Category: Company

Essay on Costco Corporate Social Responsibility

A business’s only responsibility is to produce profits. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

The relationship between business and society is closely connected, one cannot live without another. Society needs to be provided with jobs and to be paid wages and salaries, a fair share of taxes so that government spending can be supported on the things that society needs. To achieve that, business must exist invest, and innovate. On the other hand, business needs consumers to create demand in the market. It needs society to provide essential public assets and infrastructure, such as transportation and legal systems to enable business to take place. There is no doubt that business and society are interdependent, however, it is still not yet to be determined whether a business should take account of its broader social obligations and responsibilities. This essay will discuss the importance of profit and its impact on the business, as well as the arguments of whether businesses should perform social responsibilities or whether it is not the job of a business to be concerned about social issues and problems.

Companies make a profit to survive and remain in the business, profitability and growth are both important and necessary, this will attract investors and analysts to put more money into the business and, more importantly, make stakeholders satisfied and stay in the company. ” The business of business is business.” Friedman M. (2007). The meaning of the quote is what business knows best, is to innovate, invest and maximize profit. The only responsibility to society is to operate within the law and the ethical customs of the country. Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric, believes that every company should apply for good citizenship, but all companies should face the reality that before contributing the society with money, businesses need to make a profit. The company and stakeholders significantly affect each other. Stakeholders are the owners of the company, so the firm has a fiduciary duty to put their needs first to increase value for them. For instance, Costco makes sure that its Corporate Social Responsibility tackles the account of stakeholder’s concerns (Greenspan, 2017). However, before Costco can take action, making a profit by issuing a policy that anyone who wants to shop at the store must buy a membership for an annual cost of 60 dollars for its lowest level of membership to do so, and still the revenue of membership continues to grow and it takes a significant part to Costco’s bottom line. Moreover, Costco’s brand, Kirkland Signature, earns a higher profit than other retailers’ brands because there are fewer middlemen involved in the production (Greenspan, 2017). This is how Costco could sell at a low price to customers and still make a profit. By earning a profit, Costco can prioritize their employee as the most significant stakeholders, the company provides health care, high salaries of an average of 15 dollars per hour, various kinds of insurance, and even gym membership. The company not only takes care of its employees but also their families get all the health care services. Costco believes that keeping the employees happy can directly influence the performance of the company, as a result, Costco has the lowest employee turnover in retail (Costcobenefits.com, 2019).

Several companies believe that there is no conflict between making profits and acting sustainably will increase the profits in the long term by adopting a rigorous approach to CSR. For instance, Marks and Spencer believe that Corporate Social Responsibility fundamental part of the business, that this is more than just an ethical thing to do but an effective strategic objective that establishes fair workplaces and accomplishes step changes in environmental improvement. M&S has become one of the most sustainable retailers in the world. A few years ago, they launched a CSR initiative called ” Plan A”, the company is, for instance, sourcing sustainable packaging in Sweden. Cooperating with the local fishing suppliers and the conservation of marine habitat, setting up eco-factories in the UK, Turkey, and China, and establishing fair pay standards in countries like Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Bangladesh (Beavis, 2012). Plan A has seen a fundamental change to M&S, improving the company’s image as a consistently highly-rated organization in the Ethical Trading Initiative, meanwhile, the project also delivered 70 million pounds in net benefits (Beavis, 2012).

Businesses cannot decide what is in society’s interest, but there is an ethical bottom line to society and the need to operate within the law. However, firms that see making profits as their only goal could collapse. According to Time magazine (Lewis, 2016), Oxy, a local subsidiary of British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser, produced a toxic disinfectant for humidifiers that was sold in South Korea in 2001, harmed more than 6000 victims, including 1328 people who suffered lung damage and died after contacting the product (Lee, 2018). The victims required $9 million of compensation from the manufacturer of the product, which was mostly families with children, pregnant women, and the elderly using humidifiers in Korea’s dry weather (BBC, 2016). 25 percent of the victims are children under 4 who now become ventilator-dependent patients, who need to rely on machines to help them breathe and have to suffer the rest of their lives just because of this company. The product was on the market from 2001 to 2011 and it was later discovered that the product skipped necessary toxicity teats before the product was launched in 2001 (Lewis, 2016). Before the report from the Korean Centre for Disease Control, Oxy insisted that their products were safe to use and had nothing to do with the damage to the lungs.

The company’s priority indeed is to pursue the interests of shareholders, and social responsibility should be subject to the law and the ethical codes as determined by the culture of the society. What CSR does is to improve the company’s image, sales, and profitability, this is often seen as an ethical approach to a company’s bottom line, but an ethical code is that it needs to be followed no matter the cost. The main function of the business is to provide service and goods to consumers, however, behaving ethically is the main goal that all the firms should follow.

Reference

1. BBC (2016). Reckitt Benckiser says sorry for deaths. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36185549 [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
2. Beavis, L. (2012). M&S: doing the right thing leads to change – for the better. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/best-practice-exchange/marks-and-spencer-change-better [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
3. Costcobenefits.com (2019). https://www.costco.com/employee-website.html [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
4. Friedman M. (2007) The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. In: Zimmerli W.C., Holzinger M., Richter K. (eds) Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
5. GREENSPAN, R. (2017). Costco Wholesale’s Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis – Panmore Institute. [online] Panmore Institute. Available at: http://panmore.com/costco-wholesale-stakeholders-csr-analysis [Accessed 15 Feb. 2020].
6. Lee, C. (2018). [Newsmaker] Korean victims of toxic disinfectant ask the public to boycott Strepsils. [online] Koreaherald.com. Available at: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180619000788 [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
7. Lewis, S. (2016). South Korean Victims of Toxic Disinfectant File Lawsuit. [online] Time. Available at: https://time.com/4338272/oxy-dehumidifier-disinfectant-reckitt-benckiser-korea/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
8. Reference
9. BBC (2016). Reckitt Benckiser says sorry for deaths. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36185549 [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
10. Beavis, L. (2012). M&S: doing the right thing leads to change – for the better. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/best-practice-exchange/marks-and-spencer-change-better [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
11. Costcobenefits.com (2019). https://www.costco.com/employee-website.html [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
12. Friedman M. (2007) The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. In: Zimmerli W.C., Holzinger M., Richter K. (eds) Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].
13. GREENSPAN, R. (2017). Costco Wholesale’s Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis – Panmore Institute. [online] Panmore Institute. Available at: http://panmore.com/costco-wholesale-stakeholders-csr-analysis [Accessed 15 Feb. 2020].
14. Lee, C. (2018). [Newsmaker] Korean victims of toxic disinfectant ask the public to boycott Strepsils. [online] Koreaherald.com. Available at: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180619000788 [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
15. Lewis, S. (2016). South Korean Victims of Toxic Disinfectant File Lawsuit. [online] Time. Available at: https://time.com/4338272/oxy-dehumidifier-disinfectant-reckitt-benckiser-korea/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].

Essay on Lululemon Social Responsibility

Lululemon was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1998 by Chip Wilson. Lululemon is a Canadian athletic wear retailer, specifically yoga apparel. They sold their first pair of yoga pants that year and have immensely grown since then. In 2013, Lululemon appeared on Fortune’s Fastest Growing Companies list. They have also received an immense amount of media coverage, both good and bad. In 2014 Lululemon opened their first store in Europe. Lululemon is a part of The Sustainable Apparel Coalition. This is a part of their Corporate social responsibility, keeping track of the environmental impacts the company produces. Lululemon is positioned as stylish and high-quality items, however, there have been several controversies.

Calvin McDonald is the Chief Executive Officer of Lululemon. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Lululemon. According to Business Insider, Calvin has a proven track record of helping large organizations improve by improving how brands engage with customers on all platforms. Calvin has previously served as president and CEO of Sephora for five years. Calvin has received his MBA from the University of Toronto.

Stuart Haselden is the Chief Operating Officer and EVP, International at Lululemon He has experience in executive leadership for 15 years at companies such as Saxs and J Crew. At these companies, Stuart held positions such as strategic planner, principal accounting officer, and vice president. Stuart serves on the advisory board of the School of Human Sciences at Auburn University.

Celeste Burgoyne is the Executive Vice President of Lululemon. She has been with Lullulemon since 2006. Before being promoted to Executive Vice President, she served as Senior Vice President where she was responsible for overseeing retail in the United States and Canada. She has had prior top management experience with other companies. Before joining Lululemon, she held a Vice President position. Celeste has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego

Sun Choe is the Chief Product Officer at Lululemon. Sun is in charge of the design and merchandising teams. Sun joined Lululemon in 2016 as Senior Vice President. As a Senior, Sun was involved in revamping the merchandising and designing. Before Lululemon, she served as Chief Global Product Merchant at Marc Jacobs. She has also worked for companies including West Elm, Madewell, and Urban Outfitters. Sun has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park.

Patrick Guido is the Chief Financial Officer. He joined Lululemon in 2018. Patrick has more than 15 years of experience. He has led several companies within their finance departments. Before joining Lululemon, he served as Treasurer and Vice President for VF Corporation. Patrick has his MBA from Vanderbilt University and holds a BS from Georgetown University.

Essay on Uber Social Responsibility

1. Executive summary

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves the known responsibility for economic, social, and environmental implications that corporations may have through performing business-related activities. Companies must conduct their business in a way that ensures it is ethical and in consideration of human rights. Uber is a popular mobile application that allows individuals to quickly get rides around the city without relying on public transport. While Uber is known as a transnational success, it can pose many unethical issues for users and other companies. Uber has a severely scandalous past involving unethical technological applications and services to help obtain their goal of becoming “the number one ride-sharing app”. Uber has demonstrated their corporate responsibility in sustainability by providing the option of ‘Carpooling’ and implementing the ‘clean air plan‘.

2. Company overview

The popular ride-sharing app known as Uber was founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garett Camp. Established in San Francisco, Uber advertises itself as a convenient, inexpensive, and safe taxi service. Passengers can hire a driver to pick them up from their current location to their desired destination by tapping a button on their mobile device. The other side of Uber is focused on the drivers. Drivers are classified as independent contractors, rather than employees, which allows them to be their boss and have very flexible hours. At the end of the ride, passengers are to rate their experience, which consequently motivates drivers to provide a safe, smooth, and enjoyable trip. Uber currently operates in 678+ cities in 78+ countries and has a value of over $82 billion.

3. Unethical business practice

Uber has purposefully employed itself in using unethical technological applications and services to benefit their overall business. Previous self-made applications used by Uber include, ‘ Ripley ‘,‘ Greyball ‘ and ‘ Surfcam ‘. Ripley was a secret system used by Uber that disrupted government investigations. For two years, this system allowed a remote team to lock, shut off, and change passwords of accounts that Uber feared were under suspicion by foreign investigators. Uber claims this application to merely be a normal safety precaution, “ security procedures in place to protect corporate and customer data “. Another secretive app that evaded authorities was ‘Greyball’. First used in 2014 in Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, Australia, China, South Korea, and Italy, the app falsified the location of drivers, by showing icons of cars nearby however no one would show up. The app was able to gain access to credit card information, geolocation data, social media accounts, and other data points that allowed it to identify any government authorities who may be a part of the sting operations. Surfcam was a ‘ secret spyware program ‘ developed in Sydney Australia by a rogue employee. This information-gathering software allowed Uber, Australia to gain an advantage in a local competition known as ‘GoCatch’. The app gave Uber Australia insight into all the competitor cars online, as well as the eliminated data such as the car registration and name. Uber then used this information to create competitive employment offers which lured ‘GoCatch’ drivers from working for the start-up. The end goal for Surfcam was to ensure ‘Gocatch’ would lose customers from poaching, consequently having fewer drivers, and in turn ‘Gocatch’ would be eliminated from the ride-sharing industry. The implication of all these secretive and unethical applications directly impacts other industries. Other competing companies, such as ‘GoCatch’ and ‘Lyft’ have been permanently affected as their business has been put at a major disadvantage, which may be impossible to recover from. Those who have invested their money and time into these failing companies may experience mental issues or are in a financial crisis. While it is normal for companies to be better than other companies, the method that Uber used to become a better company is utterly unethical and unacceptable. Hiding information from authorities, hacking into other companies’ information for their gain, and misleading individuals are unjustifiable actions that have everlasting implications.

4. Corporate social responsibility

The transnational company known as Uber has demonstrated their corporate social responsibility, specifically in the environmental and sustainability aspects. Uber’s goal is to make every journey shared, through a new strategy called ‘UberPool’, along with implementing ‘ the clean air plan’. By using Uberpool and sharing rides, people are moving in fewer, fuller, and more efficient cars. This strategy matches passengers with others who are also traveling in the same direction. This saves fuel, benefits the environment, and increases transportation system efficiency. Ridesharing encourages the development of hybrid and electric vehicles, which will consequently reduce carbon emissions and improve worldwide air quality. It also allows the passengers to share the cost, benefiting the social aspect of the business. This strategy is very ethical and environmentally beneficial as it also saves resources worldwide. In 2017, there were 25 million riders in the express pool and Uberpool trips. The cities would have had an extra 82 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 314 million vehicle miles if these passengers had driven by themselves or in private Ubers. ‘ The clean air plan’ is an environmental strategy Uber has proposed to reduce air pollution, specifically in London. The end goal is to convert every car on the Uber app in London to be fully electric by 2025. Due to this desired goal, uber has placed a clean air fee of 15p per mile that will be put towards helping drivers upgrade to fully electric vehicles. Both these from the surface level are ethical and do consider the implications they may pose on the environment, but these strategies also boost Uber economically and socially. The business will boost, as they are now able to advertise themselves are environmentally friendly, which will force more individuals to use Uber, or Uberpool rather than private or public transport — therefore making these strategies effective in achieving corporate social responsibility because all factors are captured.

5. Conclusion

Uber has a suspicious and questionable past, as they were involved in many unethical practices such as hacking and poaching applications. However, it has been effective in achieving corporate social responsibility, especially through the factor of environmental sustainability. Overall Uber has had a severely unethical journey but is on the way to redemption through environmental efforts, which consequently benefit social and economic factors.

Essay on Toms Social Responsibility

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasing norm that is being adopted by companies to enhance organizational behavior. Historically the concept was developed as a business approach that contributes to the sustainable development of society by delivering economic, social, and environmental benefits to all stakeholders (Leite & Padget). As a result, corporate social responsibility activities constitute an important part of doing business ethically. CSR is a concept that begins when a company starts to exist. This is because companies must behave ethically and responsibly by performing their social duties just as individuals are expected to perform social duties (Leite and Padget, 2011). Socially responsible companies have a set of policies and programs that they integrate into their business operations and make it part of their decision-making process. However, it is also important to note that corporate social responsibility is not just about the companies giving to society but also the benefits that emanate from such a relationship which include improved financial performance.

Blake Mycoskie, who traveled to Argentina in 2006, founded TOMS. Based on Hesaw, children going to school without shoes or wearing Alpargatas, Blake thought he could be in favor of the lives of children living in third-world countries (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland, 2018). As a way to entice potential buyers to buy a product, Mycoskiebegan not only builds a brand and creates a cause with the help of a celebrity, but also tells the story of why the company was first founded. “He founded the company based on the One for One’ promise, and donated a pair of shoes for each shoe sold.” (Thompson, et al. 2018). The biggest impact on TOMS’s growth is that the company has particularly benefited the company’s interests. ‘A separate entity called ‘ Friends for TOMS’ focused on philanthropy and donations,’ the latest asset report in 2011 was only $130,000 (Thompson, et al. 2018). This is in line with the components of a corporate social responsibility strategy: “Support, philanthropy, community service engagement, and activities to improve quality of life around the world” was done by TOMS and Blake Mycoskie (Thompson, et al. 2018).

Mycoskie’s strategy as a small business was to use social responsibility and social media to tell the story of how he entered the footwear industry. Mycoskie didn’t have as much capital as its rivals Nike and Skechers. Mycoskie leveraged social media to reach over 2 million followers on Facebook and over 2 million additional users on Twitter (Peteraf et al., 2014). Mycoskie’s Giving Trips program was a way for American consumers to personally travel across countries to deliver shoes to poor families. Customers were randomly chosen by TOMS’ staff to participate in donation tours, and journalists often accompanied these customers when traveling to multiple countries. TOMS Shoes Company has benefited from the Giving Trips program through the social media of journalists and consumers (Peteraf, et al., 2014). TOMS’ dedication to humanity, a member of the American Apparel and Footwear Association and contributing to the Environmental and Social Responsibility Committee, has attracted consumer attention (TOMS, n.d.).

For the company to successfully utilize the same concept as TOM did, it must be willing to lose money to make money. The LEGO Group is one of the most notable examples of how social responsibility can be an amazing asset for a well-known brand. Although their dedication to social impact has been rather recent (the 2014 Greenpeace Video pressured toy makers to end their 50-year partnership with Shell Global due to plans to train in the Arctic), the scope of their efforts is a Danish company. It’s a shining example of the broader impact of CSR. The company was recently voted one of the best examples of social responsibility by the Reputation Institute and ranked second in the Reputation Institute’s RepTrak 100, which lists the most highly rated companies in the world. In addition to partnerships with organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, LEGO is working to reduce its carbon footprint and is committed to 100% renewable energy capacity by 2030. LEGO’s Sustainable Materials Center is currently working to find sustainable alternatives to materials and packaging. LEGO has also publicly committed to high standards of ethical business practices and human rights for its employees.

TOMs has a supplier code of conduct that guides the conduct of its suppliers. Three of the ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility principles that guide its supply conduct include minimum working age, wages and benefits, and workplace health and safety and environment (Thompson, et al. 2018). Minimum Working Child labor is strictly prohibited. Supplier’s employees must be at least 15 years old, and at least the minimum age to be employed by local laws in your country (Thompson, et al. 2018). This also applies to all subcontractors. This principle impacts suppliers positively as they will not have any lawsuits filed against them for employing child labor. This has a positive impact on TOMs as it reflects how the company is socially responsible.

Wages and Benefits- Supplier’s employees are entitled to a full-time weekly compensation sufficient to meet basic requirements and provide some discretionary income. Suppliers must pay at least the minimum wage or the appropriate general wage, whichever is higher, comply with all legal requirements for wages, and provide ancillary benefits required by law or contract if compensation does not meet the basic requirements of workers and provides some discretionary income, each supplier must work with TOMS to take appropriate steps to gradually realize the level of compensation (Thompson, et al. 2018). This positively impacts suppliers because if employees are compensated fairly, they will be motivated to work and this increases productivity.

Workplace Health, Safety and Environment-Supplier shall provide a safe and healthy workplace environment to prevent accidents and injuries to health arising from, related to, or arising from, during work or as a result of Supplier Facility operations. Suppliers are expected to take responsible steps to mitigate the negative impact of their workplace on the environment (Thompson, et al. 2018). This positively impacts suppliers in that when companies engage in activities such as environmental sustainability they reduce costs in the long run that can be in the form of penalties.

Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations. The concept of sustainability consists of three pillars: economy, environment, and society, and is informally referred to as interest, planet, and people. To minimize environmental impact, TOMS pursued a variety of sustainable practices, including providing vegan shoes, incorporating recycled bottles into products, and printing with soy ink (Thompson, et al. 2018). TOMS also blends organic canvas and recycled plastic to create comfortable and durable shoes. By utilizing natural hemp and organic cotton, TOMS has eliminated the use of pesticides and pesticides that adversely affect the environment (Thompson, et al. 2018). In addition, TOMS has supported several environmental groups such as Surfers Against Sewage, a campaign to raise awareness about excessive sewage emissions in the UK. Officially, TOMS was a member of the Textile Exchange, an organization dedicated to textile sustainability and environmental protection. These actions are consistent with sustainability because the company is meeting the needs of the children in need who need shoes without compromising the ability of the environment to meet the needs of future generations

However, the sole owner of TOM’s business is not restricted by law, so if Mycoskie is unable to pay its creditors, personal assets must also be liquidated. Increasing costs for supply, materials, and wages will account for 70% of manufacturing costs by 2020, so management can outsource to third-party logistics excluding operations (Peteraf et al., 2014). However, if the outsourced suppliers fail to abide by the code of conduct, Tom’s practices might not look sustainable.

The company is built on the promise of “One for One,” donating shoes on par with shoe purchases. The Slogan encapsulated Mycoski’s vision and corporate commitment. This is because the company gives a pair of shoes to the community for every shoe that has been bought. However, the CEO admitted that the company focuses on expansion and that it has forgotten its vital mission of using business to improve lives (The Plan B Project, 2016).

Ford is one of less than 30 companies worldwide to receive Water Security Category A in recognition of its efforts to manage water sustainably. Since 2000, the company has been working to conserve water through its Global Water Initiative, reducing its operational water use by 62.5%, saving 10.4 billion gallons of water (Mitch, 2019). Ford is meeting its goal of reducing water use by nearly three-quarters by 2020 with a long-term goal of not using drinking water in its vehicle manufacturing process. This shows that Ford is committed to environmental sustainability which helps to meet the needs of future generations just as TOMS is doing.

Sustainability Argumentative Essay

In the last few decades ‘environmental degradation and global warming are the most bothersome factors that need to be resolved as soon as possible. If significant steps are not taken in time it leads the world toward a very fatal future. Several factors are aggravating this phenomenon, some of which are natural and others man-made.

There are essential three characteristic variables that can result from climate change: volcanic eruption, variety in the Sun’s Energy, and movement of the crustal plate. During Volcanic eruptions, a large amount of carbon dioxide,aerosols, ash, dust, and other unwanted substances are released into the air. These further exaggerate the greenhouse effect blocking the heat and prevent it from reflecting from the earth to the outer atmosphere thus, trapping more heat and resulting in global warming. Moreover, the sun radiates more heat during active periods of sunspots. Because the sunspots are suppressing heat, the heat flows to surrounding areas causing these regions to be hotter than normal. While more sunspots may contribute to a warmer global climate, fewer sunspots appear to be associated with a cooler global climate. About 300 years ago, there was a period of reduced solar activity. This was called the Little Ice Age. As tectonic plates move over geological timescales, land masses are carried along to different positions and latitudes. These changes affect global circulation patterns of air and ocean water and the climate of the continents. Therefore, all these factors prove that climate change is not man-made and has no relevance to sustainability.

However, there is also another side of the coin, which can’t be neglected which accuses rapid urbanization and industrialization as the main culprit of climate change. Human activities such as rapidly using natural resources, exploiting fossil fuels and urbanization have led Earth to a disastrous situation. More industries making more machinery which in turn uses more fuels to run and exploits fossil reserves and also emits pollution hence resulting in global warming. With the population increase the need for residential urban land also increased hence builders deforestation at a greater rate to make buildings. Also demand for machinery that runs on fuels and emits pollution increases such as cars, air conditioners, and refrigerators. So, it’s quite clear that all these above-mentioned factors state that human intervention is a vital aspect behind global warming and climate change.

Sustainability and waste management are exceptionally fundamental for battling global warming and climate change. A few steps ought to be taken, which are too known as waste management progression:

• Source reduction: the best technique of waste management is not to create it. Avoiding to use of unnecessary goods and single-use goods can help a lot. Some materials like plastic bottles or bags are used for a few minutes but then stay in the environment for more than a century before they decompose. So, these should be avoided.
• Recycling and composting; The most preferred approach to waste management is to not create it in the first place. This can involve the choice to avoid unnecessary consumption of goods and services, and it can also include purposefully reducing the inputs that go into the creation of products through source reduction. Such source reduction efforts can include the decreased usage of virgin materials and energy conservation, as well as the creation of less pollution and toxicity of waste. Take, for example, the case of aluminum. The equivalent of 60.2 billion aluminum was recycled and reused in the US in 2013, representing a 66.7% recovery rate.
• energy waste; The process of waste-to-energy (WTE) involves the capture of energy from trash. This is accomplished through a variety of approaches, including waste incineration, pluralization, anaerobic, digestion, gasification, and landfill gas recovery.

Treatment and disposal; Disposal is the final option in the waste hierarchy, however, a key component of integrated waste management. Landfills are the most common approach to disposal, with the design, operation, and end-of-life requirements strictly controlled. In the U.S., landfills must follow strict standards established by the EPA and are typically regulated at the state, tribal, or local level.

Knowledge management system; A knowledge management system (KMS) is a system for applying and using knowledge management principles. These include data-driven objectives around business productivity, a competitive business model, business intelligence analysis, and more. (fall.k.R1994)

As KMS’s definition already has mentioned it helps to improve the productivity of organizations, and if all employees are well trained with it then it reduces the wastage of all materials, hence it directly encourages sustainability.

Sustainability is the ability to exist constantly. It can defined as the process of people maintaining change in a balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. ( Cavagnaro,2008)

Quality management is the act of overseeing all activities and tasks needed to maintain a desired level of excellence. This includes the determination of a quality policy, creating and implementing quality planning and assurance, and quality control and quality improvement.

Total Quality Management is a combined effort of both top-level management as well as employees of an organization to formulate effective strategies and policies to deliver high-quality products that not only meet but also exceed customer satisfaction. Total Quality Management enables employees to focus on quality rather than quantity and strive hard to excel in whatever they do. According to total quality management, customer feedback and expectations are essential when it comes to formulating and implementing new strategies to deliver superior products than competitors and eventually yield higher revenues and profits for the organization.

To embrace customer expectations, an organization should implement these five principles of TQM’;

Producing quality work (the first time) means quality is built into the processes for producing products or providing services, and The three pillars of corporate sustainability – economic, social, and environmental – work together to help organizations strive for more sustainable practices. Businesses need to move from an outdated sense of fast profits at the expense of the environment to a more mutual interdependence and eco-innovation. Adopting sustainable practices not only helps the environment – corporations have proven that sustainability initiatives lead to an improved brand image, reduced costs, happier shareholders, increased productivity, and countless more benefits. Sustainability is here to stay.

Measures are taken to ensure the processes work every time. Focusing on the customer involves designing products or services that meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. This involves the product itself, its functionality, attributes, convenience, and even how the information about a product is received by a client.

By having a strategic approach to improvement, processes are developed and tested to ensure the product or service’s quality. This also involves making sure suppliers offer quality supplies needed to produce products.

Improving continuously means always analyzing the way work is being performed to determine if more effective or efficient ways are possible, making improvements, and striving for excellence all the time. (Schiffrin, A.,1996) By improving standardized programs and processes, continuous improvement aims to eliminate waste. Continuous improvement was first practiced in Japan world world after World War 2nd influenced in part by American business and quality-management teachers, and most notably as part of Toyota. It has since spread throughout the world and has been applied to environments outside of business and productivity. Moreover, Coca-Cola and Leyland are another company which has implemented this strategy to attain sustainability.

There are six important principles of sustainability, and without applying these it’s very hard to gain success in implementing sustainability;

• Maintain and, if possible, enhance, its residents’ quality of life
• Enhance local economic vitality
• Promote social and intergeneration equity
• Maintain and if possible, enhance the quality of the environment
• Incorporate and corporate disaster resilience and mitigation into its decisions and actions
• Use a consensus-building, participatory process when making decisions

Therefore, the three pillars of corporate sustainability – economic, social, and environmental – work together to help organizations strive for more sustainable practices. Businesses need to move from an outdated sense of fast profits at the expense of the environment to a more mutual interdependence and eco-innovation. Adopting sustainable practices not only helps the environment – corporations have proven that sustainability initiatives lead to an improved brand image, reduced costs, happier shareholders, increased productivity, and countless more benefits. Sustainability is here to stay.

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9. Schiffrin, A., Colle, E. and Belmonte, M., 1980. Improved control in diabetes with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion. Diabetes Care, 3(6), pp.643-649.

Essay on Zappos Customer Service Case Study

Customer service is the most important aspect of operations in Zappos. Moreover, the video showed us how critical the service quality is to Zappos’ customers. Employees are always motivated to answer customer calls and keep them happy all the time. That is because the company brings up the best out of its employees by providing them with the optimal training and cultural fit techniques. Zappos claims to have 24/7 service by telephone, unlike vendors who hide their customer support pages. Employees need to know how the company works to serve their customers efficiently. Customer service ensures that customers are always satisfied with their orders, as well as retain them. Another perk of their service is free shipping for the products and returns if need be. The service allows the customers to be rest assured that the products are conveniently replaced in case they are dissatisfied with them. A 365-day grace period is given to the customers allowing them to return their products at any time.

Moreover, the company also has an attractive return policy (ZapReturns), which allows customers to order a pair of shoes and multiple sizes of the same style!! Then, the policy allows the customer to pick up the ideal size and return the rest of the pairs free of charge (YouTube, 2008).

Client experience is all the involvements that a client has with a brand, an item, or organization with that brand or item or organization during the association with the client. Customer experience nowadays involves a broad range of channels and steps— from pre-buying: awareness, insight, fascination, and interaction to buying, and then to post-buying: using, developing, and promoting. The range of consumer satisfaction is more limited. Consumer satisfaction is a measure of how an organization’s products and administrations meet or exceed customer expectations. Hence, customer satisfaction can enable the organization to point out where its client experience is doing well and where it needs to be fixed. Also, consumer satisfaction can assist the business to better understand if clients are satisfied with the product. Thus, customer experience and customer satisfaction are not very similar, even though they are personally connected and both are critical to income growth. On the other hand, customer service is defined as the process of taking good care of the client’s expectations by providing helpful and high-quality services and assistance before, in between, and after the customer’s needs are met. The client experience implies the total of all client’s encounters and interactions with the business. The goal of customer service is to increase the level of customer satisfaction and give assistance and advice for a certain product or service to clients (Morgan, 2018).

1. Zappos invests most of its budget in customer service rather than in high-cost marketing campaigns.
2. Zappos adapts customer customer-centric techniques to enhance customer experience.
3. The company offers unlimited 24/7 customer service calls for any kind of assistance from shipment carriers to exchange requests.
4. Most of their time is consumed on spotting and tracking customer’s behavior and attitude to establish a more emotional connection with them.
5. The easiness and simplicity of the Zappos website play a major role in strengthening the relationship between the clients and the company.
6. Cpselling is not included in their marketing strategy (Warren, 2018).

Zappos integrates an interesting processing system for online orders. As a result, it outlines the most important processes to identify customer experiences and allow for improvements to be made in the future. Figure 1 illustrates the end-to-end process of the ordering process to the delivering process, which on average takes 3 hours in total; however, customers receive the products in the span of a 24-48-hour window.

After going through the above questions, it appears to be that Zappos is considered one of the role models when it comes to inspiring and positive company culture. In such wise, several points will be listed below suggesting how to apply these lessons in the UAE/GCC countries:

1. State your core values, manage them, and train your employees about the company’s culture.
2. Hiring new people not only for their skills but also for their level of happiness and sticking to the standards.
3. Choosing committed and dedicated employees: those whose insights for work are beyond a short-term paycheck and who can think outside the box.
4. Cheering up the employees to be creative and innovative.
5. Reaching the ultimate excellence in customer service (Pearson, 2012).

References

1. YouTube. (2008). Zappos Company Culture – The Zappos Family on Nightline. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFyW5s_7ZWc [Accessed 3 Aug. 2019].
2. Morgan, B. (2018, March 05). Customer Experience Vs. Customer Service Vs. Customer Care. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2018/03/05/customer-experience-vs-customer-service-vs-customer-care/#150186634167
3. Warren, R. (2018, August 30). 10 Things To Know About Zappos Customer Service. Retrieved from https://www.zappos.com/about/stories/customer-service-things-to-know
4. Pearson, B. (2012, November 21). Delivering loyalty: Ten lessons learned From Zappos.com. Retrieved from https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/delivering-loyalty-ten-lessons-learned-from-zapposcom/

Essay on Rhetorical Analysis of Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is an American show host, actress, media executive, television producer, and philanthropist. She became the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, which lasted for 25 years and gained huge popularity. From then she never looked back. In mid 90s she became CEO of Harpo Studios currently known as Harpo Production. She is the publisher of a magazine known as O: The Oprah Magazine. She introduced her network OWN (Oprah Winfrey’s Network) in 2008. She is the Queen of all media. Her communication skills are one that built her to this level from starting till now. Her talks, views, and thoughts are so influential that the term The Oprah Effect was coined.

Oprah has won many awards in various fields. In 2013, she was awarded with Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama and also doctorate degrees from Duke and Harvard. She was also part of Barak Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. She is the most influential speaker in the present day. Many of her followers want her to be the presidential candidate for the 2020 US elections.

Communication

Communication is a way or process to share or convey your thoughts and words. It is a process that creates a link between speaker and listener and vice versa. Communication can be of various types. The method of conveying a message can be by talking, writing, sign language, or gestures. Communication is done by all animals in different ways. As humans are more evolved to transfer their information or feelings, they use multiple types of communication.

Business Communication:

To grow and manage a business, effective communication skills are a major requirement of today’s era. In many colleges and universities Business Communication is being taught and learned for a better and more successful business environment. In the world of competition and betterment, the one with better communication skills has the advantage.

Following are the different types and forms of Business Communication:

1. Collaboration
2. Public Speaking
3. Listening
4. Nonverbal Communication
5. Written Communication

1. Collaborative Communication:

It is a type of communication that is very important for every kind of group discussion and also for an organization. Collaboration involves the participation and listening of all the members. Their views are kept into consideration and discussed further for a better conclusion. Oprah Winfrey owns a production and magazine house, she always takes care of the people working and getting new ideas from co-workers. For the success of a business collaboration, everyone is important and nobody will be left behind. She introduces one-to-one meetings and discussions where an understanding of the environment and new innovative ideas are born. For better growth and success of an organization collaborative communication is one of the most important tools. This not only benefits the company but also the individuals to increase their skills. Everyone has different skills and abilities, by collaboration interrelated skilled people are grouped. This is a way to keep everyone satisfied and get your work done where everybody is happy. Oprah Winfrey did not cover the path of success alone but with the help of all employees of her organization. Usually, in many situations, people tend to make decisions based on emotions, which can alter and effects the results. But group discussion and taking care of every individual personally makes those emotions out and a better decision can be produced which can benefit everyone. Oprah Winfrey has this special ability to make connections with everyone.

2. Public Speaking:

Public speaking is the process of speaking or expressing in front of a gathering irrespective of the number of people present. It can be done on an open-stage platform or in an auditorium. Oprah Winfrey is one of the best public speakers in the world. Her speech at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards is considered one of the world’s best speeches delivered. Anxiety is the iggest barrier otothe public speaking. Any public speaker must have a few qualities to make him different from others and Winfrey is one of them. She can handle any number of public very well and smoothly, clearly express her views, and control the audience. Even many people asked her to stand for the Presidential candidate in the 2020 elections. Oprah started her show in 1986 and since then she never looked back, today she is considered and best orator, and the only thing she has gotten over these years is success and her name. The following characteristics are how Miss Winfrey is considered as best:

Storytelling: Oprah always introduces stories in her speeches to make them more exciting and grab the attention of the audience. She shares her own stories and also of others. This is a great way to build the interest of the audience and not get them bored as everyone knows, who does not like stories and if they are really exciting? Stories stimulate the mind and force people to create imagination to feel the stories and connect with them. It is an old way but always works and Oprah knows how to use it. A short, meaningful, and relevant story adds understanding to our message.

Make it personal and Keep it real: She always connects with people and explains her points so well. By taking an example from early life the audience emotionally connects with her. This makes the public thinkdeeplyp about it and feels it. This shows an insight to people who she is. This is the art of public speaking to ensure that everyone can feel what a person is saying. Some orators to do so tries to make false stories and non-happened acts, therefore being unable to connect themselves with others. It is important to keep all this real so that both the speaker as well as the audience can relate to and enjoy it. It is not a source of entertainment that the speaker has to act to impress, it is real and to the point. Oprah delivers so intense, actual, and with so much passion that no one can be left unaffected. Content must be clear and meaningful. If it is real the speaker doesn’t have to fake it and can naturally control the crowd.

Repeat it and use phrases: This is the way to use the slang, lines, sayings, or wordings of some famous personality, novels, journals, books, or anything. To make your speech and interaction exciting it helps people to understand and sparks up the situation. Using a line from their favorite novel or author makes people more willing to listen to what the speaker is saying. On the other side using specific words knocks people’s minds as the speaker tries to put pressure on them. For example: Oprah in her speech “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up.” Here she tried to put impact on these lines. She always uses these types of words to repeat, when the audience leaves for their home they always remember these types of lines for a longer time. Also at that time it produces a different type of energy and makes them more active to listen to the speaker.

Clarity: It is the most important part as your message must be clear and powerful. After all a speaker tries to explain and express his ideas, if these are not clear and the speaker himself looks confused then how can the audience rely on him? Clarity shows that who the orator is and what he wants to explain and say. Oprah Winfrey during her interviews and show always be clear about the objective she is saying and that makes her different from others.

3. Listening:

Communication is not limited to expressing, talking, delivering, or saying something to an individual or a group. Communication is also related to listening and understanding others who are speaking. Communication is a task between the listener and speaker. Listening is also as essential as speaking, as all knows a good listener is a good speaker. Oprah Winfrey being a great speaker is also a good listener. She allows the other to speak and listen quietly and respectfully. A good listener creates an environment where everyone feels comfortable to speak up and valued. Oprah pays attention to people of her show and other speakers as to what they are saying. Being a good listener Oprah tries to not interrupt the speaker before he completes the sentence or what he wants to say. Being a good listener a person has to maintain body language which shows that you are listening and not avoiding the other person. Expressions show a lot of things, if a listener appears judgmental then the speaker loses confidence and is unable to deliver his message. If the audience is not interested in listening it becomes hard for the speaker to speak. Miss Winfrey knows much more and makes connections with others; she makes others feel comfortable and speaks openly about their views. She acts like a friend, a neighbor, someone who wants to listen to you. These characteristics make her one of the best communicators both ways as a speaker and a listener.

4. Non-Verbal Communication:

Communication is not just limited to verbal components it also includes nonverbal components like expressions, body language, gestures, attitude, etc. Nonverbal messages lead to the expression of emotions. A person can lie but his gestures, body language and gestures cannot. Oprah Winfrey is very famous for her nonverbal communication skills. She includes the very best of her expressions and gestures in her speech and way of communication. These cues are ambiguous, continuous, and more reliable. A speaker with a poker face hardly connects with other people.

Nonverbal communication is majorly categorized into three areas:

I. Paralanguage:

This type of study focuses on how a person says what he says. It includes voice quality, volume, rate of speech, pitch, pronunciation, and rhythm. Oprah Winfrey impresses everyone with her way of speaking. She always is very clear and a rapid change of tone is seen while she speaks depending on what topic is seen. On some points raising her voice pitch while on another lowering it down. The speed of King is smooth so that she seems relaxed to the audience The rate of the speech is moderate neither too slow nor too fast which shows, that she knows what she talking about and is already prepared for it which is a good thing. Pronunciation is a very important part of paralanguage as it’s important that other people can understand what we are saying. When it feels like the moment is slowing down she raises her volume which is an element to get the attention of the listeners. Her rhythm is also quite smooth and low-pitched which shows that the person is confident and has knowledge about what she is discussing. Laughing, sighing, and crying while talking shows that the orator wants to deliver some meaning. Suddenly increasing or change in these characteristics shows that something is not right or the speaker wants special attention from the audience for a particular message. One more major point is how you deliver your words, do you stammer or be fluent? And nobody saw Miss Oprah Winfrey losing her continuity.

II. Kinesics:

Human beings cannot communicate without any expressions, body movements, eye movements, and gestures. Kinesics is a study that deals with it. It includes postures, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements.

Postures: Body posture tells a lot about the attitude and personality of a person. When a person walks in we start to make an image of that person in our mind before even communicating with him. Oprah Winfrey shows a bold and confident personality from her posture. While talking or listening she shows great interest in the communication. She always sits calmly with her arms relaxed which shows a she wants to say she is confident. If a person is in fear or aggressive the way he stands and sits changes accordingly. Insecure or nervous people try to look down, stand in a slouched posture, or are usually seen biting their nails. A feared or anxious person stands with trembling feet or hands. Oprah while delivering speeches or hosting shows seems quite confident standing straight with arms in front and head up. If someone wants to show their superiority they look straight to you standing quite strong or leaning over a table or something, just like a boss in an office. Not only this Oprah always seems relaxed and tries others to be as relaxed and comfortable with her. So that there is no hesitation and the person will be encouraged to talk freely and reply comfortably.

Gestures: Gestures are particular body movements, especially of the hand or head which indicate a specific message or idea. It is an important aspect of non-verbal communication as in daily life we use various types of gestures. Nodding head, Thumbs up, OK sign, waving hand, joining hands, and many more. In communication, it is important to use different types of gestures. Gestures show how appealing you are and it adds meaning to your emotions. Oprah Winfrey is known for her gestures. While speaking hand movements to explain her is the most common example. Also while listening joining hands and nodding head regularly. Different gestures have different meanings. Even the same gestures in different places or countries have the same meaning. Even sign language is based on gestures. Oprah while talking or listening uses her hands and head quite well which creates a positive impact on audiences as it looks like she is quite interested in the communication. Simple gestures like “Hello” and “Goodbye” by waving hands have meaning. Gestures are quite important, it’s hard to imagine a world without gestures and only words.

Facial Expressions: The face is the main site to express or show emotions. There are a lot of small muscles in the face that react differently in different situations or emotions. Facial expressions can easily reveal if a person is open to communicating or is not interested in talking or listening at all. Oprah Winfrey is people’s favorite for facial expressions. She can control a huge audience easily by providing facial expression that connects making everything feel real. As seen many times she implies this communication skill very well. Everyone has seen her being sad, crying over sad or emotional talk, laughing loudly, being properly serious on intense issues, and much more. This type of skill shows how you react to different situations and how deeply you feel it, other persons believe then they get more comfortable or open to communicate with that person. This grip on communication not only makes her a great speaker or listener but also a queen of communication. Because her expressions change every expression while communicating with them. Very few speakers have this much effectiveness in controlling their audience. In her shows and speeches, we have seen a lot of expression drifts, in the same speech being emotional with tears to shiny eyes of happiness and joy.

Eye: In facial expression, one thing that attracts the most effective features is the eyes. Eyes tell a story, everyone can agree with this term. Eye contact between listeners and speakers is very important. If listeners don’t have eye contact with the audience then it indicates that they are not interested in listening or they are not listening even at all. The speaker must make communication interesting and make eye contact with the audience. If there is a lack of eye contact from the speaker’s side, this indicates a lack of confidence or hiding something. Miss Winfrey being so confident and strong while hosting or speaking always makes eye contact with her guests and people watching her. Even with a large audience, it is quite difficult to focus and deliver your words, but Oprah has mastered this skill from starting now she refined her a lot. Not only contact but eyes also have a major impact while performing expressions. The size of the pupil’s eye changes accordingly while communicating depending on the topic or if someone is telling a lie. Looking somewhere else while talking shows an impression of ignorance and rudeness. Even after looking politely speaker has to take a little pause and then deliver their message.

5. Written Communication:

After all types of communication, one major mode of communication we use every day in daily life is written type. Written communication can be seen in every organization, office, school, and even in daily notices or information issued by the government. Every official statement of information issued is in written form. It is really important to learn this communication to interact with others. Oprah Winfrey built an empire of media and journalism which indicates how good she is in writing messages to her employees, partners, and even friends. She has admitted that her shows or speeches don’t come under a day, preparation starts a long before. This preparation starts in written form gathering information, managing data; assemble it in the form of a show or speech. Oprah is also quite active on social media so we have seen a demo of her writing skills. Being a CEO and having this much business it is tough to communicate individually with everyone; therefore, notices are issued and sent to all. Nowadays, E-mail works as an official platform for written communication. Oprah has her magazine, which is quite popular internationally. She deals with the best writers and share their views and advice on new things. Even at this age, her interest in learning new things is still present. Oprah has written many books, her first book was launched in 1996 and the latest was published in 2019. These books are quite influential. Her books show how specific she is in terms of her work and communication.

References

1. Viswanathan, Rajeesh.Business Communication, Himalaya Publishing House, 2010.
2. B. Adler, ed., The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words (1997)
3. Robert Gibson(2002), Intercultural Business Communication.
4. Graham, G.H. , Unruh, J. , & Jennings, P. (1991). The Impact of Nonverbal Communication in Organizations: A Survey of Perceptions. The Journal of Business Communication, 28(1), 45-62.
5. Byron, K., & Baldridge, D. (2007). E-Mail Recipients’ Impressions of Senders’ Likability: The Interactive Effect of Nonverbal Cues and Recipients’ Personality. The Journal of Business Communication, 44(2),137-160
6. Raman M. and Singh P. (2006). Business Communication, (OUP: New Delhi, 206).
7. Kumar, S. and Lata P. (2011). Communication Skills, (OUP: New Delhi, 263).
8. Oswald, Brad (January 26, 2010). Yes, she’s the Queen of all Media, but to Discovery, she’s Life itself. Winnipeg Free Press.
9. Nurfazrina,H. (2016). Verbal communication analysis in the Oprah Winfrey Show. Indonesian EFL Journal, 2(2),145-153.
10. Molleda, J. (2010). Authenticity and the construct’s dimensions in public relations and communication research. Journal of Communication Management,14(3),223-236.

 

Costco Shopping Essay

Costco takes the initiative to reduce net profit from sales to almost zero. Costco tries its best to maximize the net benefit for its members. Although Costco makes membership fees its main profit point, Costco allows members to share the same membership card with their friends and allows them to check out separately, which not only increases the membership renewal rate but also allows customers and friends to enjoy shopping time. It can keep customers and attract new customers.

Improving service is the basic quality of a company because only satisfying could maintain customers and attract more potential customers. Thus, a company should insist on these key features to enhance its services. First, we should improve the quality of service personnel. Special periodic training by stages and monitoring mechanisms can be set up so that service personnel can show professional and polite qualities in treating customers. Second, enhancing the Service Environment is also essential. The company could donate some funds for the construction and maintenance of the service environment. For example, in Costco supermarket, it could set up some free water points, rest areas; restaurants, strengthen the dining environment and toilet environment; clothing stores, get some sofas, mirrors, and so on. On the other hand, Costco could stand by the side of customers to improve quality. Firstly, setting up a Customer Feedback Channel to let the customer feedback on service situation, but also can monitor the work of service personnel. For the bad aspects of service or situations, staffs could timely improve it. Secondly, we could also do the regular questionnaires. We can conduct a customer-oriented public opinion survey every once in a while, and set up prize-winning questions and answers to increase the enthusiasm of everyone to participate in the questionnaire. We can also let you see the attitude of the enterprise. Third, Regular activities for the benefit of the customers is an approach to keep customers as well. For example, on the anniversary of the enterprise or other festivals, the company carries out some activities to benefit the customers, for more loyal customers, you can also give feedback activities.

Costco improving its online experience， Costco improving its offerings and enhancing its member experience. Costco improving the experience and functionality of their site and Costco has shortened the checkout process from many clicks to two. Attract more young customers and save shopping time for customers. Improving the online experience has enabled Costco to streamline and automate their return processes and improve their delivery logistics, allowing customers to deliver closer, faster, and more cheaply.

Design of Goods and Services. Costco offers a range of products including retail services, optical services, photo center services, and insurance services, among others. Costco aims to achieve the highest possible quality even with low costs. This is especially true with the company’s Kirkland Signature brand. Costco allows customers to maximize their memberships, and Costco has greatly improved customer satisfaction. Costco builds customer satisfaction so that consumers can’t resist an agency like Costco.