Should companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility programs Essay

Should companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility programs Why or why not - Essay Example All the efforts of the companies meant for this purpose meet the merit of bringing up positive results as they reflect on improved concerns for environment and the public as a whole. The essence of CSR is growingly promising as the world market turns rapidly competitive with the inevitability of consideration for global communities in the wake of emergence of multinational companies in corporate business. Whether companies should engage in corporate social responsibility programs is a one-sided debate in which there can possibly be no opposition. In recent years, many CEOs and heads of major corporate business groups identify that ‘a strong CSR program is an inevitable thing’ for achieving effective business leadership (â€Å"Corporate social responsibility..†). However, it is a challenge before many companies to meet the global social responsibilities on par with the struggle for excellence in achieving the traditional goal of economic profit. In this regard, according to a thought of Lawrence and Weber, social responsibility requires companies to balance the benefit to be gained against the costs of achieving those benefits (46). As such, the managers of the organizations are responsible for meeting the desired fields of credit for both the owners of the business and the consumers of the product of the company without letting the firm any decrease in its profitability. From every angle, the stability of a company is guaranteed by the willingness of its employees to offer optimum worth to it. It is also undoubted that they chose to work in a company that claims high regards of social reputation. As Lawrence and Weber point out, social reputation is a major intangible asset that adds to the organization’s wealth (53). With days passing, the thought of business giants changed from merely making profit to being committed to social responsibilities as the majority of world population wanted their basic needs to be attended by the rich. As a result of the

Culture and Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Culture and Organisation - Essay Example At the time, the company was generating revenue that amount to over 21.5 billion euros per year during which time it had the biggest market share in the UK (Wei & Zhou, 2007). Currently, IKEA operates around 301 stores in over 35 countries. Most of the stores are in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. This billion dollar company was founded in 1943 by Mr. Ingvar Kamprad (Edvardsson & Enquist, 2008). It is owned by Stichging INKGA group although the company is partly controlled by the founder’s family. INKGA group is a charitable foundation registered in the Netherlands. The company’s main competitors include Argos, Asda, Next, Debenhams, Tesco, and John Lewis (Moon, 2004). There exist many ways through which companies can gain a competitive advantage over other companies. With the current economic uncertainties in the market, it is critical that companies get to engage in activities that will ensure their continued success in the market. Since economies from different part of the world are failing, one thing to do to ensure that a business is not affected and can stand the test of turmoil is to spread risks. In other words, most companies are not putting their eggs in the same basket. This means they are promoting their brand through establishing stores in as many countries as possible. One of these companies, and one that this paper will be discussing in detail is IKEA. As put by Porter, sustainable competitive advantage is one of the most sought after things by companies today (Porter, 2008). It requires that a company ensures that its level of profits are maintained if at all the company aims to be sustainable. As stated by Christopher (2012), â€Å"the most profitable competitor in any industry sector tends to be the lowest-cost producer or the supplier providing a product with the greatest perceived differentiated values.† This is, however, affected by important factors such as culture as will be discussed below. The issue of communication is