Social Responsibility in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Responsibility in Business - Essay Example It is, however, underlined that all definitions of Social Responsibility focus on interrelationship between the economic, social as well as environmental and social aspects plus impacts of the organization’s activities. The following definition of Social Responsibility is advised to be used: â€Å"Social Responsibility means a balanced approach for certain companies to address and look for solutions to resolve economic, environmental and personal problems so that it benefits people, as well as whole communities and society in general† (International Institute of Sustainable Development, 2004). Social responsibility, therefore, underlies the ethical way of running any type of business. It, however, should not be confused with business ethics even if sometimes these two terms are used interchangeably. Social responsibility, according to William & Ferrell, is a broader concept which describes the impact of all business’s activities on our society while business ethi cs refers to decisions made by an individual or a group (Ferrell & Fraedlich, 2012, p. 39). In her turn, Jennings observes that social responsibility is just another layer of business ethics which describes the ways of considering the interests of all stakeholders and general public while resolving the ethical problems it encounters (Jennings, 2012, p. 48) The term â€Å"social responsibility† is referred to differently across the globe. Specifically, in the United Kingdom the term â€Å"corporate social responsibility† is common, in India this is â€Å"corporate citizenship†, in Chile – â€Å"Enterpreneurial Social Responsibility† , and in South Africa either â€Å"corporate social responsibility† (CSR) or â€Å"corporate social investment†, or â€Å"sustainable development†, etc (International Institute of Sustainable Development, 2004). While the social responsibility of business has been emphasized by the efforts of the gen eral public and its outcries, as well as by government regulation, social responsibility depends on the management’s attitude. The latter depends on which of two contrasting philosophies (models) has been chosen as dominant. Specifically, the economic model of social responsibility maintains that society gets the biggest benefit when the enterprises is left alone with its production and marketing of profitable goods needed by the society. It is based on traditional understanding of business as a venture that exists only to produce goods and services of high quality, earn nice profits, and give job opportunities (Pride, Hughes, Kapoor, 2012, p.52). In contrast, the socioeconomic model is based on recognition that the business has a responsibility not just to its stakeholders but to the general public, its employees, consumers, and suppliers. To illustrate, may firms today not merely accept social responsibility, but take pride in their social responsibility records winning awa rds in a variety areas, e.g. community involvement, environment, etc. These are such companies as Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Hewlett-Packard, and Starbucks Coffee (Pride, Hughes, Kapoor, 2012, p.52). Despite obvious advantages of the second model, its benefit has been debated. Similarly, the viability of the economic model has been debated throughout years. Major arguments for enhanced social responsibility are as follows: 1) Since business is a part of a society, it should not neglect social issues; 2) Business possess necessary

Mcdonalds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Mcdonalds - Essay Example However, the real problem which the company is facing in India is the dilemma of implementing the international food standards and at the same time meeting the unique tastes and preferences of the Indians. The success of the company in the market can be evaluated using Porter’s Five Forces. Therefore the competitive forces within the market, the power of suppliers and buyers and the threat of new entrants and substitutes are the forces against which the evolution of McDonald’s in the Indian market can be analyzed. PEST Analysis Political Factors McDonald’s international expansion faced political challenges because â€Å"not everyone in the world was happy to welcome McDonald’s into their country† (Center for Management Research, 2011). However, India has been described as one of the world’s largest democracies, a factor which is attributed to the liberalization of business activities within the country. Because of this liberalization McDonald ’s was allowed to enter the Indian market for its food products. Regardless of this liberalization, foreign investors are only allowed to operate in India through partnership and as a result, the company has ventured into partnerships with local investors such as Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited which provide food products to the Indian market. Moreover, the Indian government is fairly stable which has provided a secure business environment for McDonald’s business operations. Because of the political stability within India, the company has invested in various parts of the country through opening many outlets which are aimed at serving the market with sufficiency. The marketing strategy of the company includes various promotional campaigns through sports activities. The fact that the government of India is involved in the purchase of large quantities of sportswear demonstrates that the political environment favors the marketing strategy of the company. Economic Fa ctors India is experiencing positive economic growth and thus leading to an increase in the ability of the population to spend money. This has elevated the sales revenue of McDonald’s within the Indian market. The economic climate in India is characterized with Multinational Companies (MNC) restrictions such as the support of companies which promote technological growth as opposed to food companies such as McDonalds and thus causing an economic hindrance of the company’s operations within the country. The economic forces within the Indian market are largely controlled by the market which defines the entry and exit of foreign companies to the market. However there in an increased support for employment within India which has enabled McDonald’s to acquire skilled labor within its business outlets. Social Factors In India, McDonald has been viewed as a â€Å"symbol of American economic and cultural domination† (Center for Management Research, 2011). This ill ustrates that the social environment in India has been a challenge to McDonald’s operations. The major social challenge in India is the fact that cows are being worshipped and thus the company is unable to provide the market with its beef products. It is however argued that the vegetarian diet among Indians did not prevent McDonald’s from success in the Indian market. Since, religion is attributed to the vegetarian di

Article summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Summary - Article Example ost common type of cardiovascular disease among aboriginal people is the coronary heart disease whose cause although largely unknown, several risk factors have been found to increase its chance of occurrence. These include high levels of cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes mellitus smoking and high density of lipoproteins; these risk factors are attributed to the lifestyles and the socio-economic status of the aboriginal people. For the last couple of decades, the aboriginal people have adopted a western lifestyle including their nutritional patterns and behaviour, which include eating foods rich in calories and adopting inactive lifestyles; this has led to increase in cardiovascular diseases. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common among the aboriginal people is usually characterised by resistance to insulin, high blood glucose levels and reduction in insulin levels. This type of diabetes is most often found in adults and its risk is increased by obesity, lack of physical activity, stress, depression and poor nutritional habits. Since diabetes and severe obesity have been found to be linked, mainly through the adipose tissue, which has been found to trigger insulin resistance in sells, the appearance of obesity will in most cases lead to diabetes. For the last 50 years, prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been increasing among aboriginal populations with about 17.9 percent of all adult being diagnosed with the disease, the figure rises to 35 per cent among individuals 55 years or older. In some communities in northwestern Ontario, the prevalence has been found to be as high as 80 per cent among women between 50 and 64 years of age. However, this trend has not spared people much younger among the first nation communities with studies showing that 53 per cent of those living with diabetes are below 41 years of age and 65 per cent are below 45 years. This type of diabetes, although not observed in youths, it has been found in young children between 5 and 8 years in

Why we should send a Manned Mission to Mars Essay

Why we should send a Manned Mission to Mars - Essay Example The researcher states that President Barack Obama has told NASA scientists to broaden their horizons and look to send humans to Mars. He thinks that a likely time scale for this is the mid-2030s. The President is looking to decrease missions to Mars in the hope of reaching a planet that could prove vital for our future. The focus is now on exploring new planets and not revisiting the same places that we as humans have already conquered. I concur with this assessment because it has now been over 40 years since the first moon landing was achieved but nothing has really happened since. The 1960s was a great decade for space travel but this has never really been built upon. Manned missions to Mars can recreate the achievements of that decade and even surpass them. However, if manned missions are to be achieved, then there will be many environmental, political, and ethical challenges to face first. If astronauts were able to make it to Mars, then they would need supplies from Earth every once and awhile in order to sustain themselves. The reason why I think that it makes sense that humans next try to conquer Mars is that Mars have plenty of water to maintain life. Even though Mars would have a sufficient quantity of water, it would still be difficult to live there. The temperatures can fall below freezing in some places, and the atmosphere is typically made up of carbon dioxide, which means that extra oxygen would need to be supplied.

Sales 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sales 1 - Essay Example This process is accompanied and facilitated by clear description of product features by the seller in front of the buyer and subsequent objection handling. This report aims to throw light upon some implicit ideas behind personal selling along with an explanation of its types, principles and the overall personal selling process. How behaviour of the buyer and external forces shape the personal selling mechanism are also discussed. Effective marketing is a direct result of effective communications. In the broader domain of marketing, the communication mix involves personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, public relations, direct marketing, packaging, sponsorship and e-marketing. The aim of communications mix elements is to generate awareness and educate buyers about the product features and their related benefits to them. The two prime objectives of communications mix are gaining attention of the buyer and developing interest towards new product proposition. The attention grasping part is undertaken by the advertising component where by the use of concise and direct and appealing messages, product attributes, pricing information and availability details of the product are made available to the consumers. The consumer tries to align his specific needs with that of the advertised message and explores further. This attention arousal forms the background for personal selling process where it becomes easier to convince the buyer to close the deal in favour of the seller. Interest development is facilitated by the salesperson who through his ability to judge the preferences and likings of the buyer group and pitching in the product at the same frequency, tries to convert the product features into customer benefits. Handling the objections and queries of the prospective buyer in a disciplined and known way makes the buyer more acceptable to close the deal and buy the proposed product. Personal selling is mostly a relationship building exercise

Human Resource Management Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Human Resource Management Strategy - Essay Example man Capital is perhaps the most powerful and high-valued asset of an organization since people within an organization not only depend on their own productivity and performance but also of all other resources like technology, materials, process etc. No process, system or organizational activity can work well unless there are right people for that and they are managed for the same. If people perform well, all other resources in the organization can be utilized up to a maximum extent. Therefore, managing the human resources effectively and with a view to make them high performers is extremely critical to the organizational success. In order to achieve sustainable competitive advantages, human resources management have recently designed, developed and concentrated on various managerial strategies. High Performance Working is one of such strategies. ... Industry analysis with help of Porter’s five forces analysis will be given to help understand the business environment and competitive rivalry of the business. Based on literature review on high performance working and HR strategies that lead the organization to high performing, this paper illustrates the importance, relevance and overall benefits of implementing the high performance strategy. British Airways: Company Profile and Industry Analysis British Airways Plc is UK’s largest international airline. As a member of the royal family of European Airlines, British Airways carries passengers and cargoes to a large numbers of airports in more than 150 countries. The company provides airline services through around 240 aircraft (Hoovers, 2011). British Airways has emerged to be a highly successful competitor in the market and thus has been labeled the world’s first airline that took part in a scheme to reduce green house gas emission (Strategic Report, 2009). With customer focus and some other useful business strategies, the company has been able to achieve company’s specific goals. Out of its strategic perspectives, the company has perceived long haul premium customers as the key to profitability, delivered outstanding quality service for customers, grew its presence in most global cities, built a leading position in London and met customers needs (British Airways, 2009). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Michael Porter’s Five Force analysis is a tool that can be used for comparing and contrasting the competitive environment and analyze the operational efficiencies. The five force analysis can also be used as a tool to evaluate how effective were the business strategies and how far these

What is meant by Project Planning and why we need a detailed project Essay

What is meant by Project Planning and why we need a detailed project plan for every project - Essay Example The present study would focus on project planning as an essential part of project management. It refers to the use of specialised tools such as Gantt Charts in order to plan and monitor the progress of a project. The use of project planning ensures that the project environment is stewarded continuously so that any known and unknown risks are monitored and dealt with in order to optimise the project cost and schedule. Typically, project planning begins with the definition of project scope. This ensures that fitting methods are determined in order to take the project to completion. Once project scope is well defined, the next step is to define activity structure. The various tasks required to execute the project are listed down as activities and the estimated time for these activities is listed down. These activities are grouped together and the resulting structure is known as the work breakdown structure (WBS). The WBS provides a fitting insight to how various tasks and activities are fitted together in terms of their dependencies on each other. Generally, the WBS tasks and activities are defined through the use of an activity network diagram. This tool allows the determination of the critical path which in turn provides information regarding: - all activities and tasks needed to complete the project that are arranged within a WBS; - the duration of time required to complete these activities and tasks; - the various kinds of dependencies between various tasks and activities. ... This optimisation is carried out in order to comply with the overall project goals and objectives. This process is known as resource levelling and it is carried out to ensure that all activities and tasks are carried out with the optimal use of resources and time. When resource levelling is carried out, the formed plan is known as the baseline. As the project proceeds, the baseline is used to compare the status of physical activities on ground with the agreed objectives. Generally, the baseline is used throughout the entire project life to both monitor and steward progress. The process used to compare actual progress to the baseline is better known as earned value management (Fleming, 2005). The major inputs required for the project-planning phase include the concept proposal as well as the project charter while the outputs are the project requirements, the project management plan and the project schedule. These inputs and outputs are used in tandem and may be revised as the project proceeds. Most projects that are executed are unique in nature and so entail unique requirements. This requires that projects are planned individually and executed accordingly including any changes that may be required as the project proceeds. 2. Need for Project Planning Planning is required for all sorts of processes that have economic value in order to ensure that these processes are competitive. The lack of planning lends credence to the fact that execution would be inefficient and would cost more than usual. In addition, projects are generally unique by their intrinsic design so that the tasks and activities are differentiated from one project to the other. When projects are being