Please read the following case and submit your analysis. Students are required to write at least 400 words per case (not 400 words per question of each case). This does not include assigned questions. At the top of the first page, include the word count. I require minimum word counts to give students an idea of how much work is expected. Otherwise, students may do much less than they need to do in order to develop their critical and analytical thinking skills.
Opening Case: A Global Team at Mary Kay Inc
QUESTION 1: In which ways does Mary Kay instill a cultural value system based on achievement and a deep sense of personal worth?
QUESTION 2: There are marked similarities in Mary Kay’s operations across countries. Are there any differences that the company must consider in the development of a global team?
A Global Team at Mary Kay Inc.
Opening Case
Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, the company bearing her name, Mary Kay Inc., is an American privately owned multilevel marketing company that sells cosmetic products in more than 35 countries. Mary Kay Ash’s son, Richard Rogers, is board chair, and David Holl is president and CEO. The multilevel marketing model adopted by Mary Kay Inc. involves “beauty consultants” (distributors) selling directly to customers in their local community. The direct selling approach and local focus create a unique global workforce model for Mary Kay Inc.
The company’s global independent sales force exceeds 3.5 million distributors, with some $4 billion in wholesale sales worldwide. Since opening its first international operations in Australia in 1971, Mary Kay has expanded to more than 35 countries on five continents. Mary Kay also consistently ranks as one of the top brands in the United States. The pink color has become associated with Mary Kay—from its beginning as a “Mary Kay pink” color on the 1968 Cadillac Mary Kay bought herself as a reward after five successful years of the company.
As part of the Mary Kay rewards program, in 1969 five pink Cadillacs were also rewarded to top salespeople. From this start, recognition of people has been an integral part of the Mary Kay culture and experience. The idea is that recognizing achievements heightens ambition among the workforce, and success globally becomes a cultural value system. Pink Cadillacs to diamond bumblebees to Mary Kay porcelain dolls to trips to exotic locations such as Australia, England, Greece, and China motivate the Mary Kay beauty distributors.
This people focus is a staple of the Mary Kay global philosophy. “A company is only as good as its people. … [I]n order to grow and progress in the sales force, you don’t move upward, you expand outward. This gives the independent sales force a deep sense of personal worth.”* With these people principles, today somewhere in the world, a Mary Kay sales party (independent beauty consultants direct selling in their local communities) is held every hour. It is not sales per se, it is a “party.”
The similarities among Mary Kay operations globally outweigh any country-to-country differences. And, importantly, just as the original reasoning was for founding the company in the United States, Mary Kay is an important factor in the employment of women in the workforce in many countries, particularly in developing nations. While the products may vary to meet the needs and preferences of local consumers in the global marketplace, they are held to the same rigid quality-control standards whether they are purchased in the United States, Brazil, China, or Russia. This quality backing gives the independent beauty consultants assurances that they are part of a trustworthy Mary Kay Inc. team.
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Submission Rules:
These case assignments are to be completed individually. Please use your own words when completing the assignments. There is no required format, but you must write in organized paragraphs with complete sentences. Do not use bullet points. Do not use direct quotes. Do not use references.
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