Social Responsibility of Organizations
Social Responsibility of Organizations
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Social Responsibility of Organizations
Nike Incorporation
Nike uses various sports personnel as brand ambassadors to promote her products. The organization creates products that cater consumer needs, as well as wide of an audience as possible, while using the celebrity sportsmen to endorse them (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Nike corporate journeys began as a shoe producing company and the famous Air Jordan shoes have propelled the company to major success heights. Furthermore, this shoe line is practically one of the most popular brands for various market segments, particularly the young adults. Since this sports-wear features Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all-time, fresh players want to garb Air Jordan shoes while playing basketball and perhaps play like Michael Jordan (Doole & Lowe, 2012). In addition, the company markets and sells more than just shoes; athletic gear and paraphernalia have all been selected in certain commercial advertisements where precise athletes endorse the Nike Brand.
More importantly, Nike creates “trendy” sports merchandise in China in order to maximize on investment returns. This is mainly because the workforce and inventory costs are enormously cheap outside the United States (Doole & Lowe, 2012). As such, it evident that Nike tries as much to create an emotional link between its products and its clients or consumers. In order to sustain competition an organization should consider active innovation and extreme differentiation, coupled with the ability to change and expand the company. Granted, Nike is a popular and stable shoe company, but expanding and broadening its product range to apparel and equipment made the company nothing less but a powerful international conglomerate (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Nonetheless, the greatest way Nike intends to accomplish its objective is by integrating the most well-known sportspersons into their marketing and promotion strategies.
External Factors threatening success
Failure to maintain a good reputation and brand image could negatively affect the business.
Nikes flashy and famous brands have an immense worldwide recognition. Consequently, the organization’s success relies on the maintenance and enhancement of its brand image and status (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Upholding, sponsoring, and developing the organization’s brands will depend on the designs and marketing efforts, including promotion and consumer mass campaigns, product improvement, and product superiority. Nonetheless, commitment to product differentiation and superiority and the continued reinvestment in the enterprise (including resources) and promotion might not have the anticipated influence on brand image and reputation (Doole & Lowe, 2012). There perhaps could be adverse impacts on the company’s performance if any of the set objectives is not achieved or if the reputation or image of any of the brands is tainted or obtains negative publicity.
On the other hand, adverse publicity about supervisory or legal action against the company can damage the status and brand appearance of the business (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Further, this could weaken consumer confidence and shrink long-term demand for products, even when the legal actions are unfounded or irrelevant.
Nonetheless, success in sustaining, prolonging, and mounting an organizations brand image will depend on Nike’s ability to adjust to a swiftly varying media surroundings, including an escalating reliance on social media and online propagation of promotion operations (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Negative posts or comments about the company on social networking websites could seriously damage its reputation and brand image. If Nike does not maintain, uphold, and broaden its brand image, then its general product sales, financial performance and results of business operations could be markedly affected (Doole & Lowe, 2012).
Failure to continue to obtain high-value subscribers of the products could harm the business.
It is evident that Nike establishes good relation links with proficient athletes, sports teams and leagues (NFL) to assess, market, and establish product originality with consumers. If certain sponsors stop consuming the offered products in contrast to the set, endorsement agreements, the business may be negatively affected (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). Putting matters into perspective, it is clear that actions taken by athletes, teams, or national leagues associated with the business’s products are critical. Such actions may harm the reputations of for instance leagues. Moreover, adverse posts or remarks about the company’s sports marketing ratifications on social networking websites can utterly harm the brand image with consumers. Thus, as a result, this may have an adverse effect on overall turnover or even financial conditions (Holt & Wigginton, 2002).
Evidently, bad performance by endorsers and a failure to continue to spot appropriately talented athletes to use and endorse the company’s products may lead to cost ineffectiveness. This consequently may spill over to endorsement arrangements with conspicuous athletes and athletic organizations. This clearly has an effect on the financial result (Holt & Wigginton, 2002).
Key Stakeholders
Stakeholder’s analysis can identify assessments that are so difficult; these evaluations are left to directors to make decisions rather than stakeholders. This is what decreases the quality of the evaluations (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). Examination of the role of stakeholders is also important in ensuring that the approach is customer-centered. This will help increase the involvement of customers, organizations and other stakeholders in the strategy process of Nike. This will involve the market and bring education to the local level, which will bring light and compassion to the subject of sportswear manufacture (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). In addition, this will also guarantee that the statewide assessment of financial issues involves the input of all stakeholders.
Fans
On the most essential level, consumers interact with the Game to be entertained. The motivations of the National football League are well studied; There are eight factors that encourage fans (and, by extension, Consumers) to engage in sports activities. These include eustress, self-assurance, escape, showbiz, financial factors (mainly in the form of backing), aesthetics, group association, and family prerequisites (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). While a skilled sports league can consider each of these factors when developing a plan to generate value, the most significant relation that the League can regulate is the entertainment value of the Game to Clients.
Sponsors
The interaction between the Company and external Partners is a two-way street, in that each of the two basic entities in question stands to benefit from growth. Consequently, leading to the creation of value for the National football league (Holt & Wigginton, 2002) This immense development can occur in several ways on divergent scales – from a communications partner like Fox trying to capture the record-setting audiences of an NFL Super Bowl, to a meek discount retailer looking to unveil a new product at a minor-league baseball stadium. On the other hand, the contributions of Sponsors to the National League in the form of venture capital boost growth of the Game, either directly or indirectly (Holt & Wigginton, 2002).
Fantasy football affiliates
Affiliation works on two levels: first, the League provides a marketplace for Clients to engage the League in a setting that is structured, well-organized, and carefully valued (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). Frequently, this occurs at the charter, team, or club level – Customers usually make economic activity in the context of their team, not directly with the league. For example, licensed attire with the league logo is dwarfed in popularity (and revenue) by gear with a definite team’s logo (Holt & Wigginton, 2002). These ties in with the other angle of association: emotional connection.
Stakeholders influence on financial performance
The reasons for stakeholder involvement, both within the private and public sectors, have been variously described within the literature as substantive, instrumental or normative (Svendsen, 1998).
The utilitarian argument recommends that involving stakeholders generate better decisions, since they have access to enormous information that might not otherwise be available; they can bring both indigenous and practical knowledge; they can further ensure that collective and traditional values are put into consideration (Svendsen, 1998).
From a contributory point of view, stakeholder involvement means that the resolutions are more likely to be accepted amicably, with no fracas at all, even when the resolutions are not welcomed by many (Svendsen, 1998). Clearly, involving stakeholders’ results in greater integrity and responsibility to the many decisions made and agrees upon. People appreciate and know that their issues have been attended to, when they understand how the decision-making processes have taken place (Svendsen, 1998).
Finally, there is an ethical or normative argument for stakeholder involvement in decisions that affect them and their communities. It can be reasoned that this is realized through the process of demonstrative democracy, but as Nike Incorporation asserts and has for many years pointed out, there is a changing communal anticipation for what is called participative democracy (Svendsen, 1998). Nike incorporation recognizes the challenges this brings to administrations, but argues that over and above the political means of any specific administration or any particular government department or minister essentially requires to think through these questions more efficiently (Svendsen, 1998).
Analysis of stakeholders for Nike is important in making sure that the organization’s responsiveness to the market is made possible since they will be engaged in ongoing consultation (Svendsen, 1998). This will also make stakeholders to be able to know the type of services that are available, where services are accessible in the different areas of jurisdiction, and how the organization can personalize the amenities to cater for the necessities of all the stakeholders (Kolb, 2008). In identifying its mandates, Nike aims at having a clear view of what the organization’s responsibilities are. To examine Nike mandates and mission, the organization will clearly align it innovatively while considering Bryson’s strategic change cycle (Kolb, 2008). The organization’s review of the Program Improvement Plans revealed many strategies to improve the problems described by stakeholders.
The organization can take a more comprehensive approach to addressing stakeholder’s issues. The strategy may describe all the statewide and local strategies to help improve vehicle services and educate the customers as well (Kolb, 2008). This will be categorized as being comprehensive. The mandates for Nike are as follows. Screening and assessing sports gear in order to identify problems in the market. Conducting a market and statewide needs assessment to determine gaps in or barriers to company’s service availability for people who critically need them, is necessary (Kolb, 2008). In addition, the organization will aim at building and expanding their service availability and selection. It is important for the entire market to know where to go to receive help and what kind of help is needed. Making the services local and global will spread the knowledge for all stakeholders (Kolb, 2008).
References
Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (2012). International marketing strategy: Analysis, development and implementation. Andover: Cengage Learning.
Holt, D. H., & Wigginton, K. W. (2002). International management. Fort Worth, Tex. [u.a.: Harcourt College Publ.
Kolb, R. W. (2008). Encyclopedia of business ethics and society: 2. Los Angeles [u.a.: Sage.
Svendsen, A. (1998). The stakeholder strategy: Profiting from collaborative business relationships. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
