Christine Proffitt
Cosco Wholesale in 2012- Week 3
06-01-2015

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Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Jumping right into what I found the most interesting part of this case was the section
“Costco’s Business Philosophy, Values, and Code of Ethics” because I actually believe that he truly does stress them so that they will be enforced. I am not just referring to number one, obey the law. That is standard protocol, or should be for every company. What I found to be the most
“down-to-earth” principals were the other four. From what I have read Costco does not just highly value their customers, but also their employees, and I believe it is a mutual respect. When
Sinegal was asked by a reporter why the Costco employees were treated so well, his response alone made me want to go buy a membership to support their business. “Why shouldn't employees have the right to good wages and good careers…It absolutely makes good business sense.” He even states in the section previous that he doesn't feel the need to make 100 times more than employees below him. This kind of an attitude coming from a founder of such a successful company speaks volumes to me. Jim Sinegal is not all talk either. From traveling to visit 8-10 stores daily in is casual dress, never trying to come off as pretentious, and actually interacting with customers makes him a rare breed in the business world and makes it clear why his employees respect him and love working for Costco. The last three bullets about taking care of their members are three of the most important things to me, being ecologically sensitive, providing the best costumer service in retail history, and giving back to the community. Leaving a smaller carbon footprint tends to be the more expensive route but one that will make a great difference in the long run. Being an environmentalist, this is an essential part for me to be impressed with a company. Feeling like people actually care about