Where does WMI go next? Not many companies can say they are a market leader, but Waste Management Inc. has the unique position to lead the waste management sector forward or continue to optimize their current operations. The environment for Waste Management Inc. has numerous influences pulling it towards a recycling centric goal. With those influences, Waste Management Inc. has opportunity to incorporate those ideas or threats of competition will grow. Internally, Waste Management Inc. has strengths and weaknesses that will determine how they adapt to the environment. With the sheer size of Waste Management Inc. they have the resources to make changes, but organizing movements takes huge resources and time.
With the reduction of generated
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Strengths for WMI include their large market share, large assets from trucks and landfills, and operating infrastructure. Approximately 167 million tons of trash needs to be disposed of every year in America, and WMI collects 110 million of that, roughly 66 percentage the total (“What Would You Do?”, 1). With such a large operating share of the sector, the assets can provide the platform for further internal developments. WMI owns 273 municipal landfills, 91 recycling facilities, and 17 waste-to-energy facilities all providing the foundation for their future direction. Alternatively, by using their equity and liabilities, WMI can leverage their efforts into more recycling. Additionally, a large strength lies in their company’s objective. WMI’s company objective follows, “(WMI) is on a mission to maximize resource value, while minimizing and even eliminating – environmental impact so that both our economy and our environment can thrive (“Company Profile”, 1).” Their broad respect to environmental shows their commitment to efforts beyond just landfills. Another internal strength exists through WMI’s CEO, who believes the most important lesson is to listen. Such an adaptive leader will help the company adopt new ideas and improve the company. Internally, WMI has the luxury of a dominant position to leverage further success in their …show more content…
By building their company into a market leader with a highly decentralized corporate structure, and a focus on assets of trucks and landfills, WMI left their company with constrained business flexibility. The highly decentralized corporate structure weakens efforts for corporate change, with elements such as the managing communication or corporate governance. With assets primarily focused on trucks and landfills, ability to use trucks in recycling operations exists, but landfills have a limited accommodating nature. These unused landfills may pose a problem in the future. In addition, the size of Waste Management Inc. poses a problem because decisions need the necessary board approval. Management shows resistance to innovation; despite, having a progressive CEO. With discontent, management should strive for compromises that will not divert substantial resources from the core business, but progress the company forward. Additionally, the high costs associated with recycling strains the current operational infrastructure. Regardless of financials, restructuring a company based on environmental changes can cost ample time, money, and
Supplying eco-friendly products has been on the Walmart agenda since the early 1990s. After a failed first attempt and much criticism, the company decided to try again. In a speech made in October of 2005, CEO of Walmart, H. Lee Scott Jr., declared Walmart would devise a “business sustainable strategy” to reduce the environmental impact the company had. Walmart could not pull this off alone. If they only focused on the confines of themselves, rather than all that they were involved with, it was estimated that they’d only reduce their impact by about 10%. To reach that goal of 100%, Walmart had to involve stakeholders to make networks which achieve sustainability. These networks proved to be vital in not only Walmart’s goal in minimizing its environmental impact, but recovering their reputation, avoiding criticism, saving money, raising awareness, improving customer satisfaction, and creating incentive for other businesses to work towards sustainability.
Florida International University recognizes its contribution to the accumulation of waste considering that it produces about seven million pounds of waste each year (Figueroa, 2010). Unlike other universities that still remain adamant in investing on green practices, FIU has, “governed by the State of Florida under Florida Statute 403.714 and The Florida Solid Waste Management Act of 1988” (FIU, 2011), established its own internal ‘green machine’ or solid waste and environmental protection system via the FIU Custodial Services Office. The university’s efforts in ensuring efficient solid waste management even “far exceeds the minimum standards” (FIU, 2011) required by law. What makes the solid waste management efforts of the university one-of-a kind is the establishment of a “single stream recycling program which means that all recyclable items can be placed into one bin and do not have to be sorted” (FIU, 2011). Nevertheless, despite the use of single recycle bins, proper labeling has to accompany each bin to ensure that only materials that are recyclable are placed in the bins. There are also different sized of bins which are placed stra...
...and greatest” mentality. Consumers throw away perfectly good food, electronics, etc. Society has conditioned to think objects and materials show wealth and stature. We are raised to except trash and garbage as anything that is be out dated, or slightly imperfect. High standards and expectations from relaters and consumers force us to buy excessively. If you don’t acquire these fancy popular gadgets then you are not living the normal state of living, giving the impression you can’t afford or poor. If one lacks the newest and coolest phone or gadget they are looked down on. This mentality is extremely toxic to our pockets and society. In conclusion it is crucial that we implement less damaging and toxic waste management disposal system.
In conclusion to this investigation one thing is clear and that is that recycling reeks benefits to the environment, Recycling material when compared to making material from raw material is a more efficient energy saving and more environmentally friendly way to reuse material that is usually consider as trash such as empty glass, and plastic bottles, or old newspapers. Recycling helps reduce the possible carbon emissions greatly and does reduce the human carbon footprint. But Recycling doesn’t resolve the pollution that is around the world today. Leading to new questions, questions like what about the landfills are they sustainable, and if so for how long. How long until the air becomes unbreathable? How long until Earth becomes its own furnace?
This case focuses on corporate obstacles to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention can complex especially for large corporations. There are many different forms of pollution prevention including emissions control devices and incremental changes in existing technology. The author reviews the impact of emissions controlled devices, however the focus of the case study is on incremental changes in existing technology. Incremental changes include substituting one or two steps in a production process or relationship changes between production steps. One example of incremental changes that was provided by the author was eliminating chlorofluorocarbons and saving energy by replacing a refrigeration process with a heath exchanger that can exploit waste cooling from another part of the process. There are three critical decision-making stages for incremental changes; identifying a pollution prevention opportunity, finding a solution appropriate to that opportunity, and implementing that solution. The author discusses the three aspects of an organization (culture, ability to process information, and its politics) and how they impact the decision-making stages.
There are some recommendation that Company X should utilize in helping them to be an even more social responsible. For the main office, it is recommended that they recycle things like paper, toner cartridges and move more to a pape...
64). If this had not taken place, the company’s future would have remained grim. Many negative decisions had been made by the previous management, which cost the company an immense amount of money, and this stood in the company’s way of being profitable. It did not take Mr. Marchionne long to notice the negative impacts on the company. Mr. Marchionne and his team were able to achieve sustainability because the managers he put in place successfully motivated the organization. This is why Mr. Marchionne cleaned house per say, but it is the reason why “Chrysler’s restoration has been admirably methodical” too (Debord, 2011, para. 10). The team he created by using the proper PE fit, understood the organization’s “footprint,” and it continues to do so today in the same manner (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, 2014, para. 1). Chrysler’s footprint is the overall environmental and social costs which Mr. Marchionne undoubtedly understands (Lueneburger, 2014). Sustainability was reached due to his leadership style of allowing those under him to make decisions and be accountable for such decisions (Sergio Marchionne (CEO Fiat and Chrysler), 2011). He encouraged his handpicked managers to take risks and think outside of the box (Kreitner & Kinicki,
Important companies like Shell, DuPont, BP have been reorganised to generate profits from this green market of goods and services. In this sense, it may sound altruistic, "the sustainability", the logic of profitability and competition is what will determine the ability of companies of the future to meet the changing needs of consumers. This premise of "sustainability" as a necessary quality to be competitive, falls short, according to Bryan Walsh of Time magazine. In a 2007 article, the expert shows how "sustainable" is helping to drive out competition, given the approach taken by companies to become more efficient, flexible and cutting waste, which helps them provide better products and reduce costs. Companies that refuse to accept that they will face a strict and demanding environment.
The sustainability of ecosystems on which the global economy depends must be guaranteed. And the economic partners must be satisfied that the basis of exchange is equitable” (World). This quote demonstrates the complexities of sustainability. Another thing corporations should focus on when trying to be sustainable is their environmental impact. Annie Leonard in her book The Story of Stuff says that companies can significantly reduce their toll on the environment by changing their design. The design determines “the amount of energy used in making and using the product,” “the length of the product’s life span” and “its ability to be recycled” (Leonard). All these things determine the amount of resources a company must use, so simply changing a product’s design is one way a company can have a large impact on the sustainability of the environment in which it operates. One example of this is that “Wal-Mart attributed more that $100 million of its 2009 revenue to a decision to switch to a recyclable variety of cardboard in shipments” which it sells to a recycler instead of paying to send it to a landfill
Recycling is such a fantastic way for us to reuse the waste we once throw. Yet, not everything is easy to be done in this world. There many difficulties that face recycling process economically and socially. Usually In order to recycle, waste paper needs to be sorted and treated from any Impurities. Which means that companies will loss finance because there must be someone or something that could sort or treat these papers. Another problem is that to start recycling, companies needs a lot of good recyclable supply to pick it up; after all, they need good economic benefits (Problems with Recycling, 2014). According to the Waste and Resources Action Program, there are some barriers p...
The United States produces “about 8.25 billion tons of solid wastes each year” (Russell 1). People do not realize the impact they have on our planet and environment. When people throw anything in the trashcan, they are contributing to the destruction of our planet. The number landfills in the United States are decreasing, but the amount and volume of waste being thrown into the new landfills is increasing (Russell 4). Because of this escalating amount of garbage, Methane which contributes to global warming is an outcome of these landfills (Russell 7). As a result, our planet is suffering because of this epidemic. The garbage being put in the landfills could be recycled, but not enough businesses, ...
Policy is needed to regulate which course of action should be taken and how it should be implemented. Because of this, many plans and policies revolving around the management of solid waste have been put in place. Sometimes however, a particular policy can have its shortfalls, potentially resulting in its negative aspects outweighing the positive ones. According to the Conference Board of Canada Report, “Canadians dispose of more municipal solid waste per capita than any other country” (2013). Solid waste management in particular, involves many aspects, ranging from packaging waste, food waste, etc. (White & Franke 1999), hence, the following analysis revolves around household and commercial waste – referred to as Municipal Solid Waste (White & Franke. 1999) – in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Municipal waste is a major health and environmental concern as it contributes to numerous problems like habitat destruction, surface groundwater pollution, and other forms of air, soil, and water contamination. Waste disposal methods like incineration create toxic substances, and landfills emit methane, which contributes to global warming. According to the Zero Waste Objective Report, “The impact of climate change and the increasing awareness of the role of “waste” and “wasting” in the production of greenhouse gas emissions is a constant environmental pressure… (2009). This leads to an increasing limitation of government to prevent and control the volume and toxicity of products in the waste stream and a growing need to shift responsibility to the product manufacturer.
Firms that adopt Kaizen approach train and reward workers to continually search for waste and to suggest how it might be eliminated – the group consensus.
Solid waste can be classified in different types, depending on their source, household waste is generally classified as municipal waste; industrial waste as hazardous waste or hospital waste as infections waste. It quite obvious that South Africa environment is deteriorated by the illegal dumping area that around here. Solid waste is a major problem this country is facing at the moment. The province that is experience this major problem is Gauteng province, this an urban area am taking about, and since it’s clear that over population is the cause of the problem. Gauteng province is an over populated than rural area .solid waste pollution is refuse or garbage that people use in their everyday life in their house, such as plastic
Wastes are the products of our consumptions in our daily life routines such as lunch, work, school and other things we do. Little things such as throwing out a piece of paper, we are producing waste by the seconds. After we consume a product we usually throw out what’s left that can’t be consumed any further. Results in producing waste, substance that are born after it’s been use or consume by us. At the end of each day we throw out a bag full of garbage, all of the materials in that bag (paper towels, cans, leftover foods and many other material’s) all of these are waste. Hospitals produce medical waste such as use needles for treating patients. Corporations produce papers, plastics, tires, steels, cans and many other type of solid waste which contribute to the pollutions that cause health risk and other environmental issues.