Sun City Boards founder Tom Wilson is a laid-back West Coast surfer who subscribes to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s “let my people go surfing” sentiment.

Grantham University Business Principles of Management Discussion

Scenario

Sun City Boards founder Tom Wilson is a laid-back West Coast surfer who subscribes to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s “let my people go surfing” sentiment. To quote Chouinard: “A serious surfer doesn’t plan to go surfing next Tuesday at two o’clock. You go surfing when there are waves and the tide and wind are right.” What Wilson lacks is Chouinard’s ability to translate that passion for play into a clear focus for his business.

In this module we learned that a good manager is responsible for an organization’s success, defined as:

An organization is effective: it is accomplishing things that support the vision and mission.

An organization is efficient: it is doing things in the best possible manner.

An organization is sustainable: it is generating revenue to support its continued operation.

For Discussion

Select ONE of the above categories—effective, efficient or sustainable—to explore.

Conduct research on Patagonia’s mission, operations and sustainability ethos based on your choice.

Propose a management action Tom could take to make his organization more successful and describe how it would contribute to the organization’s success.