solution

The report of a company manager solving a problem and its reflective journal please explain below 3 criteria

Cadbury is an established global company in the chocolate industry. In 2001, the company faced child slavery allegations as the chocolate company sourced material from Ivory Coast. As a brand that focused extensively on its public image, Cadbury was hit hard. Rooted in the traditions of its original founders, the fact that the company always paid attention to the welfare of the people involved in the supply chain was in shambles. As legislations were being planned to introduce a “slave labor free” label on products which were made from materials sourced from certified plantations, the producers of chocolate were faced with a situation as time negotiated by the plantations with the Congress was running out – should they rally along with the plantation owners for more time to rectify their situation? In other words, What were the possible alternatives that Cadbury could take to ensure that the suppliers were producing the raw material through ethical means?

Definition

Alternatives/ Ideas

Solution and Justification

Implementation plan

Ensuring ethical sourcing of materials from producers for chocolate production

  • Establish ethical standards for the operations at the production centres and sources of raw materials

  • Identify suppliers who are trustworthy and have implemented policies regarding ethical issues

  • Ensure secure relationship between trading partners

  • Management of supplier communities

Ethical sourcing of materials is a part of a company’s identity, especially since Cadbury focused extensively on public image. The ideas presented could be implemented with various levels of success in establishing a supplier network that is completely ethical in its operations.

Establishing ethical standards in the company and verifying these standards at the supplier’s end could help in creating a good supplier network over time. Better yet, identifying suppliers who have policies implemented that meet the standards of the company would make the process easier, but with the risk of trust. Creating a network of trading partners, including production facilities, suppliers, other chocolate producing companies could help in creating a network of information which could help in identifying good sources of raw materials.

These communities will have to be managed correctly in order to ensure proper circulation of information regarding supplier policies and ethical standards that need to be met. Implementation of one or more of these steps could help Cadbury in improving their “current” position with regard to the public image that is painted as sourcing materials from unethical producers

  • The primary initiative is to develop a suitable code of ethics for the organization with the current issues in mind. This should include leadership, guidance, stakeholder relationships, and FAQs, decision trees, etc.

  • The code must be circulated to all parties involved – employees, internal and external stakeholders, etc. through communication and awareness campaigns.

  • All employees must be trained regarding the COE and the same should be ensured at the suppliers’ end.

  • Ensure that the differences in context and culture between the places involves are accounted for in the training procedures.

  • Monitor the conditions at all ends regularly. Establish a method of relaying information regarding the breach of the COE in confidential manners for the ease of monitoring.

  • Always verify that the information obtained regarding the breach of code is true and take necessary corrective action towards better conditions.

Reflective Journal

The previous assessment had undertaken the ethical sourcing of materials within the chocolate manufacturers for the production of chocolates. Being a factory manager, I have been exposed to various workplace problems which I solved effectively through my skills and knowledge. The strategies to mitigate the major situations arising within factories were easier for me as I mainly focused on identifying the source for the concerned problems and applying relevant mitigation plans. However, on writing the reflection, the major flaws within my problem-solving approach have been highlighted within the study. In addition to that, the problem-solving technique implemented by me was a singular approach focusing on one particular problem at a time. However, the current course has further helped me to develop an in-depth analysis approach for a better understanding of problems. My abilities were also further conceptualised to understand and address problems for effective and relevant solutions.

The previous assignment highlighted a major problem of ethical sourcing of materials within the Cadbury company. Moreover, the problems highlighted within the previous study are found to be clear and effective in focusing on the central problem of problems highlighted within the supply chain of Cadbury company. In addition to that, the “slave labor free” label has been incorporated on products for the company which highlighted the usage of materials being sourced from certified plantations. In my opinion, the aforementioned factor has significantly helped the firm to regain its position and status of corrupted and manipulated supply chain management. Furthermore, I am clearly aware of the different ideas that have been highlighted within the respective study which are further well explained and understood. The importance of ethical standards and sourcing within companies like Cadbury are mentioned along with the establishment of supplier networks for further improvement in operational activities. Hence, as mentioned above, it has been seriously helpful in identifying the different ideas within the study and immediate solutions or mitigation measures for the same.

Moreover, I have also been able to find ideas regarding the proper maintenance of secure relationships between the trading partners. However, I found that the implementation plan had an approach of developing a sustainable code of ethics for the organisation including the variables of leadership, guidance, stakeholder relationships as well as other decision-making skills. In spite of the aforementioned factors recommended within the action plan, I think every term and word was not properly defined within the study which might make it difficult for the organisational hierarchy to understand. Moreover, improving the training levels of employees within COE shall also improve the supplier’s end situational problems.

Therefore, the conclusions have also clearly been highlighted which focuses on the core solution of the problem. I have hardly anything more to add to the mentioned recommendation plan as it has significantly incorporated the communication campaigns for both internal and external stakeholders. Moreover, the maintenance of adequate communication levels was found as a vital redressal measure. In addition to that, proper monitoring of various conditions was also found to establish confidential COE effective for the core problem solution smoothly.

Criteria

1. Did the manager clearly Identified the problem?

2. How was the explanation and journal clarification?

3. What feedback you like to give?

 
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