Contemporary Business 14th Edition by Louis Boone, David Kurtz

Exercise 1

Balancing Life and Work with a Cup of Tea: In 2000, Zhena Muzyka was living in Ojai, California, a 25-year-old single mother whose infant son needed kidney surgery. Muzyka had no health insurance and only a few dollars in the bank. From watching her Rom (gypsy) grandmother tend a huge garden and blend teas, she had always been interested in herbal medicine, so she borrowed money from her parents and her brother and started Zhena's Gypsy Tea from a cart in a friend's antique store. At first, she was able to keep her son, Sage, with her in a baby carrier. When her teas proved popular-and Sage outgrew the carrier-she realized she had reached a turning point.Muzyka searched for new sources and started blending her own loose-leaf teas, adding essential oils for their medicinal value. She discovered that none of the teas she was buying were organic or fair trade. She made the change to fair trade teas after learning that infant mortality rates among tea pickers on non-fair trade farms can reach 70 percent. Fair trade tea workers have guaranteed health care, clean water, education, and maternity leave and child care.As Zhena's Gypsy Tea has grown and diversified, Muzhaka has searched for new ways to put her values into practice. Her Pink Tea for Women's Health is a partner of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The company now uses corn silk for its teabags. It buys wind credits, even though that lowers profits. Muzyka says, "[Zhena's Gypsy Tea] is the most 'worth it' thing I've ever done. Knowing that we're sincerely making a difference for people and helping them out of poverty-while providing a delicious cup of tea for consumers here-is pretty satisfying." And Sage? After three operations, he got a clean bill of health in 2007.
-How did Zhena Muzyka translate her life experiences into her company's ethics culture?