1. Amway is one of the world’s largest direct sales companies.

It is a global enterprise and is

privately owned by the families that started the company in 1959. Amway manufactures,
markets and distributes more than 450 consumer products. In the UK Amway distributes a
variety of products, including: • Personal Care - fragrances, body care and hair care products
• Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics • Durables - cookware and water treatment systems •
Nutrition and Wellness - food supplements, food and drinks • Catalogue Items - third party
electrical goods • Home Care - laundry, cleaning and car care products.
2. Amway employs 14,000 people worldwide in its offices, manufacturing centres, warehouses,
call centres or stores. It also works with around three million Amway Business Owners
(ABOs) in more than 80 countries. These ABOs are the link between Amway and its
products and the consumer. They also link Amway with communities across the globe. For
more than 45 years, Amway Corporation has enabled people to have a business of their
own.
3. Amway has built up a strong regional structure around regional affiliates, for example,
Amway UK and the Republic of Ireland. Operating through the regional structure, affiliate
companies are responsible for: • forecasting (ensuring enough stocks are available to meet
demand) • managing customer service and contact with customers • efficient distribution to
ensure products reach ABOs on time and in top condition • product promotion and ABO
support, for example, supplying brochures to ABOs.
4. Amway is an example of a business that recognises its wider responsibilities. It recognises
that to be a good corporate citizen, it needs to support causes that matter to the communities
in which it operates.
5. As well as its business aims, the company has a range of social and ethical aims that are
part of a ‘Global Cause Program’. Amway’s global vision is to help people live better lives. At
the heart of this commitment is the One by One Campaign for Children that helps
disadvantaged children from around the world. This programme aims to support Amway’s
employees, ABOs and customers in putting time and money into helping disadvantaged
children get access to medicine and education. Amway works with many different groups of
people to carry out its business.
6. This case study explores the relationship between Amway and its stakeholders.
Stakeholders Stakeholders are groups or individuals who have an interest in the decisions of
the company and its business. Stakeholders can be internal to the business, such as
employees, or external, like suppliers, customers or the public. The company may have
shareholders who can be internal or external stakeholders. As a private company, the
families who own Amway are its sole shareholders. It is important that Amway communicates
regularly with its stakeholders. They can affect or be affected by the business.
7. Amway uses different ways to communicate with its various groups of stakeholders. The
method chosen depends on the message and the person receiving the message: • websites,
emails and voice mail updates promote products and services to ABOs and customers and
keep them up-to-date • industry and trade memberships enable Amway to share and receive
industry information • publications target key sales messages, for example, its monthly
newsletter for ABOs, Amway Focus • events and exhibitions help Amway to communicate to
ABOs, consumers and guests about running an Amway business and the products it can
provide.
8. Amway is a direct selling company, selling products directly to consumers without going
through traditional retail outlets or ‘high street’. A supply chain links the finished products to
end consumers. Amway has its own distinct supply chain, placing a strong emphasis on its
ABOs. They are able to focus on individual customers and their needs. This supply chain is
different from a more conventional supply chain that sells goods to final consumers through
retail outlets. Amway’s way of working depends on building lasting connections with the end
consumer. Feedback provided by consumers and ABOs helps to shape future changes in
products and the service provided. Suppliers must produce quality goods that Amway ABOs
can sell with confidence. The goods should offer value for money and provide guarantees
 that they will meet Amway standards. Suppliers may contribute to the design and
appearance of Amway products. ABOs operate independently as small businesses. They
develop direct supply channels and sell products to friends and customers that they know or
meet. They need to have a flexible approach to business. They require Amway to provide
high quality, value for money products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. ABOs determine
for themselves how they will conduct business. This is a ‘self regulatory’ environment.
However, they sign a contract to 20CAS E
9. Amway’s Rules of Conduct and Code of Ethics. If ABOs do not conduct business within
these rules, their behaviour could reflect back on the company. Consumers affect how
Amway develops and promotes products. They do this by indicating their preferences and
requirements through feedback. Amway can then make more of particular products or
change the format of others. Consumer demand also influences how much stock Amway
needs to carry. Consumers can show where Amway needs to address issues or concerns to
improve the business. With many different types of stakeholders, it is possible that different
groups will have different key objectives or priorities. For example, a business needs to make
a profit but customers want low prices. The company might find it difficult to support price
cuts, as this would reduce its profit. These two priorities might be in conflict. How Amway
affects its stakeholders Amway’s vision is ‘helping people live better lives’. Amway’s
business plays a key role in the communities in which it operates.
10. Amway has a global strategy for producing, distributing and marketing its products
worldwide. It also has a strategy for promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a
global way. CSR refers to the role that a company plays in meeting its wider commitments as
a citizen. Such commitments include supporting worthy causes and always acting in an
ethical, honest way. Amway operates in many different markets worldwide and has a range
of affiliates and ABOs. It therefore has to devise and communicate its plans for corporate
social responsibility activities carefully to take account of different priorities and interests.
11. From the outset, Amway established some clear objectives. These were to: • build loyalty
and pride among ABOs and employees • enhance Amway’s reputation as a caring
organisation • make a real difference to human lives. This helps to maintain Amway’s
reputation with all its stakeholders. Amway contributes time, effort and money to support its
business communities: • It creates appropriate Amway products for ABOs to sell. • It
develops campaigns that support the business and social aims of the company. Getting the
image right is vital in a business that relies on building relationships with individuals and the
wider community. 21CAS E
12. Amway regularly seeks to develop new products in line with market research aimed at
finding out what customers want. • Its employees volunteer at different charity organisations.
• It has shared $294 million (around £150 million) with non-profit organisations since the
company began. Amway produced its Global Cause Program in 2002 as the result of
extensive research. Amway defines a global cause as ‘a social issue affecting many people
around the world engaged in a struggle or a plight that warrants a charitable response.’ The
Global Cause Program: • helps Amway to bring its vision to life • declares what the
organisation stands for • builds trust and respect in Amway brands • establishes corporate
social responsibility as a high priority. In developing its global cause strategy, Amway also
listened to what its ABOs cared about. Many favoured a cause to help children. This led to
13. Amway’s partnership with UNICEF’s Immunisation Plus programme. This aims to provide
vaccination against the six most serious diseases affecting children in the developing world.
Amway’s business image benefits from the relationship with UNICEF. UNICEF benefits from
the fundraising Amway and its ABOs contribute. Ethical business Ethical enterprises do more
than simply provide goods and services for customers. They also make a real contribution to
the communities in which they operate by: • creating employment and job security • providing
products that give consumers good value for money • contributing to creating a more caring
and cared-for community. Businesses operate in a competitive environment. They may
compete on a number of factors: • price • range of products • quality • speed of service •
 customer service. Amway is a global enterprise. It must comply with the laws of the many
different countries in which it operates. Its business ethics provide a framework to guide the
behaviour of the company and its stakeholders. As part of its business values, it protects its
consumers through the quality of the products and by offering guarantees of satisfaction. It
promotes and supports ethical selling behaviour amongst the ABOs through its codes of
conduct.
14. However, in a highly competitive market where businesses are similar, Amway needs to find
a way of achieving competitive advantage. Demonstrating a positive involvement in the
community and attention to environmental issues can provide a business with competitive
advantage. It shows that the company behaves in an ethical way, shares its values and
enhances its image as a responsible organisation. Amway recognises that to respond to
CSR issues, it must base its business on the principles of ‘relevance, simplicity and
humanity’. For example, Amway set up the ‘One by One’ programme following discussions
with various organisations involved in providing help to underprivileged communities
worldwide.
15. Amway is also active in a number of programmes to reduce its impact on the environment,
including: • supporting organic farms to grow the plants for its vitamin and mineral products •
training employees to protect the environment, for example, encouraging re-use and
recycling to conserve resources • changing product formulations to be more concentrated
and biodegradable, which reduces packaging and waste • using sources of renewable
energy, for example, a wind farm at its World Headquarters will provide 10% of energy needs
• measuring its environmental impact by auditing its activities to internationally recognised
standards. All these activities carry a cost, therefore Amway needs to balance the costs of its
corporate social responsibility programmes against not only the benefits of doing so, but also
the cost of not doing so. Business practices that do not take account of ethical behaviour
might lead stakeholders to reconsider their relationship with the company. Suppliers might
stop trading or customers might stop buying (which would result loss of revenues). At the
company level, it might lead to infringement of the law or loss of reputation, which would
influence the wider public.

Conclusion
Amway is a global direct selling organisation. It has to deal with many different stakeholders
with different objectives. These stakeholders may be internal or external to the company and
can affect or be affected by Amway in different ways. Its organisational structure is based on
a network of ABOs who work independently. Therefore, it is important that Amway sets the
standards of ethical business behaviour for the people who work with, and for, the company.
It demonstrates these standards by setting rules of conduct and codes of ethics. In addition,
it puts its ethics into practice through its various CSR programmes of activity, supporting the
environment, its employees and disadvantaged children across the world