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Chapter 13 Case: The First B-Corp Certified U.S. Grocery Store: The Case of New Seasons Market
Read the Chapter 13 case in Appendix A on New Season’s Market and answer the corresponding questions. 
CHAPTER 13 EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
The First B Corp Certified U.S. Grocery Store: The Case of New Seasons Market
New Seasons Market is an Oregon-based grocery store chain founded in 2000 by three families who set the goal of “rethinking what a grocery store could be.” The store is known for offering local and organic products. As of 2019, the company had 21 stores and more than 3,253 employees.
From the start, New Seasons Market was dedicated to both socially and environmentally responsible initiatives, including advocating for raising the minimum wage and the need for affordable housing. The stores divert more than 90% of all their waste from landfills via programs focused on composting, donations, and recycling. Fulfilling the company’s mission statement “to be the ultimate neighborhood store,” New Seasons Market offers events and classes, provides opportunities for its employees to do community volunteer work, and gives back 10% of after-tax profits to nonprofit organizations.
In 2013, New Seasons Market became the first grocery store in the United States to achieve B Corp certification. B Corps are for-profit companies that are certified by the nonprofit B Lab if they meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency and strive to use the power of markets to help solve social and environmental problems. B Corp certification is voluntary and can be changed at any time. B Lab is not a legal designation but it is seen by some as important. For example, Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, argues, “The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just stakeholders—it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet.” While New Seasons Market is not a publicly traded company, one key aspect of B Corps in general is that they don’t have to focus solely on maximizing shareholder value. More than 2,000 Certified B Corps exist in 50 countries across 130 industries. Many of these companies are small to medium sized, which is where much of the growth in this type of company has emerged. This certification is an independent, third-party certification that consists of an application of 170 questions covering such aspects of the business as energy efficiency and employee programs and practices. As a result of a company’s answers to these questions, a total of 200 points is possible, but the certification does not expect that any company will ever be able to achieve a perfect score. In fact, a score of 80 points is enough to become certified. In its initial application, New Seasons Market earned 121 points, which is higher than the average of 97 points and higher than some companies known for their environmental and social responsibility missions, such as Patagonia. Other notable companies with B Corp certification include Ben & Jerry’s (the first wholly owned subsidiary to get certified), Etsy, and Kickstarter. Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company, became the first publicly traded Certified B Corp in 2014. Beyond those companies that formally apply for certification, more than 40,000 organizations use the free self-assessment tool available at www.bimpactassessment.net to help them benchmark and improve their social and environmental impact.
One major challenge for New Seasons Market is to manage relations with its workforce as the company continues to grow and expand into new parts of the country. Its expansion in 2016 to Mercer Island, Washington, was met with resistance by the United Food and Commercial Workers union’s UFCW21 over the lack of a unionized workforce and concerns over the number of hours worked required for employees to receive benefits. Also, some workers in Portland, Oregon, began a union drive in 2017 as benefits were changing as part of the growth of the company. Effectively managing employee relations will continue to be a major part of New Seasons Market’s strategy for success.
Case Discussion Questions
If you were a manager at New Seasons Market, how would you have reacted to B Lab certification? Would your answer change if you were an employee?
What are your thoughts regarding the pros and cons of measuring social and environmental impact of organizations? How would you know if a particular question on the certification is effective?
Prior to reading this case, had you heard about B Corp certification? What new things did you learn about this concept from the case?
Do you agree or disagree with Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario that “the B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime”? Please explain your answer.
Do you think that New Season Market’s B Corp certification has positive or negative implications for employee relations? Please explain your answer.

Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a health issue presentation.
Healthcare managers must recognize that changes in healthcare policy can alter the economic landscape of an organization. In understanding healthcare economic principles, healthcare mangers can develop healthcare delivery models designed to address critical healthcare issues. Ultimately, the goal must always be improving population health and outcomes. This assessment will provide you with a real-world opportunity to assume the role of healthcare administrator and analyze key legislation for its impacts on the delivery of care and public health.
In this assessment, you will select an economic issue that has impacted the healthcare system from the provided list and identify a corresponding health policy addressing the issue. Your task will be to examine relevant macroeconomic and microeconomic forces to arrive at an informed opinion on the benefits and consequences of that policy. Based on your investigation, you will create a presentation articulating the value of the policy initiative for the overall health of American society. Ultimately, your aim is to influence an audience of healthcare administrators and managers, as well as healthcare policy makers and legislators, to care about your key health topic and support your identified solution.
The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules One, Three, and Five. The final submission is due in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: 
Analyze fundamental economic principles and indicators for determining operational strategies that improve healthcare quality, costs, and accessibility for patients and caregivers 
Evaluate contemporary economic policies and practices for their positive and negative impacts to the American healthcare system and the healthcare consumer 
Assess the market power of healthcare organizations for their potential to influence healthcare consumer behavior 
Illustrate socioeconomic factors that influence community health needs by identifying specific catalysts for and obstacles to change in the American healthcare system
Prompt
Your presentation should be a polished artifact using slides and speaker notes that are supportive of a five- to ten-minute talk. In the talk, you should passionately address an audience of healthcare administrators and managers, as well as healthcare policy makers and legislators. The content should address each of the critical elements listed below.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Analysis of the Health Issue: Describe for your audience the nature of your chosen public health issue, so that they will be able to understand and appreciate your presentation. Specifically, be sure that you address the following: 
Outline the underlying economic principles and indicators at play, using specific examples. To what extent do those principles and indicators apply in understanding your chosen public health issue? 
Demonstrate the economic impacts of your public health issue. Provide specific examples of each impact. 
Analyze the larger context within which your chosen public health issue exists. To what extent is the issue a product of larger socioeconomic factors? 
Examine the major healthcare organizations impacted by the public health issue. How are they currently acting and reacting to the issue? 
Evaluation of Policy 
Discuss the current economic and legal landscape related to your public health issue. To what extent do existing policies (or the lack thereof) have positive or negative impacts to the American healthcare system? 
Explain your proposed policy using evidence and examples to illustrate.
What are the specific operational strategies that you believe are necessary for addressing your chosen issue and why?
What role do the major healthcare organizations play in your proposed policy? To what extent can their position in the marketplace be harnessed? 
Defend your proposed policy for addressing the public health issue with specific research and evidence. 
How will your proposed public policy improve the American healthcare system in terms of healthcare quality, costs, and accessibility? 
In what ways is your proposed policy informed by the larger socioeconomic factors that can influence public health? 
Implementation 
Identify potential socioeconomic barriers to policy change and describe each with specific details. 
Identify possible socioeconomic supports for policy change and describe each with specific details. 
Illustrate the value proposition for the major healthcare organizations you referenced earlier. To what extent will there be beneficial outcomes for their organizations if your policy is enacted? How would you mobilize them to support change? 
End your presentation with a final, persuasive call to action tailored to your target audiences.
Milestones
Milestone One: Topic Selection
In Module One, you will submit your topic selection. After reviewing the requirements in the final project document, explore the four focus areas identified by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. From these broad topics, identify a specific public health issue to use as the basis for your final project presentation. For example, if you are interested in mental health as a broad topic, you may narrow your focus and select healthcare for veterans as your specific topic. Using the template provided, begin to compile important information and resources that you can use to develop your presentation. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Analysis of Health Issue (Draft of Section I)
In Module Three, you will submit your analysis of the health issue. Describe for your audience the nature of your chosen public health issue, so that they will be able to understand and appreciate your presentation. Your analysis will include the economic principles and impacts involved with your public health issue, related socioeconomic factors, and the healthcare organizations impacted. Use the feedback you received on Milestone One to assist you in developing your introduction. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Letter to Stakeholder (Draft of Section II)
In Module Five, you will submit a letter to a stakeholder. Address the critical elements in the Evaluation of Policy section and write a letter to the stakeholders involved to describe and defend your proposed policy. Stakeholders could include policy makers, healthcare providers, insurers, and healthcare consumers. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Final Submission: Health Issue Presentation
In Module Seven, you will submit your health issue presentation. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This final submission will be graded using the Final Project Rubric.
What to Submit
Your presentation should be a polished artifact using slides and speaker notes that support a 5- to 10-minute talk. Any citations should be in APA format.                                                                                                                                 
My Topic: CHILD OBESITY
I will attach both modules 3 & 5 for examples of what was done.
Annoucements from instructor:
Hello Class,
Some PowerPoint hints for your Week 7 Milestone assignment:
The focus and bulk of your presentation is in the speaker notes with the slides in bullet point format.
Remember the informal 6X6 rule:  No more than 6 bullet points per slide and no more than 6 words per bullet point.
All bullet points should be the same font style and size.
Graphs and charts are typically good for presentations.  Pic Art is acceptable but should not take up a large portion of the slide.  Also, avoid large blank spaces on the slide. 
Make sure each slide is properly labeled and follows the grading rubric. 
The speaker notes must be written with each slide (not audio).  In PowerPoint underneath each slide (not on the slide) is an area to enter speaker notes. 
All in text citations must be in the speaker notes and in APA format, not on the slide. 
There is no minimum number of slides, but there must be enough slides to cover all the requirement material.  From past classes, most presentations are around 12 to 15 slides.
To judge the proper length of your speaker notes, read and time your notes.  If you are changing slides in 15 seconds your speaker notes are probably not long enough.  This is a presentation, without speaker notes it is not a presentation. 
Use only Microsoft PowerPoint.  Do not use PDF format.  This is not presentation software and does not accommodate speaker notes.   
Another announcement: 
Hello Class,
To assist you with the construction of your PowerPoint below is detail by rubric what each slide should cover and contain. 
YOUR ISSUE:  PRINCIPLES AND INDICATORS
You outlined the underlying economic principles and indicators demonstrating a fundamental understanding while providing examples.
YOUR ISSUE:  ECONOMIC IMPACTS
You demonstrate a fundamental understanding of your issue and provide figures to support the importance of your issue. 
YOUR ISSUE:  SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS
You display a keen insight into the socioeconomic factors that influence community health needs.
YOUR ISSUE:  HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS
You examine and assess health care organizations impacted by your issue and their reactions. 
YOUR POLICY:  CURRENT LANDSCAPE
You discuss the current economic and legal landscape related to your issue and include positive or negative impact on health care.
YOUR POLICY:  OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES
You explain your policy in specific operational strategies  and demonstrate keen insight on why they are necessary. 
YOUR POLICY:  HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS
You explain your policy in terms the role health care organizations can play and assess the market power of these organizations to affect change.
YOUR POLICY:  DEFEND IMPROVE
You defend your policy on how it will improve the health care system in terms of quality, costs, and accessibility.
YOUR POLICY:  DEFEND INFORMED
You defend your policy on the socioeconomic factors that influence community health needs
IMPLEMENTATION:  BARRIERS
You demonstrate keen insight into barriers of your issue and proposed policy to change and supply specific details
IMPLEMENTATION:  SUPPORTS
You identify keen insight into supports of your issue and proposed policy to change and supply specific details.
IMPLEMENTATION:  VALUE PROPOSITION
You discuss keen insight into the market power of health care organizations and strategies to mobilize their support.
IMPLEMENTATION:  CALL TO ACTION
You end the presentation with a persuasive call to action articulating the positive impacts of your proposed policy
ARTICULATION OF RESPONSE
The submission is free of errors related to APA citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and Microsoft PowerPoint format and organization.  Also speaker notes of adequate length to cover all the material on the slide. 
I also attached a PowerPoint example from the instructor.