Most management discourse places sustainability primarily at the businesses’ doorsteps. You however say there is a major onus on the customer too. Why?
Probably three separate reasons. Let us look at the end consumers—the B2B end consumers (corporate offices which have factory, professionals, and clerical workers) and the household market. In the first category, the sustainability dialog has already been initiated by the companies themselves—on employee behavior and norms. As far as the second segment is concerned, in most advanced countries, we have really gone beyond subsistence level of living. I strongly believe in Maslow’s need hierarchy. Consumers seem to be moving up and searching for meaning and purpose in their lives.
Let me try and put this in context—in most schools in the US, students have to participate in community service in addition to academic excellence. This is essential as it brings them out of the bubble they live in and helps them understand societal issues such as environment concerns, specially-abled people and their struggles, etc. As a result, when they reach college, their perspectives change—they look beyond what a company is doing to make money. They are keen to know how it contributes to the society and the environment. And more importantly, they no longer stop at just raising these questions; they actively engage themselves in such activities—one of the reasons for the rise of social entrepreneurship. In the US economy where there is a continuous war for talent, young college graduates raise these questions during interviews regularly. They no longer ask, ‘What is my career?’ They ask, ‘What is the company doing for the environment?’ This awareness is not limited to certain segments of society; it is rather a mass awareness. And companies are increasingly embracing these principles in their business. So this is one key area.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2017 من The Smart Manager.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2017 من The Smart Manager.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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Building A Quality Culture
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Customers For Life
The history of General Motors in India can be traced back to the 1920s, when it became the first automotive company to set up an assembly plant in the country. The relationship since then has not been as fruitful as GM would have hoped. GM’s flagship brand, Chevrolet, was introduced in India to build upon the success of the popular Opel marque. However, success has been fleeting at best—an issue that GM India is determined to rectify. It aims to do so by adopting a two-pronged approach: using customer feedback to influence product development, and delivering a superior sales-to-service experience.
The Digital Shift
… technology will radically disrupt HR in the near future. Indeed, it is already changing the way HR works and the role it plays and opening the door to a new type of “digital HR” function.1 The rise of digital and social media is changing the dynamics of HR and creating new ways of hiring, engaging, and retaining employees.
The Story Of Telling
“The best brands are built on great stories,”* this remark by Ian Rowden best captures the strategy of diligent brand building. Much more than attractive logos or the products themselves, what builds a brand is how successfully a story is woven around it. Brand marketers have to be good storytellers indeed.
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Professor Stephane Garelli on growing isolationism.
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A Sustainable Model
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