MM200 Essay: Analyzing Alibaba's Sustainable Practices and Strategies

This essay examines Alibaba Group's sustainability practices, drawing from the provided case study and relevant academic sources. It explores Alibaba's approach to sustainability, encompassing human and ecological sustainability, and its alignment with sustainable development goals. The essay discusses the company's social contract with stakeholders, emphasizing its commitment to gender equality and employee development. It further analyzes Alibaba's ecological sustainability initiatives, including its application of the circular economy model and the integration of the UN's sustainable development goals. The analysis covers how Alibaba is reinventing business models, implementing purposive value-based actions, and building strategy within its corporate culture. The essay highlights the company's efforts to foster a sustainable community and its decision-making processes to enhance sustainability within its operations. In conclusion, the essay emphasizes the benefits of Alibaba's sustainability strategies and their contribution to the overall performance of the business.

Running head: MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS
MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
A new social contract.......................................................................................................2
Human sustainability.......................................................................................................3
Ecological Sustainability.................................................................................................4
Reinventing business models...........................................................................................5
Purposive value-based actions.........................................................................................6
Building strategy in culture.............................................................................................6
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................7
References............................................................................................................................9
Appendix............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Alibaba Group Holding Limited is one of the most popular conglomerates that have been
implemented within the international markets. The company is headquartered in Zhejiang, China,
and deals with the business activities in the fields of e-commerce, internet, retail and technology
(Alibabagroup.com, 2019). The company is known to serve clientele all over the global markets
with the help of the application of the various services related to the use of the internet. The
company is accredited to be one of the largest companies that have been dealing in the artificial
intelligence use and the internet activities as well. The company is known to have earned a
revenue of around 376.844 billion renminbi in the year 2019 which bears an equivalence to
almost 56.152 billion US dollars (Alibabagroup.com, 2019). The current workforce of the
company consists of 101,958 employees who have been serving the company at various
international locations (Alibabagroup.com, 2019). The following paper attempts a discussion on
the sustainable practices that are maintained within the organization as well as the entire online
retail industry as well. The paper further highlights the use and the incorporation of the various
sustainable development goals that are present within the given industry as well.
A new social contract
The major stakeholders of the concern in discussion, Alibaba, refer to the consumers of
the organization, the owners of the organization, the organizational employees and the
organizational suppliers of the organization. The secondary stakeholders of the organization refer
to the stakeholders who have not been essential for the survival for the firm but influence the
various decisions within the firms. The company is known for the development and the
maintenance of the performance of the business organization in the given markets (Appelbaum et
al., 2016). The majority of the implemented organizational policies tend to abide by the matters

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that are related to the sustainability within the given industry as well (Sroufe, 2017). The
company has been facing a huge number of issues in the matters that are related to the
relationships that are maintained within the company workforce as well as the concerned markets
wherein the company has been functional. The company is known to have been dealing with the
betterment of the ecological environment wherein the company has been functional. The
company has been known to highlight the development in the workforce as have been
demonstrated within the annual reports of the company as well (Fan & Liu, 2015). The company
is known to have been implementing the sustainable development goals as have been set by the
United Nations. The company is known to have been implementing the fifth sustainable
development goal within the operations of the company. This helped in the overall development
of the issues regarding the implementation of the gender equality within the workplace as well.
Human sustainability
The company is known to have been dealing with the issues that are overall development
of the skill and the knowledge base of the employees who have been serving the organization at
the various hierarchical levels that are implemented within the organization in discussion. The
sustainability reports as have been published on the part of the company state that the company
consisted of 86,833 employees all over the world as had been highlighted till the month of June
in the year 2018 (Alibabagroup.com, 2018). The company is known to maintain a clarity in the
mission and the vision as have been set by the concerned organizations as well. The fifth
sustainable goal as have been undertaken by the United Nations make attempts to “achieve
gender equality and empower all women and girls” (Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, 2019).
The implementation of the fifth sustainable development goal within the organization has led to
the conditions wherein female employees of the organization account almost 75% of the entire

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workforce of the company. The company has further maintained proper employment of the
diversity within the organization. The company is further observed to have been employing
people within the age bracket of 31 to 40 years who majorly constitute of 47% of the employees
of the organization (Alibabagroup.com, 2018). The implementation of the proper diversity within
the organization helps in the increase of the competitive advantage of the company in the given
international markets. The company further highlights the flexibility within the corporate
workforce as well. The company is known to have been implementing the various training
procedures that need to be implemented within the organization in order to deal in the overall
development of the company in the given markets.
Ecological Sustainability
The company in discussion, Alibaba, is known to have implementing the various
measures that are required for the overall development of the concerned organization in the
international markets. The company in discussion tends to implement the green sustainability
within the operations of the organization thereby leading to the overall development of the
organizational practices within the given international markets. The company in discussion is
known to put forth an application of the ninth sustainable development goals within the
organizational practices as well (Baumgartner & Rauter, 2017). This in turn helps in the
development of the sustainability within the operations of the company due to fact that the
“investments in infrastructure are crucial to achieving sustainable development”
(Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, 2019). The implementation of the sustainable development
goals within the organization helps in the overall development of the factors that are related to
the positive influences of the company on the other organizations that have been belonging to the
similar industry. This in turn helps in the overall development of Alibaba in terms of the

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sustainable methodologies that are being undertaken by the concerned organization (Tan et al.,
2015). The company is observed to have undertaken the application of the various strategic
developments that would assist the overall development of the given organization as well as the
other companies featuring in the international markets.
Reinventing business models
The company in discussion is known to have been implementing the Circular Economy
model within the organization in order to deal with the various issues that are highlighted in
terms of the business operations as are being undertaken by the company. The company is
observed to have been focusing on the implementation of the reduction of the misuse alongside
the enhancement of the reusage and recycling of the materials that are utilized by the
organization. In order to implement the necessary development of the business activities within
the given countries of operation, the company is observed to have been stressing majorly on the
use of the recyclable products within the workplaces of the company (George, Lin & Chen,
2015). In this case it might be stated that the company has been implementing the eighth
sustainable development goal which states that the “sustainable economic growth will require
societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs” (Un.org, 2019). The
implementation of this goal would help in the incorporation of the shared economy within the
organization as well as within the given industry. The implementation of the sustainability within
the organization would also help the company to set an example for the various other
organizations that are active within the given market in order to deal with the overall
development of the business activities that are undertaken in the various international markets as
well (Benn, Edwards & Williams, 2014). The implementation of the various sustainable

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activities that are practiced within the organization helps in the providing an example to the other
business organization within the industry as well.
Purposive value-based actions
The organization in discussion, Alibaba, is known to have been dealing with the various
issues that are highlighted in the formation of the various alliances with the various organizations
that have been dealing with the issues that are related to the overall development of the values
that are maintained within the organization as well. This helps in the overall development of the
entire industry. The company in discussion is known to have employed a certain codified value
set within the organization as well. This in turn helps in the overall development of the values
that are maintained within the organization as well (Benn, Edwards & Williams, 2014). The
company is known to have been implementing the seventeenth sustainable development goal
within the operations of the company as well. The concerned sustainable development goal
makes an attempt to “revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development” (Undp.org,
2019). The company is known to have been implementing the various audits that are conducted
within the organization in terms of the internal as well as the external relations that are
maintained within the given markets as well. The company is known to have been dealing with
the various changes in the values that are maintained within the organization as well as in the
overall industry (Bansal, 2019). The implementation of the issues within the organizations help
in the implementation of the various strategies within the organizational sustainability as have
been maintained within the various international markets wherein the company has been active.
Building strategy in culture
The company in discussion, Alibaba, is known to have been implementing the various
strategies that are related to the creation of a proper community within the various international

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markets. This in turn leads to the overall development of the various issues that are related to the
creation of the proper community that deals in the maintenance and the creation of the
sustainability within the community as well. The company in discussion tends to implement the
green sustainability within the operations of the organization thereby leading to the overall
development of the organizational practices within the given international markets (Li, Ding &
Li, 2019). The company is observed to have been stressing majorly on the use of the recyclable
products within the workplaces of the company. In this case it might be stated that the company
has been implementing the eighth sustainable development goal which states that the
“sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people
to have quality jobs” (Undp.org, 2019). The implementation of this goal would help in the
incorporation of the shared economy within the organization as well as within the given industry.
The company in discussion further undertakes the various decisions that are related to the
implementation of the sustainability within the given organization as well (Zhou, Chen & Li,
2018). The various decision-making activities that are undertaken by the managerial bodies
within the given organization helps in the various matters that are related to the implementation
of the various activities that would help in the implementation of the enhanced sustainability
within the area.
Conclusion
In conclusion it might be stated that the company in discussion, Alibaba, has benefitted
greatly from the incorporation of strategies that are needed for the overall development of the
issues as have been highlighted within the sustainable practices that are maintained within the
organization. The company is known for the development and the maintenance of the
performance of the business organization in the given markets. The majority of the implemented

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organizational policies tend to abide by the matters that are related to the sustainability within the
given industry as well. The company is known to have been dealing with the betterment of the
ecological environment wherein the company has been functional. The company has been known
to highlight the development in the workforce as have been demonstrated within the annual
reports of the company as well. The company is observed to have been focusing on the
implementation of the reduction of the misuse alongside the enhancement of the reusage and
recycling of the materials that are utilized by the organization. In order to implement the
necessary development of the business activities within the given countries of operation, the
company is observed to have been stressing majorly on the use of the recyclable products within
the workplaces of the company.

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References
Alibabagroup.com. (2018). Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://esg.alibabagroup.com/ui/pdfs/Alibaba-ESG-Report-2018.pdf
Alibabagroup.com. (2019). Alibaba Group. Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history
Alibabagroup.com. (2019). Alibaba Group. Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/integrity
Appelbaum, S. H., Calcagno, R., Magarelli, S. M., & Saliba, M. (2016). A relationship between
corporate sustainability and organizational change (part three). Industrial and
Commercial Training, 48(3), 133-141.
Bansal, P. (2019). Sustainable Development in an Age of Disruption. Academy of Management
Discoveries, 5(1), 8-12.
Baumgartner, R. J., & Rauter, R. (2017). Strategic perspectives of corporate sustainability
management to develop a sustainable organization. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140,
81-92.
Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. (2014). Organizational change for corporate
sustainability. Routledge.
Fan, J., & Liu, S. (2015). An Analysis of a New Business Model: A Case of Alibaba-
Ecosystem. PROCEEDINGS: Advances in International Interdisciplinary Business and
Economics Volume 5.

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George, D. A., Lin, B. C. A., & Chen, Y. (2015). A circular economy model of economic
growth. Environmental modelling & software, 73, 60-63.
Li, X., Ding, Y., & Li, Y. (2019). M-Government Cooperation for Sustainable Development in
China: A Transaction Cost and Resource-Based View. Sustainability, 11(7), 1884.
Sroufe, R. (2017). Integration and organizational change towards sustainability. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 162, 315-329.
Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. (2019). Sustainable Development Goals .:. Sustainable
Development Knowledge Platform. Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300
Tan, B., Pan, S. L., Lu, X., & Huang, L. (2015). The role of IS capabilities in the development of
multi-sided platforms: the digital ecosystem strategy of Alibaba. com. Journal of the
Association for Information Systems, 16(4), 2.
Un.org. (2019). About the Sustainable Development Goals - United Nations Sustainable
Development. Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Undp.org. (2019). Sustainable Development Goals | UNDP. Retrieved 10 September 2019, from
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html
Zhou, Q., Chen, X., & Li, S. (2018). Innovative financial approach for agricultural sustainability:
A case study of Alibaba. Sustainability, 10(3), 891.

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Appendix
Workforce development in Alibaba
Women workforce in Alibaba

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Environmental sustainability in Alibaba
Social welfare and sustainability