Organizational Behavior : Part I The Macro

Side
Professor Jim Lincoln
Week 6: Discussion
The Body Shop International

p.1

The Body Shop

Agenda:
1. Project Teams 9 and 10 will each make 15 minute
presentations on the case
2. The class will critique the presentations by Teams 5 and 6 and
complete the analysis

p.2

Session objectives
Understand the role of strong core values in shaping the strategy,
organization, and performance of an international retail business
Examine Anita Roddicks leadership qualities and style and what made her
effective

Was she a developmental or heroic leader?

Analyze Roddicks active management of The Body Shops culture and
examine her goals in doing so
Consider the extent to which strong culture in creating a distinctive Body
Shop brand and in marketing that brand.
Discuss the degree to which business organizations can and should be
major agents of social change
Consider the idea the idea that the active participation in business by
people who are hostile to mainstream business practices and culture can be
a source of creativity and innovation in business
Source: Appex teaching note

p.3

What was Anita Roddick like? What

motivated her?
Do her style and personality provide any clues about the
sincerity of her idealism?

What were her strengths and weaknesses as a leader?

Was there ever more to The Body Shops culture than her
and Gordons personal idealism and energetic pursuit of it?

p.4

When is it good business strategy to set yourself up

as an alternative to or the antithesis of the dominant
business model in an industry?
Did the Roddicks general naivete about and distaste for
the cosmetics industry and business in general prove to be
a business advantage?

p.5

 Dissect the culture of The Body Shop

How would you do a culture audit of it?
Would a full understand of TBS culture require more
information than whats in the case? If so, what?

p.6

 How did the Roddicks infuse their products, their

shops, and the shopping experience with TBS
corporate culture

p.7

What kind of leader was Anita Roddick?

Salty, charismatic, colorful, gutsy, pushy, indefatigable
Loved to travel
High energy

p.8

What kind of relationship did TBS build

with its customers?
To what degree they share TBSs culture?
Did Anita deliberately manage the socialization of
customers in TBSs culture
Customer participation (suggestion boxes)

Marketing strategy
Treat customers as intelligent
Educate them

Stores as marketing

p.9

p.10

How did the business of The Body Shop

benefit from its strong progressive values
and activist agenda?
Differentiate the product
Standardize the retail experience
No conventional marketing but aggressive pursuit of
publicity
Ben and Jerrys in the news
Apple always in the news
Also Sony and Honda

p.11

How was The Body Shop organized and

managed?
How difficult is it to maintain a strong culture in a global
franchise operation?
Head franchisee in each major market
Regular visits by regional managers

Anita bombarded shops with information

Criticism of cosmetics industry to make them feel special

p.12

How did Anita work to assure that her

employees and her franchisers would share
TBSs values and were generally good fits
to its culture?

Franchisee as women without business experience

Women-- concerned with social values. Gender gap in politics. Less

inclined to accept the notion that business is just about making money

She constantly managing culture

Reinforce sense of being different

Think frivolously and break rules (except TBSs
rules)
Forced people to stand in meetings
Was she an autocrat

p.13

How did Anita work to assure that her

employees and her franchisers would share
TBSs values and were generally good fits
to its culture?

Franchisee as women without business experience

Women-- concerned with social values. Gender gap in politics. Less
inclined to accept the notion that business is just about making money

She constantly managing culture

Reinforce sense of being different

Think frivolously and break rules (except TBSs

rules)
Forced people to stand in meetings
How did she fit people into the culture
Socialization-- day care and training
Motivation
Selection
p.14

d
What was the significance of TBS going public for
its culture?
Constrained by analysts expectations?
Some private companies-- Levis keep strong
culture
Historic watershed-- be force for social change,
protect environment (use new capitalization)
Were all her cultural activities successful in raising
the bottom line?

p.15

What was the significance of TBS

going public for its culture?
Constrained by analysts expectations?
Some private companies-- Levis keep strong
culture
Historic watershed-- be force for social change,
protect environment (use new capitalization)
Were all her cultural activities successful in
raising the bottom line?

p.16

Was strong culture a good fit (in a

congruence sense) to The Body Shops
global organization and strategy?
Did it help to standardize the shop climate and coordinate
across shops and regions?
Advantage of franchise model-- enabled her to focus on
visions

No obsession with beauty in the conventional cosmetics

sense

p.17

How did The Body Shop do in the U. S.

market?
Was there something distinctively European about its
culture that complicated the transfer to the U. S.?

p.18

p.19

 Most businesses focus all the time on profits, profits,

profitsI have to say I think that is deeply boring. I want
to create an electricity and passion that bonds people to the
company. You can educate people by their passions,
especially young people You have to find ways to grab
their imagination. You want them to feel that they are
doing something important.. Id never get that kind of
motivation if we were just selling shampoo and body
lotion.

p.20

p.21

What was the significance of TBS

going public for its culture?
Constrained by analysts expectations?
Some private companies-- Levis keep strong
culture
Historic watershed-- be force for social change,
protect environment (use new capitalization)
Were all her cultural activities successful in
raising the bottom line?

p.22