Big Yellow Group PLC: Innovation, Ethics & CSR - Business Report

This report assesses the impact of innovation, business ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on modern business organizations, with a focus on Big Yellow Group PLC. It highlights the role of innovation in enhancing business effectiveness, competitiveness, and profitability, examining strategies like first-mover and follower approaches. The report discusses the importance of business ethics, CSR, and corporate governance, along with their influence on company operations, referencing Carroll's CSR pyramid and stakeholder theory. It provides recommendations for Big Yellow Group PLC to improve waste management, customer service, and overall sustainability, aiming to address weaknesses and enhance efficiency.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: CORSEWORK
WRITTEN PROJECT
BUSINESS REPORT
Student ID :
Word count : 2500 words
Project Deadline :
Project : 011
Module : MOD003353
Module Leader :
Semester/Trimester: 2
Academic Year: 2021/2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
1.2. Assessing the impact of innovation on modern business organizations...................................3
1.3 Researching, Analysing the application of Innovation to Big Yellow Group PLC...................4
1.4 Assessing the impact of business ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility on modern
business............................................................................................................................................5
1.5 Researching and analysing the application of business ethics and Corporate Social
Responsibility to Big Yellow Group PLC.......................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report gives a brief idea of business organizations and business concepts. It highlights the
role of innovation in making a business more effective, competitive and profitable and various
strategies like first to the market and follower strategy using which a company takes advantage
of the innovation. The report then outlines the importance of innovation like automation and
robotics, biometrics, etc. and the advantages of fast follower strategy in The Big Yellow Group
PLC which is a self-storage company. The report then sheds light on the business ethics and a
company’s Corporate Social Responsibilities and Corporate governance and the impact that they
have on the company and also states various arguments like moral, strategic, etc for business to
be socially responsible. It also explains in brief stakeholder theory and different types of
stakeholders. The report then mentions the impact of business ethics and CSR on the Big Yellow
Group’s operations. And finally recommendations like improving its waste management
practices and customer services, etc. are given for the company to overcome its weaknesses,
make its operations sustainable and improve its efficiency.
1.2. Assessing the impact of innovation on modern business organizations.
A business is an organization that is involved in manufacturing, buying or selling goods and
services with an incentive to earn profits. Profit here not only means monetary gains. The
fundamental idea that leads to the foundation of the business is called business concept. All the
planning and strategies are based on this concept.
Innovation can be described as new ideas, methods, etc and implementing them to invent or
introduce new products, goods or services in the market(Kahn, 2018). Innovation in business
means making or developing something new or improving the existing things which includes
ideas, services, products, method flow of work etc. that helps in improving and boosting the
business.
In today’s competitive and constantly changing business environment, innovation plays a key
role in making a business stand out and succeed. The ways in which innovation helps a business
are-
 Increase in Efficiency and Profits
Most of the business innovations help in cutting down the costs and make the processes
sustainable and less time consuming. It also helps in reducing the wastage and increased
efficiency which leads to better productivity due to use of new and advance technology or
methodology(Bloom, Van Reenen and Williams, 2019). This in turn increases the profitability of
the company by providing better output at low cost.
 Improves customer relations

Innovation helps a business stay up-to-date with the changing customer demands which helps to
retain the customers and boost sales as the customers do not want any outdated products or
services.
 Hiring talented employees and retaining them
Talented people only want to work in an innovative environment where they can grow and have
a sense of pride. Such a working environment increases productivity and reduces labour
turnover which leads to even more innovation as the employees are one of the best source of new
ideas.
 Improves market position
Innovations help in timely anticipation of market changes and grabbing the opportunities which
improves a company’s market position as it reacts to the changes on time and delivers to the
customers demands.
 Competitive advantage
Increased efficiency and getting ahead of opportunities helps the company to have a competitive
advantage over other firms in the industry as it meets the market demands on time which
competitors might fail to do.
Innovation is a very crucial element of economic progress and growth for consumers, business
and even the economy. In economic terms, innovation can be defined as development and
implementation of ideas, methodology and technology to help improve the goods and services
and also increase the production efficiency which means the same level of input may yield more
output(Frishammar, 2019). A rise in productivity means growth in economy. Just like Samsung
did a few years back, instead of continuing to manufacture cheap products, it broke the outdated
hierarchy where the employees weren’t heard and focused on innovating new improved products
with improved technology and better participation of employees in giving new ideas that helped
the company grow immensely and have a great advantage over its competitors as the production
increased greatly due to new technologies and its innovative designs differentiated it from others
in the industry.
There are various strategies that a company can use to market the innovations like first mover
strategy where the company gains advantage over its competitors by introducing the product or
service in the market. It enables the company to maintain strong reputation and loyalty for the
products. Another strategy is the follower strategy where the company copies and follows the
market leader and earn profits as they only take advantage of the innovation but do not incur the
innovation costs.
1.3 Researching, Analysing the application of Innovation to Big Yellow Group
PLC
The Big Yellow Group is one of the highest ranked home and business self storage company in
UK with its headquarters in Bagshot, England. It was founded in 1998 and currently has 104
storage sites in UK.
The company always looks for new innovative ways to make the business more sustainable and
improve the customer service and experience by improving their website and making it more
effective to improve the online visitor’s web journey. The company’s main focus is on finding
and implementing innovative ways to increase its occupancy by 90% as it has already observed
that more occupancy increases the revenue and cash flow of the company and is planning
expansion strategies by acquiring lands and developing new stores. The company is

incorporating latest technologies like solar plants to produce renewable energy. Some of the
latest innovations that are implemented in the company are - automation and use of robots
increased both effectiveness and efficiency as it cuts down expenses, saves time and produces
more. Use of mobile phones to have access to these storages have made it so much easier for
people to manage things like renting a unit or paying bills, etc(Haizar, 2020). Biometrics has
helped put security on a new level as the sensitive data, goods and material now get maximum
security. Remote monitoring and self-storage management software are another innovations that
made the maintenance and usage of these storage easier and less time consuming. Self-storage
kiosks are yet another great selling tool as it facilitates 24-hour service and takes care of all
customer interactions which reduce the manager’s workload.
As the company follows the fast follower strategy to implement all the required innovations
quickly, it earns a massive profit as it does not have to incur high costs of R&D and innovations
and takes utmost advantage of new technologies. The risks are also low as compared to the first
movers as the company might have already seen the result or success of the
innovation(Shchepakin, 2018). The company can also make certain changes as per the
customer’s needs that the new product or technology might lack. The customers also don’t have
to be educated for the new product as it has already been done by the first mover.
1.4 Assessing the impact of business ethics and Corporate Social
Responsibility on modern business
Business ethics are the business policies and practices that help in differentiating between right
and wrong and determining what is appropriate and what is not in the workplace(Trevino and
Nelson, 2021). These are the legal, social and economical standards, norms and principles that
regulate the behaviour and actions of the people in the organization.
Corporate Social Responsibility means the practices of the business that aim for self regulation
with an intention to manage the process in such a way that it creates a positive impact on the
environment, society and the world as a whole(Ferrell, 2019). According to the Carroll’s CSR
pyramid, they are generally categorized as Economic responsibility, Legal responsibility, Ethical
responsibility and Philanthropic responsibility.
Corporate Governance is the set of rules, techniques and practices that control, manage and
govern a company. It defines who has authority and power. Corporate governance ensures that
the company’s objectives are achieved keeping in mind that it fulfils the expectations of
stakeholders.
A stakeholder is someone who has an interest and concern in the business of the company and is
affected directly or indirectly by it. Investors, customers, government, employees or suppliers,
etc. are the stakeholders of a company. The different types of stakeholders are-
 Primary stakeholders – Employees, Board of Directors, Shareholders and Managers are a
company’s internal stakeholders.
 Secondary stakeholders – Suppliers, Customers, Government and Communities are the
company’s external stakeholders.
Competitors are normative stakeholders. Suppliers, unions and employees are functional
stakeholders. NGOs, mass media are diffused stakeholders. Shareholders, government and board
of directors are enabling stakeholders.

Stakeholder theory states the ethics and values that should govern a business in such a way that
it creates a value for not just the shareholders but also for all the stakeholders and fulfils its
responsibilities towards them(Bundy, Vogel and Zachary, 2018). This theory sees the company
as a large body that impacts the lives of many individuals like employees, customers, etc. and
has responsibilities towards them and not just its owners.
Though business ethics and CSR are of utmost importance in today’s business environment, it
still bring along many difficulties and issues like the ethics and CSR leads to inappropriate
standards that restricts the operations of a business and might lead to business failure like
inappropriate standards set for CSR and ethics bind a business to manufacture or produce
products in the most environment friendly way which may not always be possible and might lead
to lower production or increase the cost of production which will cause losses to the firm. The
most common CSR issues are labour standards and their working conditions, environment
management, employee, management and community relations, human rights, anti-corruption
policies, etc. So, an ethical business can only be profitable when the ethics set are realistic and
appropriate and fulfils its CSR without disrupting the business operations. There are also various
arguments for a business to be socially responsible, few of which are the Moral argument which
highlights the relationship between a company and its society where the business understands
that along with internal factors, it also uses the society’s resources for its operations and hence
has an obligation to repay this debt to the society(Zaman, 2022). The Strategic argument reflects
the use of CSR perspective in line with the firm’s strategies and planning so that the
stakeholders’ interest of maximizing economic and social value is achieved.
1.5 Researching and analysing the application of business ethics and
Corporate Social Responsibility to Big Yellow Group PLC
Big Yellow Group understands the importance of CSR as it will increase customer and
shareholder value and create a better and more sustainable business. It tries to create a business
that is environment friendly and meet the demands for self storage along with contributing in
local society and community by providing employment opportunities.
According to the Carroll’s pyramid, the company’s responsibilities are categorized as-
The company fulfils its Economic responsibility by introducing modern and secure home and
business self storage facilities at various locations easily feasible by everybody in a way that it
earns huge profits to meet shareholder’s expectations and also respects its people and employees
and the contribution they make to make the company successful hence it fulfils its social
responsibilities towards them by introducing flexible working options like work from home,
flexible timings, etc. and provide medical support and childcare vouchers to them(Štreimikienė
and Ahmed, 2021). They also promote the importance of training and development of the staff
and set up regular formal and informal meetings to enhance the communication between the
employees and management and encourages their engagement in decision making. Its Legal
responsibilities are taken care of by complying with all the rules and regulations set by local as
well as national authorities and meeting all legal obligations. The company also contributes by
making donations and providing free storage in various local as well as national schools,
charities and other institutions like British Heart Foundation, The Royal Marsden March, etc. by
which it meets its Ethical as well as Philanthropic responsibilities. The company has high
standards of health and safety for all its employees, management and everyone who is affected

by the company’s business. It has set several policies and Health and Safety audits are conducted
on all sites by external consultants. The company focuses on running an environment friendly
business and takes adequate measures to manage its operations in sustainable ways to reduce
harmful emissions. It was also classified by the Ethical Investment Research Index Series as
having “low environment impact”. Fulfilling CSR and making everything sustainable by the
company is given due importance in today’s era(Ali, Danish and Asrar‐ul‐Haq, 2020). All this
helped the company to have a strong competitive advantage over others as the employees and
customers are highly satisfied and made it one of the most recognisable brand of UK’s self
storage industry. This in turn also helped the company economically and financially by increase
in the profits.
Though the company fulfilled most of its CSR, a critical evaluation suggests the areas where it
lagged behind the standards. as even though the solar energy generation has increased, the
electricity usage is still high. The wastage and recycling is still not up-to the mark that it should
be.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The company is advised to work on its waste management practices as it is criticised by the
environmentalists. Not only that, it should also try to minimise its energy usage and carbon
emission to make its products and production sustainable and environment-friendly as it is a
rising necessity in today’s market.
The company should also increase its expenditure on research and development to make its
operations more effective and efficient. A good market knowledge can help the company take
advantage of the changing customer needs and tastes by timely adapting to it and producing
accordingly.
Customer service should also be improved more as inefficient handling of customer complaints
can affect business reputation and growth.
Decision making process should be speedy as delays in introducing products in the market can
make its competitors gain advantage over it.
High-end products or product diversion can be introduced as the customer’s disposable income
is also rising so the revenue and profits might increase.
The company plan expansion as the population and potential customers are rising. It should
improve its project management practices to successfully implement its plan of opening new
branches. It should also try to get into international markets to target a wider customer base and
increase profits.
The employee turnover is high due to job stress and low morale which makes the workforce
less efficient and productive. So measures should be taken to motivate the employees and
reduce their burden.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ali, H. Y., Danish, R. Q. and Asrar‐ul‐Haq, M., 2020. How corporate social responsibility boosts
firm financial performance: The mediating role of corporate image and customer
satisfaction. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 27(1).
pp.166-177.
Bloom, N., Van Reenen, J. and Williams, H., 2019. A toolkit of policies to promote
innovation. Journal of economic perspectives. 33(3). pp.163-84.
Bundy, J., Vogel, R. M. and Zachary, M. A., 2018. Organization–stakeholder fit: A dynamic
theory of cooperation, compromise, and conflict between an organization and its
stakeholders. Strategic Management Journal. 39(2). pp.476-501.
Ferrell, O. C. and et.al ., 2019. Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and brand
attitudes: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Research. 95. pp.491-501.
Frishammar, J. and et.al ., 2019. Opportunities and challenges in the new innovation landscape:
Implications for innovation auditing and innovation management. European Management
Journal. 37(2). pp.151-164.
Haizar, N. F. B. M. and et.al ., 2020. The impact of innovation strategy on organizational
success: A study of Samsung. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education
(APJME). 3(2). pp.93-104.
Kahn, K. B., 2018. Understanding innovation. Business Horizons. 61(3). pp.453-460.
Shchepakin, M. B. and et.al ., 2018. Marketing tools of innovation development
management. Espacios. 39(31). pp.9-9.
Štreimikienė, D. and Ahmed, R. R., 2021. Corporate social responsibility and brand
management: evidence from Carroll’s pyramid and triple bottom line
approaches. Technological and Economic Development of Economy. 27(4). pp.852-875.
Trevino, L. K. and Nelson, K. A., 2021. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Zaman, R. and et.al ., 2022. Corporate governance meets corporate social responsibility:
Mapping the interface. Business & Society. 61(3). pp.690-752.