolish lending habits of some of the foreign financial institutions from Britain and Europe. The article was not sure about the Abu Dhabi’s tactics in the current Dubai crisis, even though it identifies Abu Dhabi as the probable savior of Dubai. FOR years, Dubai strove to capture the imagination of the financial world, projecting its young financial centre as a â€Å"global gateway† for capital. Last week it succeeded in grabbing attention. Its announcement that it would delay repayment of the debts of Dubai World, a vast government-owned conglomerate, swept through global markets like one of the blinding sandstorms that occasionally afflict the emirate, obscuring the gleam of its skyscrapers. Like those storms, Dubai’s announcement was so damaging because it reduced visibility. Investors had assumed that the Dubai government was willing to rescue the indebted conglomerates it sponsors, and that Abu Dhabi, its well-heeled neighbouring emirate, was willing, in turn, to rescue Dubai. In particular, they had looked forward to the full and timely repayment of a $3.5 billion Islamic bond issued by Nakheel, a Dubai World subsidiary, on December

Using insight into historaical, social and cultural context write an Essay

Using insight into historaical, social and cultural context write an regarding the expectations of pip in Charles Dickens 'Great expectaions - Essay Example He develops unrealistic expectations which lead him to develop undesirable traits. However, the resulting disappointments turn him more mature and responsible. In the beginning, Pip is so vulnerable crying â€Å""Oh! Dont cut my throat, sir, O pray.....† (p.3) when the convict Magwitch catches him in the churchyard. His situation is so desperate as he stands looking at the graves of seven members of his family; being an orphan, without family and friends, he stands alone in the world. In such a position, Pip longs to improve himself setting expectations. He admires Joe, the blacksmith and has "a new sensation of feeling conscious that I was looking up to Joe in my heart" (p.4). However, his admiration soon turns into indifference as he starts develop unrealistic expectations. Some of his expectations are educational, moral and social. The change starts coming upon him on his meeting Mrs. Havisham and Estella. Pip, who has admired Joe and the working class life, starts noticing the difference between classes. He thinks regretfully, â€Å"I was a common labouring-boy; that my hands were coarse; that my boots were thick; and generally that I was in a low-lived bad way" (p. 27). He loves Estella and yearns to marry her; however, he faces the truth that he is poor, ignorant and realises the difference between moral and immoral behaviour. He is idealistic which causes him to have a very narrow view of the world. So, he sometimes acts rude to people who actually care for him. He goes by the face value, which leads to disappointments. When Mr. Jaggers tells Pip about the great expectations that they have placed on him, he thinks that Miss Havisham is going to spend her fortune and expects that Mrs. Havisham is his benefactor, but when he realises the truth that he had been so long supported by a convict, he is unable to take it. However, later he comes to learn the human qualities of

Harley Davidson in Pursuit for Female Riders Essay

Harley Davidson in Pursuit for Female Riders - Essay Example The project talks about the objective of the event, the marketing strategy applied by the company to gain success in the market and stay ahead of its competitors and the promotional methods adopted by Harley Davidson in respect to the event. Recommendation to HD is not required as it has adopted all the necessary strategies needed to make an event a success and HD being a big brand, the brand names is enough for it to generate potential customers and create awareness. Overview about the Company Harley Davidson is a US based manufacturing company of motorcycles which was founded way back in 1903. Harley Davidson started with a mission to ride with every customer and apply with them the connection in each and every market the company serves in order to create a superior value for the stakeholders. The company’s vision is to fulfill the dreams of every biker on the road by providing them with extra ordinary bikes and with satisfied experience. Harley Davidson aims to fuel the pas sion for freedom in their customers and express individuality. Hardly Davidson provides an emotional connection with Harley Davidson bikes and other related products. The company believes in providing superior quality of products because of the trust and brand loyalty the customer’s shows in the brand and the company1. As male section is often known for their urge to drive a Hardly Davidson and own one, similarly for the female riders Harley Davidson has introduced bikes and has conducted events to encourage the female riders to drive their HD. The Harley Davidson community has organized an event for females, the Garage Party mainly targeting the female sections2 . Situation Analysis Situation This project on event management talks about the event that Harley Davidson organizes for its female riders. The events are conducted by the dealers of HD and it continues for around a month in different states of US. HD conducts two events for females, the Garage party and women riders ’ month. It was conducted in the month of May when thousands of women across the world came together to become a part of HD. Women participated in events like Garage party and supported worthy cause3. Objectives The objective of such an event was to fulfill the dreams of females from learning to ride a HD to buy the right bike and to ride in the road with great confidence. The event was conducted for a cause which was attended by thousands of females across the world. Marketing Strategy HD had released that the bikes were not only ageing but also the percentage of female customers have increased over the years. The company knew that with a change in demographics the sales could be affected and realized the necessity to tap into the new market segment for females. The company’s initial strategy was to take over the brand Buell in order to tap the new market segment. The Buell bike was ideal not only for new riders but also for small riders and particularly for female ri ders. Seeing the growth in female customers Harley Davidson adopted the marketing strategy of product extension. The company introduced new bikes specially made for the women customers. Women are not only purchasing the smaller and light bikes but according to information on HD website, females purchasing the 883 Sportster Hugger which is designed with lower seat and short

Reflection On Augstines Love Philosophy Essay

Reflection On Augstines Love Philosophy Essay Augustine stresses love as an important player in his moral philosophy. Man naturally loves. For Augustine people love in many ways and there are two most common ways. One is love for something instrumental where in someone loves something for the utility that it has for us. We see this in advertising quite often a prime example would be McDonalds which proudly uses the slogan love ko to. A kind of love that springs from something satisfying our own desires, just like McDonalds satisfies ones desire for a burger. The other kind of love which Augustine describes is a more intrinsic love. This is the kind of love we have for other people. Augustine asserts that this love differs from the instrumental kind of love because we dont simply only love others because of their utility sometimes this is actually the opposite. Augustine asserts this love as inhuman because as a human being people are made in Gods image. And that human beings deserved to be loved both as the image of God because none of us are independent of God, who created us, and as their own individual person. This is where the idea of morality and virtue steps in. When in loving people we love their utility rather than who they are. Virtue for Augustine is rightly ordered love. It is not virtuous to love an object that is instrumental and expect it to give us true happiness. Augustine also points out that we cannot love God unless we love ourselves because in learning to love ourselves we understand ourselves as creations of God from whom all good things come. On the other side of the spectrum Augustine considers choice to be the thing that gives birth to evil and that the pursuit of good is born out of moral illumination that is given by God and rooted in love. Someone once told me that if someone had a crush on me it might not be something they would admit because Id be pretty only if I was thinner. At first it sounded like a compliment but I was instantly taken aback. Does liking someone even just on the level of a crush so conditional on ones looks? I honestly didnt know what to think but the truth is that Ive always looked different from all of my classmates. In high school everyone was thin and dainty with pin straight black hair and ivory skin while I was big with a loud head of curls. It took me some time to accept the fact that I would never be that kind of pretty. I know it seems shallow but today appearances are so important they are everywhere and lets face it advertising and celebrity culture doesnt make it easy to have self-esteem. It took me a while to feel comfortable in my own skin and realize that Im not a dainty Asian flower, Im a giant mountainous woman to quote my uncle. Having finally accepted it I gained more confidence and I felt more open and I knew that appearances werent everything. The new challenge that sprung up it seemed was that because Im fat and tall some people thought that I shouldnt be confident or that the word fat is immediately equated to ugly. This was something I couldnt wrap my head around. Why does my weight or appearance matter so much to other people? And how does it dictate how kind or intelligent or honest I am? In a world like this are looks the first step to loving oneself, it seems the my stretch marks go deeper than just my skin. Do these angry red marks go down into who I am and therefore make me less than anyone else? It was Augustines idea of loving yourself and why you should love yourself that resonated with me the most. I think that it is also hard for non-Christians to relate to Augustine because his philosophy is so God centred. However, I think that his progression of loving oneself first then realizing that there is something more to it all is something that is true for anyone. Personally sometimes it is hard to do this and it is especially hard to do without looking at the physical side of things especially today when there is so much emphasis on physical ideals. Looking at the times when I have just sit there with my thoughts quietly thinking to myself about who I am and it has made me realize that it is moments like that wherein you truly discover how to love yourself. I realized there isnt really merit in loving myself because I am thin or because my skin is flawless. As Augustine says there is a right order to love and that in many toxic relationships people have quite disordered love . People love for the wrong reasons such money and status and people ask for something that the other can just simply not give. It has made me realize that a lot of disordered love is rooted in insecurity people love things that they thing can make them complete instead of first loving themselves and essentially knowing who they are to begin with. It is so easy now to say that you are how you look and thats it or you are the gadgets that you own but To go even further it seems to have become taboo to even just sit silently and be alone with your thoughts. I think what makes it quite hard is that sometimes when I find myself doing this I get overwhelmed by my thoughts and soon enough I am submerged in it all. Soon enough though I find myself being able to ride the waves of my thoughts and finding what I truly value in myself. And the answers honestly arent about anything physical or about anything external from me. The answers I find to all of the questions about myself come from somewhere very internal. The answer to where this voice I hear comes from in Augustines philosophy would most definitely be God, a supreme God who has created me and therefore my love is rooted in Him. In essence when I was able to look past all of the physical ideals and the comments others would have about whether or not I was deserving of love I realized only I could answer the question of whether or not I feel I could love or should be loved. It is f rom this insight that the rest the role of love in Augustines philosophy follows and it is something that I think many people tend to forget. While reflecting on this it insight it made me wonder about those who truly love themselves and yet do not necessarily believe in God and whether or not Augustines philosophy would still apply to them. It is this part of Augustines philosophy that I had to really think about. And after hours of thinking about it I realized that there are many people who have ordered love and are not necessarily Christian because no matter what religion you are to love seems to be something natural for humans. When people are faced with great tragedy and bleakness the natural response isnt necessarily hate or revenge its love. In the recent and very tragic Newtown shooting the children wrote notes to their parents about how much they loved them for fear that they may never be able to say it again. From here we see that it is so natural and unpretentious to love intrinsically. While for Augustine true happiness is found in God and comes from God it made me realize that happiness in its many forms is fo und in love. Love for loves sake not because of what it can give you but because love is something natural that we do. After having reflected on love in my life and out of it Ive realized that the only response I can give that can truly make a difference is to ponder how I love and why I love. It is so easy to doubt yourself as worthy of being loved and when others perceive you as not good enough or not of the norm and I think the best response is to be secure in the fact the that your body isnt the only reason there is to love yourself and that it should definitely not be the primary reason that you find to love yourself. I think that this is something important that I can actually share with other people. Loving connotes openness and that in loving others for who they really are and not treating them as an object is how I should really love. I think that the best response I can possibly have is to be mindful of how I love and what I love lest it become disordered and self-destructive even.

Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

Susan Smith purposely drove her car off into a lake with her 2 children strapped to the back seats. Think of how they must have felt as the cold water started to fill the car, and then ultimately drowned them. Barbaric is the word I would use to describe her actions. But yet, the jury rejected the death penalty and chose a 30-year sentence instead because capital punishment was not enforced in the state. Broken up from the death of his 2 children, Mr. Smith said, â€Å"Me and my family are disappointed that the death penalty was not the verdict.† I am going to convince you that capital punishment has to be enforced in all states. I will tell you about the problem, the solution to the problem, and what it would be like if my solution is implemented. The problem is that the current criminals that commit these brutal crimes are not fearful enough of the consequences and punishment they have to pay. Life in prison is too easy on the convicts. We have to be harder on them. Another problem is capital punishment is not imposed in enough states. All of the states need to adopt it in the United States for it to be effective. Another dilemma is that it is not fair that an individual who took the life of another receives heating, shelter, clothing, 3 meals a day, and indoor plumbing while a homeless person who does not cause any harm to anybody else receives nothing. An additional problem is the current prisons are very low on cell space. The criminals that have life in prison are takin... Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers Susan Smith purposely drove her car off into a lake with her 2 children strapped to the back seats. Think of how they must have felt as the cold water started to fill the car, and then ultimately drowned them. Barbaric is the word I would use to describe her actions. But yet, the jury rejected the death penalty and chose a 30-year sentence instead because capital punishment was not enforced in the state. Broken up from the death of his 2 children, Mr. Smith said, â€Å"Me and my family are disappointed that the death penalty was not the verdict.† I am going to convince you that capital punishment has to be enforced in all states. I will tell you about the problem, the solution to the problem, and what it would be like if my solution is implemented. The problem is that the current criminals that commit these brutal crimes are not fearful enough of the consequences and punishment they have to pay. Life in prison is too easy on the convicts. We have to be harder on them. Another problem is capital punishment is not imposed in enough states. All of the states need to adopt it in the United States for it to be effective. Another dilemma is that it is not fair that an individual who took the life of another receives heating, shelter, clothing, 3 meals a day, and indoor plumbing while a homeless person who does not cause any harm to anybody else receives nothing. An additional problem is the current prisons are very low on cell space. The criminals that have life in prison are takin...