IA05: Reflect On Guest Lecture

Sandra E. Taylor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-e-taylor/

Sandra Taylor is a Falk Professor of Socially Responsible Business at Chatham University and is an internationally recognized expert in corporate responsibility, supply chain management, international trade, philanthropy, communications and public relations, risk management, government relations, and partnerships (Sandra Taylor). In 2008 she founded Sustainable Business International LLC, a consulting business where she assists companies at various stages of environmental and corporate responsibility practice. With all of her experience in business and in leadership positions, she has a lot of insight to give for those working in the business field and just the public in general. She also teaches a lot of lessons by explaining what she has worked on in the past with sustainability and interacting with her networks, so that her efforts resonate with others to try and accomplish the same. 

Sandra had a lot of interesting things to talk about since she has so much experience in many different fields, but some things I learned from her dealt with business in a global environment. She talked a lot about international business relations and different corporation interactions she has had in her life. 

I learned about strategic alliance, which she said is "An agreement between two companies (or a company and a nation) to pool resources in order to achieve business goals that benefit both partners" (Sandra Taylor). Sandra also talked a lot about sustainability within corporations and specifically with Starbucks since she worked very closely with the Starbucks corporation as the SVP for Corporate Responsibility. Sandra explained how Starbucks has become more sustainable through compostable cups, straws, and silverware. An article from the Strategic Finance Magazine that I recently read called, "Sustainable Development Goals" by Cristiano Busco, Giovanni Fiori, Mark L. Frigo, and Angelo Riccaboni, about the steps organizations have taken in order to be more sustainable. The article expressed how private and public organizations have embraced sustainability all over the world. The article also described the efforts being made with the development goals in the US. By addressing the issues that are occurring all over the world with environmental problems and sustainability, companies can then make plans to change help fix these issues.

Another thing Sandra explained was contract manufacturing or outsourcing. Sandra explained how the U.S. company contracts with a local company in a foreign country to manufacture one of its products and then the U.S. company retains control of the product design and development. This way they can put their own label on the product. In the textbook outsourcing is shown that it does not just limit to the goods-producing sector, but it also means service companies can outsource their noncore functions too. As Sandra's lecture focused on the advantages to outsourcing, the textbook went along with what she said by explaining how companies that outsource its production function ensures that, the management team can devote more attention to refining its product design and designing future products. This can really make things easier on the workers of the company, as well as help the company grow as a whole. 

Another article I read from, MIT Sloan Management called, "MIT Sloan Executive Education Innovation @work Blog: Business Success in the U.S. Doesn't Guarantee International Success", gave a lot of helpful tips about international business and the steps one should take in order to be successful in this field. MIT Sloan Professor José Santos, explained how companies must expand their focus beyond traditional world views in order to succeed globally. Then the article showed the steps companies should take, like partnering with someone who is an expert in-country. This article and Sandra Taylor strongly expressed how knowing and understanding the local customs and marketplace globally is very important in order to work outside the U.S. and really grow as a company (MIT Sloan Management).

Sandra Taylor was a very inspirational guest speaker and I am glad she came to speak to our class, as well as speak at the Women Business Leaders Breakfast Series that I attended. She gave a lot of insight on sustainability within companies around the world and how to work internationally. Her experiences are first hand and very helpful moving forward in business. 

References:

Busco, C., Fiori, G., Frigo, M. L., & Riccaboni, A. (2017, September 1). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://sfmagazine.com/post-entry/september-2017-sustainable-development-goals/

Collins, K. (n.d.). Exploring business. Washington, D.C.: Saylor.org.

MIT Sloan Executive Education innovation@work Blog. (2018). Retrieved from https://executive.mit.edu/blog/business-success-in-the-us-doesnt-guarantee-international-success#.XBBKF3d94zU