Patagonia, Inc. is an American clothing company that markets and sells outdoor clothing. The company was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 and is based in Ventura, California. If you are not familiar with this retail store, visit their website https://www.patagonia.com/home/ (Links to an external site.) After reading case 4 on page 394, answer the following questions: 1. How do you think Patagonia executives decide on what products to offer so that the outcomes will be both business practical (think profits) and environmentally friendly (think sustainability)? Take the case of a proposed hiking boot. What criteria would you use to evaluate it as a new Patagonia product? 2. Even though he is no longer the CEO, Yvon Chouinard still exerts major influence over Patagonia’s business approach. What should he and other Patagonia executives be doing today to make sure that his ideals remain a permanent part of the company’s culture after he’s no longer active at the company? 3. Problem Solving. Picture yourself working for Patagonia. The CEO comes to you and asks for a proposal for a new-“forward looking”-sustainability agenda for the firm. The goal is to drive Patagonia’s future, not just celebrate its past. What would you include in this proposed agenda in order to really stretch the firm beyond what it is already doing, and why? 4. Further Research. Evaluate the risk that ethics might someday lose out to greed even in a company with the idealism of Patagonia. Look carefully into Patagonia’s products and practices and see if you can find any missteps where decisions put profits ahead of the company’s publicly stated environmental goals. Can you find evidence for strong governance and leadership that will protect Chouinard’s values and legacy far into the future? How about the competition? Just how does Patagonia operate today to ensure that ethics and social responsibility are not displaced as core company values? And finally, how about the competition? Is Patagonia still the best role model, or can you identify other firms that deserve to be studied as well as role models in business and society relationships? Patagonia management knows the importance of choosing the best products they can offer to their customers. The executives of Patagonia is aware of the ideas that the products to be offered should be with quality and assures superiority over other products in the market. In fact, the brand has become the Rolls Royce of their product category due to the expensive price but of quality value. The management sees the importance of taking risk especially in the time when economy is falling and the consumers are experiencing financial problems which makes it difficult for them to purchase in the market. Moreover, Patagonia executives does not see the need to lower their prices, in fact, they introduced new products in the market even if their prices are more expensive than other brands.