Organisational Behaviour - Sustainability Strategies - Assessment Answer

Organisational Behaviour Assignment

Assignment Task

Research, analysis and discussion of sustainability related strategies and issues:

*relate to sustainability practices of Ecostore when you analyse each What are/is the relevant theory+ practice+ sustainability

? Role of organisational behaviour at the company

What theories involved in this concept? Use references - Apply with Ecostore? What is their OB? What type of an internal culture do they have- in their stores as well as in the production units - Connect to sustainability.

? Human resource management practices at the company

HRM- - What theories relevant to this strategy? Use definitions and explain what these sub theories mean- For an example you can take recruitments, hierarchy of management, training, etc… . Focus on at least 3 strategies company implemented under HRM - Apply with the practiceHow do Ecostore do recruitment- training? Management structure? - How do they manage people sustainably? Use other sources to support.

? Role of international business at the company

What theory/ies to focus? Use references to support - Research on Ecostore international business. What type of strategy do they have? What process do they follow - What sustainability contribution do they do in international business?

? Role of technology management at the company

What is the theory behind that- what strategies available for businesses –for an example use any relevant strategies such as emailing, conferencing, or any other simple approaches - Or else how do they use technology in their production, packaging or within the company - Connect to sustainability – use support

2. Analysis of entrepreneurship and innovation at the company

Look at history of Ecostore- Look at who is the founder- motivation to start up the business ? Role of innovation. Explain theory- use references to support - What are the motivations to the founders to start up the business - How entrepreneurship connect to innovation - What is the theory on innovation - How Ecostore continuing their innovations

Role of organisational behaviour at the company Eco store

Organization behaviour refers to the study of human behaviour in organizational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organization, and the organization itself. Eco store has an internal culture which is based on trust is the belief that employees are the main strength of the company. The employees are constantly motivated such that they give their best performance. Also the culture of the organization is being sustainable which means that all the employees try to inculcate the usage of natural materials when they are in office in order to ensure that they contribute to the eco-friendly nature of the product. For example no petroleum based plastic bottles are allowed inside the office and only eco – friendly glass bottles or bottle made of recyclable material is allowed in the organization (Pinder, 2014).

Also the customer comes first which means that if there is any doubt about the safety of an ingredient the replace it with another ingredient which is safer. Also the culture is based on by the Einstein principle that the 'the simplest solution is the most elegant'. Also the attitude of the employees at the store as well as the processing unit is based on care where they strive to give the best to their employees. The company is headed by who is known for her leadership skills and provides the training to the employees with respect to the making of the product as well as the handling of the customers at their stores (Langton, Robbins & Judge, 2013).

Human resource management practices

The recruitment process at the store is done by looking the credential of the potential candidate. When there is an opening it is published on job portals and on the website where the potential candidates apply. The company follows the rules and regulations set out by the Australian law and follows a non-discrimination policy while hiring. The best candidate is selected for the job on the basis of experience and skills. The compensation for the employees is done on the basis of Australian minimum wage Law and all the employees area compensated in a manner which includes health benefits (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

The company also has the rewards and recognition aspect where the employee is constantly motivated to perform better by rewarding them at the need of each month, for example the sales person who has made the maximum sales is given a special rewards along with the tag of being employee of the month which instils confidence in the employees to perform even better

The company follows a flat structure where the distance between the higher level and the lower level not a lot is which facilities communication between the senior and the junior management. This allows the easier exchange of ideas since the junior management does not have to go through various levels to speak to a senior which facilities interaction as well as exchange of ideas (Bennett & Ho, 2014).

Role of international business at the company

International business is an important aspect for any company since it includes the expansion of the company into local borders which essentially means the manufacturing is done in another country, the labour I hired from another country and the complete product is sold in a another country. Due to the increase in globalization, international businesses are easier to conduct since all companies want to expand their market (Wild, Wild & Han, 2014).

The company was originally form New Zealand and expanded into Australia which is a much bigger market for the product in 2004 and in 2009 the company launched in USA. The company uses the distribution network of Woolworth, Safeway and Baby are us to reach out to the Australian markets. Currently the company does not sell through the online store outside of Australia and NZ due to logistical issues. The company manufactures all its products in Auckland and then ships them to Australia and USA in bulk. The company sells in physical store as well as the, online store and the products are available all over Australia through their online store even in the rural areas. The stores that the company ties up are big giants are the smaller organic shops which stock eco-friendly products since they are the target audience for the company (Ball et al., 2012)

The company contributes to the sustainability of the international business since it produces its products that are completely chemical free and made out of natural ingredients and are used in everyday life. This allows countries like Australian and USA to access organic and chemical free produces thereby reducing the carbon footprint of not only its home country but even the countries that it’s doing business in.

Role of technology management at the company

One of the most apt strategies that the company uses with respect to technology is the usage of emails to connect with its existing and potential customer base. The email is a quick way to reach the clients with respect to their new products as well as keep theme engaged through their digital blog and magazine. The email is an efficient way of reaching them since it’s the quickest method to connect and the customers can access it as per their convenience. This also minimizes their usage of paper which they would have used to reach their targeted audience and hence it becomes an extremely sustainable way of marketing and communication (Fitzsimmons & Fitzsimmons,2013).

Also the company uses technology in its inventory management and when a particular product is over in a shop, the manufacturing automatically receives a message of the existing inventory levels due to which they can ship it out to the particular distributor, the use of technology cuts down the communication time and the process becomes more efficient. The use of inventory software’s allows the companies to analyse their existing levels of stock as well as estimate the future requirements or demand of the customers (Holtshouse, 2013).

Analysis of entrepreneurship and innovation at the company

The process of starting a business or any other organization is called entrepreneurship where a business model is developed and they are completely responsible for running the business which may wither lead to failure or success. According to the Alert Theory of Entrepreneurship, it states that understanding of the market is the key to being a successful entrepreneur. This is true for the person who started Eco store since it filled a gap between the demand of the customer and the supply (Davenport, 2013).

The company was started by Malcolm Rands along with his wife Melanie in their home in an eco-village in New Zealand in 1993. The couple had been using sustainable and organic ways of farming and gardening in their property for along period of time and they realized that they were still exposed to a number of toxic chemical and other substances through the cleaning products that they were using. Hence the decided to start the eco store company by providing customer chemical free alternative to the chemical and pesticide lade body and home products (Ecostore, 2016)

The entrepreneur was motivated to give his customers a product which is devoid of harmful substances and they started sourcing products that had no toxic or unnecessary chemicals, and a commitment that their products would work just as well as mainstream brands. This lead to innovation of the product since they took a main stream product and made it safe as well as environmental friendly for the customers to use.Another way the company innovated with the products was that it create a loyal customer base as many customers would writ in that they suffer from asthma, eczema, and other allergies induced diseases and by using the products from their store, these issue have completely disappeared (Drucker, 2014)

Also under the Under the direction of Sir Ray Avery who was awarded 2010 New Zealander of the Year, the lead expert and formulator for company, each product takes months in the development and making which ensure that the product reached maximum safety levels and higher efficiency standards are achieved. The company constantly strives to be innovating and do it in a manner which is sustainable in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the company. The company strongly believes that they can make the environment better through their products. Even their bottles are made of Carbon Capture™ Paks that is made from renewable sugarcane plastic, products which is more sustainable than the standard petroleum-based plastic that traps carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows.