Hello these are two student discussion posts that needs responses with the Minimum of 100 words written in your own words, no AI or plagiarism. References must be included.
1. The Home Depot has stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As of the end of fiscal year 2024, the company operated 2,025 stores in the US, 182 in Canada, and 129 Mexico, totaling 2,347 stores worldwide. Additionally, it has stores in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam.
I have been away from Home Depot stores for 15 years and have observed a significant shift in how the stores are run today compared to 25 years ago. The demographics and knowledge base inside the stores have changed. In my experience, employee knowledge is low, and the desire of employees to give outstanding service has also seen a noticeable drop in quality.
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Renewable Energy Commitment: Home Depot expanded its commitment to renewable energy by purchasing 100 MW of solar power from National Grid Renewables. This aligns with the company’s goal of obtaining 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
Living here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, there is no reason not to have the solar power operations up and running. I have not seen a single store here that is running any solar program as of today. However, there may be plans; 2030 is just around the corner, so reaching their goal could be entering a “crunch time” effect. “Our state offers solar tax incentives, and there is more than our fair share of solar contractors, as evidenced by the issuance of over 8,000 solar permits in Bernalillo County every year. Based on this yearly average, we are still 37 years or more away from being a fully solar-powered county.
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International laws for The Home Depot emphasize responsible sourcing, human rights, labor standards, and environmental protection.
Responsible Sourcing: The Home Depot’s program ensures its commitment to ethical practices throughout its supply chain, preventing forced labor and addressing environmental concerns.
Suppliers must adhere to Responsible Sourcing Standards, which prohibit human rights violations.
Supply Chain Transparency: The program gathers and shares information from Tier 1 suppliers to create a database of best practices.
Environmental Compliance: Suppliers must follow local environmental laws.
Home Depot monitors compliance and encourages improvement.
Engagement: The company collaborates with suppliers to guide compliance and provide resources.
Supplier Agreements: Suppliers must meet international forced and child labor standards, as outlined in the Supplier Ethical Responsibility (SER) Standards.
Conflict Minerals: Home Depot has policies in place to prevent the sourcing of conflict minerals.
FSC Certification: The company assists suppliers in obtaining FSC certification for sustainable forestry practices.
Human Rights: Suppliers must comply with all applicable human rights laws, ensuring the fair treatment of workers, including their freedom of association and protection from abuse.
Child Labor: According to the International Labor Organization guidelines, suppliers are prohibited from employing workers under the legal age.
Equal Opportunity: Employment decisions must be based solely on performance, as the Responsible Sourcing Standards outline.
Compliance: Home Depot adheres to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and relevant local laws. Export Regulations: Home Depot follows US export regulations and collaborates with the US Customs and Border Protection
International Shipping: Home Depot provides export services for most merchandise from South Florida.
Having started my Home Depot career in Orlando, Florida, I have seen my fair share of exported orders, primarily to South America and a few to Panama and Costa Rica. I know of exports to Europe and at least one attempted export to Australia; however, the cost and legalities did not allow the Australia project to be completed.
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Home Depot lacks a single treaty governing its operations. Still, it has various internal policies and agreements, including a Business Code of Conduct, a Political Activity Policy, and a Supplier Manual for Social Responsibility. It has also settled with regulatory bodies like the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to address environmental issues. Home Depot’s internal policies and behavioral standards, while its Supplier Manual outlines expectations on labor practices, environmental regulations, and moral standards. Furthermore, the Political Activity Policy details employee engagement in political activities and the management of gifts to government officials. For specific documents related to Home Depot, check The Home Depot’s Investor Relations or regulatory agencies like CARB.
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The Home Depot has directly provided over 400,000 jobs for American workers and paid billions of dollars in wages, salaries, and fringe benefits; the company generated $35 billion in gross domestic product (GDP). Each Home Depot job supports more than four additional jobs across the US, more than twice the retail average.
Working salary for Home Depot is very good for the retail industry; however, being retail, you work weekends, nights, and some holidays, which do not fit in with the lifestyle that I currently enjoy. I know that as a manager, we shared in our store’s profits. The annual bonuses were upwards of $45,000 plus a new truck for store managers of the year. For some weeks, their weekly hours were in the 65-80 hours range. The employee stock purchase plan has made many employees millionaires over their careers.
The installation services offered at Home Depot have significantly influenced my local economy. Many contractors are part of the installers’ network and acquire hundreds of building permits yearly.
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2. I commonly observed that Amazon is operating globally and using its services. Being a customer service representative, I know the intricacies of dealing with order processing, returns, and shipping, which makes me an Amazon shopper. One of the laws that impact Amazon’s international operations profoundly is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. Every business now has to protect customer’s private data as well as give them some authority concerning how their data is used and who it is given to. As a result, Amazon has to change how it collects and stores data about its customers within the EU (Voigt & Von dem Bussche, 2017).
Apart from these issues, Amazon has also been under fire for antitrust issues in the EU. In a separate case, the European Commission investigated Amazon for misusing non-public information received from third-party vendors which Amazon itself is in competition with. At that point, Amazon refused to do such practices in the future and promised not to discriminate against sellers in its Buy Box and Prime programs (European Commission, 2022). These regulatory problems such as the ones encountered pose the need for international companies like Amazon to change their operating strategies so that they can comply with different global laws as well as compete fairly in the market.
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European Commission. (2022, December 20). Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Amazon barring use of marketplace seller data.
Voigt, P., & Von dem Bussche, A. (2017). The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): A Practical Guide. Springer.
