2021年白领商务英语LEVI STRAUSS专题

1、白领商务英语Levi Strauss专题 白领商务英语Levi Strauss-专题集锦范文 Can a pany be socially responsible and suessful? Levi Strauss & Company chair _n and chief executive offi _r Bob Hass had some problems on his hands. After taking over leadership of the world-famous blue-jeans _ker in 1984, Haas had worked hard to revit

2、alize the panys long-standing mitment to ethical and socially responsible behavior. However, changes in consumer tastes and stiff petition from rival clothing _nufacturers were hitting the pany hard on all sides. In order to re _in petitive, Hass would have to _ke some tough decisions that could thr

3、eaten the panys principles. The original Mr. Levi Strauss had a _ business mission _ke and sell quality work pants for San Franciscos gold-rush miners. However, Strauss also demonstrated a strong social conscien _ and mitment to employees early on. During the Great Depression , workers were paid to

4、lay a new floor in the factory until business picked up. By the 1960s, the pany had bee a vocal advocate for racial integration and a leader in corporate diversity programs. However, by the time Bob Haas (great-great-grand-nephew of Levi Strauss) took over in 1984, the pany seemed to have lost its s

5、ocial conscien _. Levis had expanded aggressively into product lines that were ulti _tely unprofitable. The pany was bloated , profits were falling, and _nagement was more con _rned with numbers than with values. Haas believed that public shareholders and stock _ysts had blurred the panys vision by

6、de _nding short-term profit gains over long-term goals. So with the help of friends and family, Haas bought up the re _ining public stock and set out to turn the pany around. Haas began to streamline the pany, which meant taking the painful step of cutting the work for _ by a third. To reward and mo

7、tivate those who re _ined, he developed an aspirations statement with panywide goals based on ethics, diversity, enviro _ental stewardship , teamwork, trust, and openness. He backed up his statement by training employees in leadership, diversity, and ethical decision _ and also by linking employee p

8、ensation to perfor _n _ in these areas. “A panys values what it stands for, what its people believe inare crucial to its petitive suess,” Haas exhorted . “Indeed, values drive the business.” Levis also spent large sums to redu _ the impact of its operations on the enviro _ent. At the same time, the

9、pany shed unprofitable clothing styles and refocused on traditional jeans and the new casual “Dockers” products. With revitalized pany values, soaring staff morale, and revamped product lines, Levi Strauss enjoyed double-digit gains in sales revenues and profits. However, the 1990s brought new crise

10、s. First, reports of widespread hu _n rights abuses in some Asian countries led the pany to question the ethics of its operations there. Second, Levis discovered that some of its suppliers in Asia were _ Levis products with child labor. And third, Levis own failure to spot new clothing trends, moder

11、nize its production facilities, and keep retailers happy resulted in declining jeans sales. The situation worsened as new pe _s undercut Levis pricing by _nufacturing the _jority of their products overseas. (Levis still _de half of its products in the United States). With de _nd shrinking, Levis aga

12、in found it had too _ny plants and employees in the United States. But large-scale layoffs could undermine the social values that had on _ again bee synonymous with the Levis name. Haas had to find a way to ensure the panys long-term profitability while standing by Levis principles. If you were Bob

13、Haas, how would you balan _ your panys economic needs with its goals for ethics and social responsibility? How would you deal with suppliers who dont adhere to your panys values? Would you take a stand against hu _n rights abuses? How would you handle the problem of ex _ss capacity and employees? Me

14、eting Business Challenges at Levi Strauss Bob Haas knew that Levi Strauss & Company fa _d an uphill battle . The pany had uncovered violations of its ethical standards among its Asian suppliers. Meanwhile, consumer tastes had shifted while Levis looked the other way , and pe _s were beating Levis on

15、 pri _ and servi _. But Haas determined to tackle these problems by refocusing on the original pany strengths: strong mercial instincts and a mitment to social values and to the work for _. In the early 1990s, Haas developed global guidelines addressing specific workpla _ issues, such as length of w

16、ork periods, fair wages, respect for the enviro _ent, and prohibitions against child labor. To add muscle to these guidelines, the pany began sending inspectors around the world on surprise visits to look for violations. It was during one of these global audits that Haas discovered some _nufacturing

17、 contractors in Asia employed underage workers, a clear violation of the guidelines. However, most of the children were significant contributors to family ines, and losing their jobs would for _ them into more inhu _ne ways of earning money. Wanting to retain Levi Strauss as their customer, the fact

18、ory owners asked Levis _nagement what to do. Some panies with strong values confronting this issue might simply instruct contractors to discharge underage workers. But Levi Strauss devised a unique solution with positive benefits for everyone. The contractors agreed to suspend underage workers but s

19、till pay their salaries and benefits. For its part, Levi Strauss paid for school tuition and other education-related expenses with no obligations. When the children reached working age, they were all offered full-time jobs in the _nufacturing plants. Everyone gained. The children were able to contin

20、ue their education and their family ine contributions, the contractors kept their good customers, and Levi Strauss retained its quality contractors while protecting pany values. Levis fa _d more ethical problems in China, where widespread abuses of hu _n rights clashed directly with the panys ethica

21、l principles. So Haas decided to phase out most of Levis operations in that country over a period of several years. Although some critics argued that the move was just a public relations stunt, and that losing its $50 million annual business in China was s _ll pared to the favorable publicity the pa

22、ny would re _ive, Levis _intained that its only objective was to uphold its own ethical standards. “Our hope is that conditions will change and improve so that we can revisit our decision at some time in the future,” stated one Levis executive. The pany could turn to its established ethical guidelin

23、es to handle the challenges it fa _d in Asia, but the another challenge would be harder to deal with. De _nd for Levis products was sagging, so the pany had far more _nufacturing capacity than it needed. The problem had several causes: (1) The pany had failed to noti _ _rtain fashion trends that pe

24、_s recognized early (such as teenagers preferen _s for extra-baggy jeans), (2) the pany had no consistent _rketing message (which resulted in its blue jeans being per _ived as “preppy” or for older generations), (3) the panys slow product-delivery and restrictive pricing policies angered _ny retailers and prompted some to carry more peting brands, and (4) _ny pe _s produ _d the _jority of their products overseas using more advan _d production technology and thus requiring fewer employees, which enabled them to under