Seventh Generation

Executive Summary

        Seventh Generation is trying to make as little impact on the natural environment as possible by manufacturing and selling household products that are carefully designed and produced. Jeffrey Hollender wants to inform his customers about the products they buy and use that impacts the environment. Hollender was able to speak with a voice because seventh generation was a large enough company. Even though the company has failed and re grown there still may be problems that stand in its way. These problems include too much focus on the future, uninformed customers for alternative offerings, competition with Wal-Mart products, and growing to fast causing unexpected over expansion again. These problems can be solved by focusing more on the present, getting customers excited about helping their environment, making their product more affordable, and taking precautions to not over expand again. Seventh Generation can be a long lasting company if they can over come these problems and reassure their position to leave as little impact on the environment.

Problem Statement

        Seventh Generation is trying to look into the future considering the impact of their decisions on the next seven years. In order to succeed on the company’s goals, Seventh Generation needs to change or they will have a chance of failing again. By staying with this same mindset, possibly many different problems may occur.

• Jeffery Hollender started his business based on the Great Law of the Iroquois. To determine how you will impact the environment for the next seven generations is too long of a time when there is many other factors that contribute to the future that are out of your control.
• Many customers will just buy at the cheapest price if it gets the job done. If customers are not informed about how their product is best to use and environmentally sustainable then customers will not buy their product, or be excited about using products that lower the use of the natural environment.
• Seventh Generation wants to be in partnership with Wal-Mart, but problems occur with competition of other like products and prices.
• Hollender has great expectation in expanding his company from being less bad to all good. However, with an expansion like this, seventh generation has faced problems of failure with expanding to quickly. This made problems for the owner and employees.

Recommendations

        Seventh Generations has failed once already. They need to propose new ideas that will solve their problems of failure.  These recommendations have been establish to help the survival of the company.

• Seventh Generation needs to find a more reasonable time length to set on the consideration of impact of the generations to come by their decisions. By figuring out a better time period, they will be able to effectively manufacture and sell household products that relate to the current generations needs. They will then have a stronger clientele list to further expand.
• Even though Seventh Generation has a large number of customers, they do not inform customers about their product or mission. They need to advertise more about how they expect to “not impact the environment” and what makes their product so environmentally sustainable. This will keep current customers who love their product as well as gain new customers that have similar values and missions.
• Nothing was mentioned about competition, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. With the idea of expansion, Seventh Generation is in partnership with Wal-Mart. This is a problem because they don’t know their competition. They need to research their competitors products and prices to set the standard. Thus meaning if they want to be “all good” they need to have the best price for the best product in terms of considering the next generations and how they will be impacted.
• Jeffrey Hollender needs to consider the effect of expanding is company. By doing so, Seventh Generation can be smoother in its expansion rate without hindering its employees.

Analysis/Justification

        These recommendations are suggested to the company to enhance their company’s goals and their business as a whole. If Seventh Generation makes these changes, they can improve the success of their company in the alternative offerings of household products that are produces with little impact of the natural environment.

        By figuring out a better time period, Seventh Generation will be able to effectively manufacture and sell household products that will relate to the current generations needs. This will enable then to have a stronger clientele list to further expand.