An Overview

Of
Passion for the Outdoor & for the People.
 An Overview

Of

Passion for the Outdoor & the People

Prepared for:

Jerin Haque Chhanda

Lecturer

United International University

Prepared by:

Name ID
Masrur Moontamim 111 191 152
Mesbah Uddin Shifat 111 182 121
Ashiq Chowdhury 114 191 001
Foyjur Rahman Priam 111 182 010
Mehedi Hasan 111 191 159
Azmain 111 182 020

Date of Submission: August 27, 2019

 Letter of Transmittal

August 24, 2019

Jerin Haque Chhanda

Lecturer

School of Business and Economics

United International University

Subject: Submission of a report titled “An Overview of Passion for the Outdoors & the People”.

Dear Ma’am,

With due respect, we are the students of Principle of Management (Section: B) class, have
finished a report, named “An Overview of Passion for the Outdoors & the People”.

To gather information, we first follow the case handout which you provided and also we took
help from the internet to understand not only the case but also the overall situation of Patagonia.

This report is an important part of our course and we have tried our best to work on it carefully
and sincerely to create an informative report. Throughout the preparation of this report we got
the opportunity to do many researches and got a very remarkable experience that will be useful
for us in the near future.

Lastly, we would be thankful to you if you please give your judicious advice on our effort.

Yours sincerly,

Masrur Moontamim

ID: 111191152

On Behalf of

Group: 4 (Section B)

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 Acknowledgement

Thanks to Almighty Allah for giving us the strength and ability to understand, learn & complete
this report.

Firstly, we would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to our faculty, Jerin Haque
Chhanda who gave us the golden opportunity to do this wonderful task and help us to know
about so many new things and for the guidance and encouragement in finishing this report and
also for teaching us this course.

This task could not be completed without the effort and co-operation from our group members.
Last but not the least; we would like to express our gratitude to our friends and senior students of
our university for the support.

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 Table of Contents

Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................iv
What is Patagonia?......................................................................................................................................1
Objective.....................................................................................................................................................1
Research Questionnaire...............................................................................................................................2
 What would it be like to work at Patagonia?....................................................................................2
 What is my assessment of the company’s work environment?........................................................3
 Using what you’ve learned from studying the various motivation theories, what does Patagonia’s
situation tell you about employee motivation?........................................................................................4
 What do you think might be Patagonian biggest challenge in keeping employees motivated?........6
 If you were managing a team of Patagonia employee in the retail stores, how would you keep
them motivated?......................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................9

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Executive Summary

In this huge world, there are various kinds of Industries. They all focused on how to profit and
how to develop just themselves. But they do not take care of the employees.

But there is a well-known company in America, named Patagonia who always look after the
employees. Patagonia is a well-known, multi-million dollar American clothing company that
markets sustainable outdoor clothing and apparel. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973
and ever since the beginning, it has held ethical and environmental issues close to its core.

At Patagonia they strongly value transparency and equality in order to make balanced decisions
that are not only favorable for themselves but also for the planet. It led them to start looking
critically into their own supply chain in order to reduce the environmental harm their products
were causing.

The organization believes in “MORE THAN JUST A CLOTHIN BRAND” and refuses to settle
anything until it exceeds the existing standard. The company has awarded with many certificates
for their outstanding services they gave to their customer.

“We're in business to save our home planet,” is outdoor gear and apparel retailer
Patagonia’s new mission statement. It's a more succinct update from its previous mission
statement, “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and
implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

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What is Patagonia?

Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in

Ventura, California. A certified B-Corporation, Patagonia’s mission is to build the best product,
cause no unnecessary harm and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the
environmental crisis. 

The company is recognized internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and
environmental activism, contributing over $78 million in grants and in-kind donations since
1985.

Patagonia was one of the first American companies to offer on-site child care. They remain
among the only ones. In 2008, 9 percent of companies surveyed offered on-site child care,
according to the Families and Work Institute. In 2014, just 7 percent did.

Objective

The main objective of this research report is to know about how Patagonia keeps its employees
motivated and how they overcome their challenges. Patagonia makes a great environment for its
employees which is a standard environment to follow by other organizations.

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Research Questionnaire

 What would it be like to work at Patagonia?

It is like a dream job to work at Patagonia. It has been now certified as great place to work by
USA in this year on July, also 91% of their employees says that too. Some of the comments by
their employees are:-

 95% says I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community.
 94% says I’m proud to tell others I work here.
 94% says our customers would rate the service we deliver as “excellent”.
 93% says I’m able to take time off from work when I think it’s necessary.
 93% says we have special and unique benefits here.

This is also evident by Patagonia’s treatment towards their employees. Their benefits includes
healthy foods and environment, child-care room for the children of the employees, surfing or
biking or jogging area to freshen up and encourages celebration in order to build a strong
communication.

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However there are some drawbacks working at Patagonia. Since Patagonia is a retail business,
few employees said the salary that they got was not up to the marks. Also they had to work 7
days a week and long hours to work.

Therefore, aside the drawbacks, Patagonia is a great place to work. The employees of them are
highly motivated by the cultures and ethics prevalent. Also being a retail business, the benefits
that Patagonia is providing to their employees are simply remarkable.

 What is my assessment of the company’s work environment?

From my opinion, Patagonia’s working environment is excellent. I love everything about

working at Patagonia. Most important thing is, people here really care about the environment.
The company has a humble founder to inspire the employee, kind CEO and incredible co-
workers. Patagonia’s office space feels more like a national park lodge than the main office of a
750 million retailer. It has a Douglas fir staircase and a portrait of Yosemite’s El captain. The
company’s cafe provides organic food and drinks. Breakfast and lunch are so good.

Patagonia has long been recognized as a great workplace for mothers. There is an infant and
toddler child care room for employee’s children. The great thing is the sound of kids laughing
and playing sometimes makes you forget that you’re at work. The company’s office is located in
a short walkway from the beach. The company have yoga and Pilates classes at lunch and after
work. Moreover, the location of its headquarter, Ventura is a diamond in the rough of Social. It
has amazing surf, beautiful mountains with rock climbing, road and mountain biking, hiking and
the Channel Islands are a beautiful place to explore. After surfing or jogging or biking employees
can freshen up in the showers of the restrooms. As there is no private office for employees, if any
employee doesn’t want to be disturbed, they can wear headphones. The interesting part is, the
company encourage celebration to boost employee morale. Patagonia’s employees know that
“what they do each day is contributing toward a higher purpose.” Managers of the company are
trained to define expectations, communicate deadlines and then let employees figure out the best

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way to meet those. People are happy to working here. It makes for a very fun, productive,
friendly work environment.

 Using what you’ve learned from studying the various motivation theories, what
does Patagonia’s situation tell you about employee motivation?

Employee’s performance is generally determined by three things: Motivation, Ability, and the
Work Environment. If an employee lacks ability or if there is resource problem, manager can
handle those situation. But if motivation is the problem the task for the manager is more
challenging. Individual behavior is complex phenomenon, and the manager may be hard pressed
to figure out the precise nature of the problem and how to solve it. Thus employee motivation is
important for the betterment of the organization.

If we observe the situation of employee motivation in Patagonia, we can tell that most of the
managers of Patagonia follows Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow, a human
relationist, told that people are motivated to satisfy five need levels.

 The Physiological Needs: things like food, sex, and air, which represent the basic
issues of survival and biological function. In organization, these needs are generally
satisfied by adequate wages and the work environment itself.

Patagonia’s café serves organic food and drinks, which is so much good for an employee’s
health. Also Patagonia’s employee can go to Pacific Ocean by an easy one block walk and they
can breathe fresh air from there and can freshen up their mind.

 The Security Needs: for a secure physical and emotional environment. The desire for
housing and clothing and the need to be free from worry about money and job
security. These needs can be satisfied in the workplace by job community, a
grievance system, an adequate insurance, and retirement benefits.

Patagonia deals with its workers with a phenomenal advantages bundle. They offer 401K, dental,
vision, and medical coverage that incorporates repayment for massage and acupuncture. The
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organization esteems a sound work/life parity and endeavors to put its representatives' needs
first.

 The Belongingness Needs: relate to social processes. They include the need for love
and affection and the need to be accepted by one’s peers. These needs are satisfied for
most people by family and community relationships outside of work and by
friendships on the jobs. A manager can help satisfy these needs by allowing social
interaction and by making employees feel like part of a team.

No one has a private office room in Patagonia. All the employees sit in a huge room, they work
together and by that they can easily interact with each other, make friendships on the job also.

 The Esteem Needs: actually comprise two different sets of needs, (1) the need for a
positive self-image and self-respect and (2) the need for recognition and respect from
others. A manager can help address these needs by providing a variety of extrinsic
symbols of accomplishment, such as job titles, nice office and similar reward as
appropriate.

Patagonia’s office space feels more like a national park lodge than the main office of a $750
million retailer. It has a Douglas fir staircase and a portrait of Yosemite’s El Capitan.

 The Self-Actualization Needs: These involve realizing one’s potential for continued
growth and individual development. The self-actualization needs are perhaps the most
difficult for a manager to address. In fact, it can be argued that these needs must be
met entirely from within the individual. But a manager can help by promoting a
culture wherein self-actualization is possible.

Patagonia’s CEO Casey Sheahan says the company’s culture, camaraderie, and the way of
doing business is very meaningful to employees, and they know that “what they do each day is
contributing toward a higher purpose- protecting and preserving the areas that most of them love
spending time in.” Also in Patagonia, employees have the freedom to make their own decision
about a problem and how to meet those with a best way.

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  What do you think might be Patagonian biggest challenge in keeping employees
motivated?

Motivation comes from a variety of sources, some of which are internal and others external.

Furthermore, employees are motivated by different motivators, depending on their personality,

Goals and changing preferences. Therefore, the hardest challenge a Manager at Patagonia faces
is understanding the various needs of employees and how to meet them.

Patagonian are doing a great job regarding employee motivation. They won’t have to face much
difficulty to keep their employees motivated. But still there might be some points they should be
focusing on. For example, working hours should not be hampered by the facilities they offer to
their employees. A worker should not spend more time in the café than he /she is offered for
break time. .Above all, the authority should maintain and control the motivational environment
and the facilities they offer regarding it

Patagonia has greeted their employees with a large scale of facilities for the employees
motivation and stress relief but at the same time we should not forget that facilities may have
misuse also. The facility for employees to enjoy and relax on the workplace which looks like a
national park lounge may result in less efficiency in work hour and more hours to spend in
relaxing. Moreover the company has a slight lack in communicating with its members as a result
any information may not pass to the employees. Every person is difficult in their own way so the
same motivation may not work in every case. The company have high expectation for their
employees to do their work efficiently but in reality it may not be the case as there may be some
difficulties in communication .Moreover it is hard for the managers to control unreasonable
employees as the number of employees in Patagonia is in a large scale and coping up with each
employees may be difficult to handle.

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  If you were managing a team of Patagonia employee in the retail stores, how
would you keep them motivated?

As we can learn from the case study, Patagonia had a combined voluntary and involuntary
turnover in its retail stores was 25%, while its head-quarter had 7%.

(The industry average for retail was around 40%)

If I was managing a team of Patagonia employees in the retail stores then I would keep them
motivated by:

As we get to know from case study that Patagonia has a great environment for its employees at
the headquarters. But it is a fact that the retail stores are not always in good conditions as there is
always a huge number of crowd moving in and out for sales. Thus they might have to redecorate
and set their stores for couple of times a day, and this can bring dullness and make them
demotivated.

My ways of motivating the employees at the retail stores are:

1. Blending the schedules of each employees: As it is a day to day work, employees might
get lazy doing the same (9 am.-6 pm.) job. Rather than I would like to make shifts and
change employees by shift to shift on daily basis. It’ll help them to be focused to the job
and to be motivated.
2. Giving the employees responsibility: Giving them the responsibility of a work ensures
that they’ll try to bring out the best of them and will make sure they don’t do any
mistakes. It’ll bring out the leadership quality which will help the organization besides
keep them motivated to do what they’re doing.
3. Developing them throughout different tasks: At the retail stores, there are different
types of tasks to be done at a daily basis. And this daily tasks can make the employees
lazy. Rather than using an individual to do one task, I would use each and every
employee on a weekly routine basis. This will develop their working skills and while
helping them to gain some valuable exposure for the stores. Thus they’ll be motivated to
learn something new and to do something new. For example: Each employee will go for
home delivery on a weekly routine based system, not only an individual.

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4. Supporting an acknowledgment rich culture: Motivation doesn’t just come from the
top. Having a happy and active workforce helps to create an atmosphere that can keep
retail staff moving. Supporting an acknowledgment rich culture where employees of all
levels actively congratulate each other on their successes is important. If we have
morning meetings, it can be helpful to highlight areas where individual employees
excelled the day before. By openly praising people, I can also facilitate a more agile
workforce. When employees are encouraged to highlight each other’s successes, they
learn to respect each other’s strengths, which in turn can encourage retail staff to share
the load and work much better than before.
5. Creating a positive environment: To motivate the employees to sell my product, my
retail space has to look its best. By creating a space that reflects Patagonia’s brand and
the lifestyle that they are selling to the customers. This environment will help keep the
employees motivated and help them take pride in what they do. A pleasant atmosphere,
combined with the right attitude from the employees, will, in turn, help us to sell more.
6. Setting achievable goals and giving rewards: Employees believe that they have a
standard mark to reach, so I would set certain goals each month that is achievable for
them. The goal has to be achievable because only then they’ll start to believe in it and
will give their full efforts to reach those goals. Finally when the reach the goals I would
financially or non-financially give them rewards which will help to increase my sales and
keep the employees motivated.
7. Organizing a monthly party and giving an award named #Best Retailer of the
month: This is party to make them relaxed and thus they’ll be able to know each other
more personally. It will help to develop the communication between all the employees. In
this party, an employees who has the highest sales of the month would be awarded with
an award named “#Best Retailer of the Month” which will encourage every employee
to give their best to the organization and to achieve this fame.

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References

1. https://www.patagonia.com/home/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvon_Chouinard
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs