Proceedings of Case Study Synopses (DBA Case Study Symposium-2017)

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    Review on Successful Entrepreneur: A Case Story on Green Marketing Application of DSI Samson International PLC.
    (Proceedings of Case Study Synopses ,DBA Case Study Symposium-2017, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Madhusanka, J.D.T.
    Recently, concerns have been expressed by manufacturers and customers about the environmental impact of products. Manufacturing organizations have directed their attention towards environmentally friendly products and aspects of green marketing. The Sri Lankan community also realizing the importance of the green marketing concept. Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus, green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. This paper aims to study DSI Samson international PLC,which is being operated with the Sri Lankan identity by investigating Business trends, procedures, environmental issues and appropriate solutions. Always, rubber related products have been a direct linkage and an impact on the environment. The need of an environmental friendly production and marketing process was emerged more and more to those strategic business units and subsidiaries due to the potential effects which may occur on the environment. “Green Marketing" refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption and disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants etc., Both marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to the need for switch into green products and services. While the shift to "green" may appear to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be indispensable and advantageous, cost-wise too, in the long run.Being a leading business corporation in the Sri Lankan market, the firms which are producing rubber and PVC related products and connected to DSI Company are now moving towards the profitability and success by using aspects of green marketing perspective. The company has established Sri Lankan Symbol in the mindset of foreign customers as well as Sri Lankan by entering the international market. This is a story of success which many lessons could be learnt. DSI Samson Group proudly stands tall today as the country’s premier business conglomerate and leading manufacturer of footwear and rubber related products in Sri Lanka. The company is driven by innovation, adaptation and a keen sense of responsibility, combined with customer service excellence, high business ethics and a committed workforce for over 52 years. Samson International Ltd is a sister company of the renowned DSI Samson Group. It is one of a major Rubber Products manufacturers and exporters in Sri Lanka, Samson International Ltd., strives to provide products of the highest quality. With almost 25 years’ experience in the manufacturing industry, which have established an experienced and remarkably efficient management team consisting of over 300 employees. There were so many obstacles at the start of this successful journey. In 1962 Mr. D.S. Rajapakshe– Founder, Chairman along with his children launched D. Samson & Sons business outlet in Fort (Colombo), to sell local and imported footwear started as a small outlet. In 1988.10.14 the Samson International LTD was started as a sub company of the DSI Corporation. The company faced a challenge to find the solutions which are concerned about the environment aligned with production and marketing processes, Because of the company engaging Rubber related products, which may have the considerable impact towards the environment. The success of any organization depends on consideration and the satisfaction of the customer community. So, Samson International Company, which is offering vast variety of product ranges to both international and local markets, has been studied on consumer perception and consumer behavior under the context of green marketing. The products those are manufactured through green technology and that caused no environmental hazards are called green products. Promotion of green technology and green products are necessary for conservation of natural resources and sustainable development. Research and development department and market research team investigated and studies about following theoretical aspects and models. They were realized the importance of the green marketing after having a thorough understanding about the different theories.Basically, the company has been moving to green designing concept. At the stage of conceptualization, company considered about sustainable material and environmental friendly production processes. Processes were planned with the consideration of waste recycling procedures. Next they are using “green positioning” to establish an attractive environment friendly brand image in the customer’s mind about the product which they are offering to the market. At the phase of “green logistics” the company concentrates another few critical factors. Value chain has been considered about the environment friendly packaging other than production and distribution process elements. When it comes to Green disposal phrase, company has been taken into consideration in various stages of product life cycle (from production to disposal), to dispose the wastage without any harm to the environment or human health. Now the organization is being implemented 3R method (Reduce – Reuse –Recycle) which is identified as a very practical and useful model Company adopt the 3R method of Reduce- Reuse- Recycle since 2005. This method covers in waste rubber and water management. Waste rubber is being recycled. Energy consumption has been minimized by eliminating energy waste, installing capacity banks, using transparent roof sheets and energy saving bulbs. Company monitor electricity consumption on a daily basis with sub-meters and energy audits are carried out from time to time. The Samson PLC has been adopted the environmentally friendly production method. The company uses electricity, paper and other power sources conserving approach and reinvest the saved resources for the benefit of the production value chain. One of the mainly concerned facts of the organization is the measuring of the timely impacts on the environment. Through these institutional protocols, inefficiencies are being corrected. To use this advantageous green marketing technique, The Samson International PLC uses the contribution of everybody in the group. The company often set up the “Green discussions” on the methods in production and marketing tactics with the employees and its main focus is based on the environment friendliness. Through this method the employees can suggest ideas to protect the environment. This boosts morale and generates goodwill as every person in DSI can contribute to the organizational environmental goals.Environmentally friendly measures are being taken in the supply chain of the factory as well. The purchasing orders are done to obtain raw materials in a well-planned manner. As a result the frequency of deliveries can be reduced also the packing materials supplied by the suppliers are re-used. Another important rule of green marketing is focusing on customer benefits. Always the company considering about the primary reason why do consumers buy certain products in the first place, and what are the reasons to motivate consumers to switch brands or even pay a premium for the greener alternative. It is not going to help if a product is developed which is absolutely green in various aspects but does not pass the customer satisfaction criteria. This will lead to green myopia. Also, if the green products are priced very high, then again it will lose its market acceptability. Samson international PLC has been provided careful attention regarding Green marketing myopia as well. In addition to the above information, Samson PLC has been following a unique green marketing and forest conservation approach. It is named as FSC approach. Under the FSC approach DSI group is following the below mentioned principles. 1). Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties, 2). Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long–term land tenure and use rights, 3). Recognition and respect of indigenous people’s rights, 4). Maintenance or enhancement of long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities and respect of worker’s rights in compliance with International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, 5). Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest, 6). Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest, 7). Appropriate and continuously updated management plan, 8). Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to assess the condition of the forest, management activities and their social and environmental impacts, 9). Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) defined as forests containing environmental and social values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance, 10). In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.The performance in the rubber segment has been improving day by day. The Company will further extend the rubber-related product range with an environmentally friendly manufacturing and green marketing aspects. The biggest challenge to the Company is to turn around the PVC segment in the next few years seven though there was remarkable progress. There is a radical change in consumer preferences and lifestyles. There has been a change in consumer attitudes towards a green lifestyle. The company is actively trying to decrease the negative impact on the environment. Through their unique initiatives the Samson International PLC, which is a subsidiary of the DSI group have been resulted in a competitive advantage for the organization. However, Due to the shift from traditional marketing to green marketing, management and decision makers are facing many contemporary challenges and have to investigate new strategies on Green marketing approach.
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    What makes you to be your own boss?.
    (Proceedings of Case Study Synopses ,DBA Case Study Symposium-2017, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Gangodawilage, D.
    Entrepreneurship, as a subject and as a career has drawn attention from different segments of people around the world. Consequently, today, entrepreneurship has become a discipline by itself. One of the important aspects associated with entrepreneurship is ‘innovation’. Both innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. As the pace of technological development increases, especially with the digital technology advancements, every aspect of the society has changed, thus innovation economy is shifting its focus to societies around the world. With the beginning of innovation in the tech industry, the demand for quality of life, new business models, product and services, and universally accessible knowledge has been increased. In this technological development process people, have begun to find ways to fulfill their demands. As a result, technology driven business models and products have entered the market. With the technological disruption taking place, it is interesting to see that people holding corporate leaderships are moving out from their careers and are eying to start their own business ventures, to bring innovative solutions for the problems faced by the society. Therefore, it is an interesting phenomenon to understand; what makes the corporate leaders to quit from their positions and become their own bosses. People have dreams. Sometimes, the childhood dreams sprout out and grow through the adolescence, and it becomes the mainstream goal in their lives and they work hard towards achieving such dreams. The intention of achieving such dreams is generated during childhood or as a result of an accidental situation, they have faced. “After I read an international magazine, I wanted to be a computer scientist rather than a doctor” was the intention in her mind during her childhood of Shahani Markus, founder of Emojot Pvt. Ltd.“When I was a twelve year old child, studying at Royal Collage, I was very interested in computers and programmed games”. This was the very first entrepreneurial behavior that Shanil Fernando come across in his childhood. “At the age of nineteen, I started my fist venture to assemble computes”,was the starting point of KanishkaWeeramunda’s entrepreneurial journey. This shows that attitudes, beliefs and values of a person plays a major role influencing the intended outcome in life. At the same time, courage of a person acts as one of the most important antecedents, for achieving their planned or intended behaviors in life. In various situations, the intentions created in the minds at the childhood is considered as the most effective predictor of their future behavior. In achieving their behavior, factors that are internal to a person, drive the courage, while external factors influence the courage. Cultural barriers and social impacts may affect in achieving the intended future tasks of a person positively or negatively. Pressure from these external factors, strengthen the intention if they have higher levels of confidence. However, with more and more exposure to different scenarios, the knowledge and experience gained through such exposure have helped them to develop the measures to control such negative attitudes and transform the intention to a desired goal. Looking at the historical background of corporate leaders, who have moved out from corporate leadership, in order to create their own ventures, reveal that the intention generated in the minds at the childhood, was a stepping stone to be their own boss at the later stages in their life. They have worked in the area they have selected at the childhood and have mastered it while in the corporate career. Some children, who had the enterprise thinking at their childhood, have created an intention, to continue in the entrepreneurial career. But, the colonial thinking of traditional Sri Lankan parents have blocked their intention by pushing them to be a white-collar worker. While serving as a lecturer at the University of Moratuwa, Shahani Markus, who is probably the first female ICT entrepreneur in Sri Lanka, founded global venture Emojot Pvt. Ltd. This firm is engaged in creating software tools to capture emotional- connection of specific context of a person.“Sri Lankan parents, lacked confidence, when their kids take up an entrepreneurial career” was a real societal issue which Shahani Markus highlighted comparing her experience in the United States. KanishkaWeeramunda found his successful venture PayMedia Pvt. Ltd, to provide services for banking automation, after ending his corporate career as a Chief Information Officer at Laugfs Holdings. “I went through the same agony, just like others to go for a job”, recalledKanishkaWeeramunda, founder of PayMedia Pvt. Ltd, his memories at the age of nineteen. It shows, that the lack of confidence and the lack of enterprise thinking of Sri Lankan parents, acts as a barrier for accepting disruptive ideas of their children. This barrier has resulted for them to join the corporate world. Even though, they work for a company, they show their enterprise behavior at every facet of their corporate life. Enterprise thinking, developed as a corporate leader and the lessons learned from failures in life, was helpful to challenge the status quo and be the own boss. “Open up your own company, is the best option anyone can have in their life”. It was the intention that Shahani Markus gained while in the USA, the place where the start-up ecosystem started. After her graduation, working in the Silicon-Valley gave her the intention to be her own boss. The intention to be a computer scientist and leading the field of technology by disrupting the industry was developed in her mind during her childhood. As Kanishka said, “Corporate leadership position was very vital to get an opportunity”. However the intention generated in his mind at the age of nineteen to start his first venture in assembling computers, were sharpened with the strong desire to be his own boss. The enthusiasm developed in the mind of this child, eventually ended-up being the rule breaker in the industry. Shanil Fernando was very keen in bringing disruptive ideas to the industry through his successful venture, Leapset Pvt. Ltd. Today, he is the Managing Director of Sysco Labs which is a leading software company in Sri Lanka with its headquarters in Silicon Valley. He has developed rule braking behavior at the age of twelve, as a Royalist by programming games and selling it to his friends in the school.Attitude of a person helps to predict their future behavior. It shows that attitudes, values and feelings, developed at the childhood directly affect in creating a mindset. Along with this mindset, different experience, knowledge and skills gain as a corporate leader was instrumental for these entrepreneurs to excel in their entrepreneurial career. In Sri Lankan context, it is an interesting phenomena to analyze whether intention develop in the minds at the childhood is strongly associated with the outcome of the life.