course material

1. (Mt) – Case Report
Report 1 Waste Management Case Analysis Instructions MGMT 3000 – Hopkins (Version 8-
9-2019) Course Topic Alignment: Global External Forces Situation: You have just been hired
by a management consulting firm that has a consulting engagement with Waste
Management, Inc. (WMI). As the newest and least experienced consultant on the project,
your first assigned task is relatively narrow. Use the case and any other information. Your
boss, Susan Brightspot, the VP of consulting, has tasked you to write a report to her with the
following content in support of this consulting engagement with Waste Management.
Organize your report into these sections: 1. Purpose: an introduction as to why (purpose)
you are writing Susan Brightspot your boss, this report. 2. Environmental Analysis: Using
the case…. Describe the External environment in which Waste Management operates, and
how it is impacting the business. o General environment influencers economic,
technological, political-legal, socio-cultural, etc… o Task environment influencers
customers, suppliers, competitors, government-regulators, etc… Describe the Internal
environment in which Waste Management operates, and how it is impacting the business. 3.
Business Challenges & Impact: Based on your environmental analysis as well as other
information you may have found, describe the business challenges faced by Waste
Management’s CEO. What is the potential impact of these challenges on business results? 4.
Recommendation: Based on these business challenges and potential impact on results, what
recommendation would you make to the CEO? What decisions and actions should he take?
——————————————————————————————————————–
Your report should use the following format: To: Susan Brightspot, VP Consulting From:
(only put the last 4 digits of your student ID, no names!) Report Title: Waste Management
Case Analysis 1. 2. 3. 4. Purpose Environmental Analysis Business Challenges & Impact
Recommendation Waste Mgt Case Page 1 of 2 Typical report length: 2-3 single spaced pages
Use the Rampant Strategy app to submit your report. Do NOT put your name on your
uploaded document as the peer review process is anonymous. Upload your report as a pdf
document to Rampant with the file name: Report1_last 4 digits of your ID, AND upload a
copy to eLC/Tools/Assignments drop box to Report 1 by the due date and time. —————
—————————————————————————————————–Report
Evaluation Rubric: Your report will be evaluated by your peers using the following rubric. 5
4 Excellent Good 1. Environmental Provides Analysis: How clear and exceptionally clear
Provides resonably useful is the analysis and useful clear and useful provided? analysis
analysis 3 Fair 2 Poor 1 Very Poor Provides at least some analysis and clarity Provides little

2. analysis and clairity Provides essentially no meaningful analysis or clarity 2. Business
Challenges: How insightful, both breadth and depth, are the conclusions and
recommendations? Provides at least some insight, and some breadth, and depth Provides
little insight, breadth, and depth Provides essentially no insight, breadth, or depth 3. Overall
Quality: How well written and professional is the report? Provides exceptional insight,
breadth, and depth Provides resonalble insight, breadth, and depth The report is of The
report is of The report is essentially exceptionally The report is of The report is of fair poor
quality, of no value, due to it’s quality, very clear, reasonably quality, quality, somewhat
clearity, lack of clarity, organized, and clear, organized, clear, organized, and organization,
and organization, and well written. and written. written. poorly written. writing. Peer
Reviewer Responsibility and Performance: Performing a Peer Reviewer Evaluation is an
important skill building activity because evaluating an individual’s performance is a key
component of management. Reviewing another person’s work also provides the
opportunity to see another perspective of how a situation is analyzed, and to learn from it.
Each student will review 4 submissions from other students. Your peer review of the other
student’s submissions should provide 1) thoughtful critique, 2) be complete, and 3) be on-
time. Waste Mgt Case Page 2 of 2 What Would You Do?: Waste Management Headquarters,
Houston, Texas © SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES Americans generate a quarter billion tons
of trash a year, or 4.5 pounds of trash per person per day. Thanks to nearly 9,000 curbside
recycling programs, a third of that is recycled. But, that still leaves 3 pounds of trash per
person per day to be disposed of. With 20 million customers; 273 municipal landfills; 91
recycling facilities; and 17 wasteto-energy facilities, WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC., is the
largest waste-handling company in the world. It generates 75 percent of its profits from 273
landfills, which can hold 4.8 billion tons of trash. And because it collects only 110 million
tons a year, it has plenty of landfill capacity for years to come. Corporations, cities, and
households are greatly reducing the amount of waste they generate, and thus the amount of
trash that they pay Waste Management to haul away to its landfills. Subaru of America, for
instance, has a zero-landfill plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, that hasn’t sent any waste to a
landfill since 2004. None! And Subaru isn’t exceptional in seeking to be a zero-landfill
company. Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, has also embraced this goal, stating,
“Our vision is to reach a day where there are no dumpsters behind our stores and clubs, and
no landfills containing our throwaways.” Like those at Subaru and Walmart, corporate
leaders worldwide are committed to reducing the waste produced by their companies.
Because that represents a direct threat to Waste Management’s landfill business, what steps
could it take to take advantage of the trend toward zero waste, which might allow it to
continue growing company revenues? Another significant change for Waste Management is
that not only are its customers reducing the waste they send to its landfills, they’re also
wanting what is sent to landfills to be sorted for recycling and reuse. For instance, food
waste, yard clippings, and wood—all organic materials—account for roughly one-third of
the material sent to landfills. Likewise, there’s growing demand for waste companies to
manage and recycle discarded TVs, computer monitors, and other electronic waste that
leaks lead, mercury, and hazardous materials when improperly disposed of. However, the
high cost of collecting and sorting recyclable materials means that Waste Management loses

3. money when it recycles them. What can the company do to meet increased customer
expectations on one hand, while still finding a way to earn a profit on high-cost recycled
materials? Furthermore, advocacy groups, such as the Sierra Club, regularly protest Waste
Management’s landfill practices, deeming them irresponsible and harmful to the
environment. Everywhere that Waste Management’s top managers look, they see changes
and forces outside the company that directly affect how they do business. Should they take
on the company’s critics and fight back, or should they focus on business and let the results
speak for themselves? Should they view environmental advocates as a threat or an
opportunity for the company? Waste Management’s CEO says that one of the most
important lessons he has learned is to listen, because, as he frequently tells his executive
team, “This company and this industry aren’t very good at that.” His concern is that with all
of the changes taking place in this industry, Waste Management won’t succeed unless it
listens. But there is resistance within Waste Management to the pursuit or adoption of any
real technological or business innovation. Several senior officials have expressed their
opposition to any diversion of precious resources from the core business of collecting and
burying waste. They argue that the core business has been and will continue to be hugely
successful, with considerable room for consolidation and growth; and that taking resources
away from the core business will lead to its ultimate decline. Waste Management’s company
culture, indeed, the culture of the entire industry, has been built for decades around the idea
of burying waste. The company’s incentive system, highly decentralized corporate
structure, and assets (trucks and landfills) were configured around excelling at this
business. Waste Management’s CEO has wondered aloud what kind of leadership was
required to convince all the naysayers and how to deal with opposition, especially from
senior officials. With Waste Management seemingly at a crossroads, its senior management
team faced the difficult task of reconciling a number of competing external and internal
dynamics.