To: Daren Sello, President, West Coast Property Management
From: Ken Colosie, UBC Student Researcher
Date: February 11, 2022
Subject: Proposal for Determining the Feasibility of Implementing a Paper Reduction System to Eliminate Paper Waste in Your Organization
Introduction
Globally, paper waste in industries such as property management and other office based firms is increasing considerably. Further, a lot of paper waste ends up in landfills as garbage and is not properly recycled. With increasing pressure from media and social responsibility groups, it is more important than ever for companies to be promoting socially responsible business practices. It may seem like you are a small part of the problem due to the size of your company, however, many small companies make up the largest part of the paper wastage problem due to inefficiencies in their processes.
Statement of Problem
The ongoing paper wastage situation is a large crisis and is an ongoing issue for many small and large firms across the world. Many firms will not take the steps to reduce paper wastage because it takes time and resources to propose and implement effective and efficient solutions and to train staff how to use technology better to be able to eliminate paper from the work place.
Proposed Solution
One possible solution to the problem within your firm is to review all of your major paper producing procedures and practices, identify inefficiencies and potentially invest in software that will save you time and money while also protecting the planet, reducing paper wastage and promoting a socially responsible corporate culture to your staff and clients.
Scope
To assess the feasibility of reducing paper wastage within your company I plan to pursue five areas of inquiry:
- What are the highest paper using processes within your office?
- What is the average amount of single use paper that is consumed by your office?
- What inefficiencies exist that are redundant and causing multiple print outs of the same documents?
- What technological investments could be made to reduce paper wastage?
- How employees feel regarding paper wastage?
Methods
My primary data sources will be sending out a survey to all employees to gather their feedback on their general feelings regarding paper waste, how much paper they think they waste annually, and their resistance to change. I would appreciate if you would facilitate me sending the survey to all of your employees, regardless or role in the company. This will allow me to get varied results and analyze different parts of your operation. Further, I will casually interview employees at lunch time or other social settings and get a feel for their opinions on the subject.
I will further consult secondary studies on paper reduction in the workplace so I can cross reference the data of your workplace with what has been successful in similar situations in other companies and provide a meaningful recommendation with the appropriate data to back it up.
My Qualifications
I have a Diploma in Urban Land Economics and am enrolled in the Bachelors of Business in Real Estate degree program at the University of British Columbia. Professionally, I have been a licensed strata manager for five years and licensed managing broker for one and a half years. I am confident that with my directly related experience in your industry and my technical writing and observational skills I have developed throughout my academic career I can provide a meaningful report for your consideration.
Conclusion
The time to act on the paper wastage crisis is now. By changing processes and pursuing technological advancements now, while your company is relatively small, it will allow you to create streamlined efficiencies and save time and resources as you expand into a larger firm. By addressing the five arrears of inquiry mentioned earlier in this proposal, I can adequately solve the paper wastage problem for your company. I look forward to hearing from you so I can begin the research stages of this project.
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