PLEASE HELP!!! PLEASE ANSWER THE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE CASE STUDY. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!

Case Study 6.1: Melissa Reiff: Servant Leader of the Container Store

The Container Store CEO Melissa Reiff believes in an organizational culture that puts employees first. The turnover in the company is around 10% compared with nearly 100% turnover in the retail industry. The organizational culture began when the company was started by founder Kip Tindell. Reiff is the new face of executive leadership at The Container Store. Her management philosophy is based on conscious leadership and the belief that companies must serve a higher purpose. She expects her executives to practice servant leadership and constantly listen, improve, and do the right thing. The culture is based on treating all stakeholders with responsibility, respect, and dignity.

The Container Stores culture aligns with conscious capitalism, a concept that was made popular by John Mackey, Whole Foods cofounder, and Raj Sisodia, a professor of marketing, in their book Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. Conscious capitalism is a philosophy that businesses should serve all stakeholders, including the environment. While it does not minimize the need for profit, it allows for the consideration of other interests in strategic planning.

In an email to a reporter, Reiff stated, We continuously strive to create a better, more innovative and compelling place to shop and to work, for the near- and long-term success of our company. That includes a relentless focus on doing whats right for ALL of our stakeholders by operating our business through the lens of our Foundation Principles and a commitment to conscious leadership. The Container Stores website lists the seven foundation principles for an Organization With Heart. Here are the

principles:

1 Great Person = 3 Good Peopleone great person is more productive than three average people; hiring great people is essential.

Communication IS Leadershipevery employee needs to know everything; they are more committed when they feel like they are part of a team.

Fill the other guys basket to the brim. Making money then becomes an easy proposition. Create positive relationships with vendors; when they win, we win.

The Best Selection, Service, and Pricewe offer 10,000 products, expert advice and service that customers delight in, and competitive prices.

Intuition does not come to an unprepared mind. You need to train before it happenstraining, coupled with our employees life experiences, allows them to intuitively solve customers storage and organization challenges.

Man in the Desert Sellingthis is based on a story of a man in the desert who finds an oasis and needs a glass of water. But he needs much more than that, given what he has been through. Salespeople are trained to meet all the customer needs.

Air of Excitement!employees and customers want to be in the stores.

The Container Store provides 200 hours of training and education to new employees compared to an industry average of 8 hours. They pay their salespeople more than the industry average. Their employees are satisfied, committed, and hardworking. Their practices have resulted in the company being named in Fortune magazines 100 Best Companies to Work For for the past 20 years.

Consistent with servant leadership, The Container Store has contributed to the community. For example, they donated $236,000 donation to UNICEF USA, donated 10% of profits from grand openings of new stores to local nonprofit organizations, provided containers to those in need, and give teacher discounts. Reiff also serves as a mentor to new businesswomen through various organizations that support womens careers.

Discussion Questions:

1. Review the definitions of servant leadership dimensions from this chapter. Explain which of the behaviors Melissa Reiff demonstrates: behaving ethically, creating value for the community, putting others first, helping others grow and succeed, emotional healing, empowering others, and conceptual skills.

2 .Do you see any risks related to the seven foundational principles? For example, what are the potential issues with employees knowing everything? What are the potential issues with man in the desert selling by offering customers items they did not come to the store to buy?

3. Do some additional research on conscious capitalism. What are the core principles of this philosophy? Do you believe that more businesses should adopt this approach? Explain your position.