حل واجبات الجامعة العربية المفتوحة 00966597837185 - 0597837185

a_al_shora@hotmail.com

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Arab Open University
Faculty of Business Studies
T306A TMA- 2017-2018
Questions:


Q1. Apply the Hard Systems Method to this Situation case, including spry diagram and conceptual mapping in order to brainstorm, analyse and make suitable recommendations. Provide a detailed narrative explaining your thinking process. (1500 words) (50 marks)



Q2. Investigate further suitable approaches and tools that could be used to investigate, illustrate and make recommendation to solving problems. Please consult all your course materials and undertake relevant literature search. (400 words) (20 marks)


Q3. What are the main insights or new understandings that you gained from the application of HSM to the case study? (400 words) (20 marks)


Q4. Review the relevance and suitability of hard or soft approach in highlighting issues faced by it. (400 words) (10 marks)



End of Questions







Fair Trade Coffee: The Mainstream Debate

08-069
August 27, 2010
Richard M. Locke, Cate Reavis, Diane Cameron

In November 2008, Shaw’s supermarkets sold a 10-ounce bag of Green Mountain Fair Trade certified coffee for $8.49. The bag which was adorned with the Fair Trade certified logo, did not explain the meaning of Fair Trade. Consumers were directed to a website or a phone number to get more information. However, the bag did say the following:

A good cup of coffee can change your day. A great cup of coffee can help change the world. By supporting farming communities, promoting sound environmental practices and sourcing only the highest quality beans we work to ensure that everyone who comes in contact with our coffee benefits. So while you appreciate the results in your cup, you can also rest assured that this coffee has had a positive impact on every person it has touched which to us makes these little beans a pretty big deal.

The main premise of Fair Trade was that farmers were given a guaranteed “fair price” for their coffee, a guarantee that became particularly appealing to farmers in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the price of coffee fell below the cost of production. For knowledgeable consumers, this was a positive reinforcement knowing that they were helping a social cause even though it was not clear on any bag of Fair Trade coffee just how much farmers were being paid and how much they were profiting.

The organization responsible for certifying food products (including coffee) as Fair Trade was the Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO). Based in Bonn, Germany, FLO was an umbrella organization that united 20 labeling initiatives in 21 countries and producer networks. But with a market share of Less than 3.8% of the coffee market and 6.1% of the specialty coffee market, and a growth rate that had plunged from 97% in 2003 to 2% in 2007, the leadership of FLO found itself at a crossroads. Pressures were mounting inside and outside the organization to grow market share for Fair Trade certified coffee, and stakeholders were divided on how best to do this.



حل واجبات الجامعة العربية المفتوحة 00966597837185 - 0597837185

a_al_shora@hotmail.com

whatsapp:OO966597837185