Effect of Csr Activities on Sales Essay

Reasons for this can be multinational corporations’ increasing influence on world economy as well as scandals revealing horrible working conditions in different industries. In spite of the fact that the demand for CSR is growing, there has always been critics. The most influential critic is Noble Prize winner Milton Friedman, who claims CSR to be a waste of stockholders’ money. However, several articles claim, opposite Friedman, that CSR rather increases a company’s financial performance in the long run. These claims have made us curious about in what way CSR is related to a company’s performance. Moreover, it has led to us wanting to find out how CSR can influence customer perceptions on a product or service offering. Conclusions –All the initiatives gave a positive influence on the respondents’ perceptions, but the ones resulting in the most positive changes of the perceptions and willingness to buy were social responsible business practises, cause-related marketing and corporate philanthropy, which are initiatives where the company are doing the largest effort instead of just encouraging others to make an effort. The respondents answered that they trust the companies’ information about CSR to some extent, but also think a third party should scrutinise the companies’ activities and inform. The most favourable channel for CSR information was from environmental organisations, government organisations and the third party web media. Therefore it seems like the respondents value that the companies provide information, but are not too forward and pushing the information on them by for example advertisements. Keywords : CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, Cause promotion, Cause-related marketing, Corporate social marketing, Corporate philanthropy, Community volunteering, Social responsible business practices. Introduction: CSR is today a frequently used concept, as companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in the society. The company should also inform the stakeholders about their CSR activities in an appropriate way, in order to capitalise from all possible benefits. In order to make a trustworthy impression and gain the most benefits, the choice of CSR activity and way of communication is crucial for the company, and therefore the perceptions of the consumers are very important to know more about and understand. In the last decade tendencies towards a more social aware community have been strong. In itself these trends are nothing that is particularly new. People have always preached for problems like public health, wildlife protection, prevention of child labor etc. What is different now is that companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in our society. Companies that engage in CSR activities are likely to have different motives for doing so. Many researches claim that corporate social responsibility originally consists of activities that a company performs out of commitment and duty. However, there are also commercial motives for CSR activities. For example CSR activities may result in advantages when it comes to receiving funding, recruiting new employees, cost reductions etc. To capitalise from all possible advantages it is crucial for the company to communicate their CSR work in an appropriate way. Theoretical Framework: Types of CSR Activities: a) Cause promotion Cause promotion is often done in the way that the company provide funds, contribute financially or with any other resource, with the objective to increase awareness, support fundraising or participation, or to recruit volunteers for a specific cause. In this initiative persuasive communications are important, to create concern and to persuade people to contribute or participate to support the cause. In successful campaigns use of motivating messages and the choice of effective media channels are crucial. They also make use of publicity, printed materials, special events, web sites, advertising, featuring the logo and key message of the company and those who represent the cause. Further methods are employee involvement, messages on product labelling and to provide store space for promotions. Many of the potential benefits are marketing related, like strengthened brand positioning and preference, increased traffic and consumer loyalty.

Fashion as Communication Essay

For this week’s task I had to read a quite difficult extract from ‘Fashion as Communication’ by Malcolm Barnard about how fashion is regarded in today’s society, whether it is trivial or not and highlighting how important it is in today’s economy. The first idea exposed is that fashion is ‘fit only for the intellectually disenfranchised’, suggesting that everyone working in the fashion industry lacks intelligence. Having chosen to study Fashion Marketing I completely disagree with this statement, but I am fully aware of the prejudices held against it. When I decided to pursue this course I realized most people did not consider Fashion Marketing a serious career, but the truth is that it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to succeed in this industry and most people do not understand what it really entails. What struck me most was a quote from a letter in The Guardian’s Women’s page arguing that ‘fashion is irrelev ant to serious minded persons’. As Anna Wintour says in The September issue ‘Just because you like to put on a beautiful Carolina Herrera dress or a pair of J Brand blue jeans instead of something basic from K-Mart it doesn’t mean that you’re a dumb person’ and even if you make a choice that you think completely leaves you out of the fashion industry, you are nevertheless engaging with it. Fashion is a way of expressing yourself; people will judge you on what you are wearing so if you want to be seen as a ‘serious-minded person’ you will have to look like one, thus making fashion relevant. Barnard then goes on to present a counter argument by saying that ‘fashion seems to be inevitable, given the social and economic organization of most of the world’, which is true, fashion is everywhere, everyone is influenced by it and it hugely contributes to the global economy. In addition to this ‘fashion is a product of a society with more than one class in it where upward movement between classes is both possible and desirable’, there is a market for every level of the social structure, from value to luxury, which have been developed because the elite cannot wear the same as everybody else. Fashion is thus a way of claiming social status and it creates a social mobility that could not otherwise be accessed. Fashion is an industry based on creating a need where there is none and nowadays, due to the current recession, I can understand that fashion may not be people’s biggest concern. But we cannot qualify it as ‘trivial’ since we are surrounded by it; each new generation of customers is highly exposed to commercial influences. As I have seen through the text  this industry ‘covers increasingly large parts of the world’ and its role on today’s economic organization and modern culture is just too important to qualify fashion as ‘trivial’. In my opinion people despise it or mock it because they don’t understand it or feel excluded from this world. Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication 1st ed. Routledge pp 17-18

Strategic Management Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Management - Outline Example Resources a firm acts as its competitive strength when strategically exploited. The exploitation of organization resources with a view of creating sustainable advantage occur over time. Strategic resource positioning The performance of a firm would depend on a number of factors. First, product viability depends on its cost in comparison to similar products and the capacity of the product to meet the demands in the market. Strategic placement of product would dictate product innovation; which includes designing, composition, and conditions, which influences its processing. The uniqueness of the product does not only influence imitation of the product, but also the identity in the market. Firms whose products are not viable innovate or shift in order to remain economically viable. How resources meet consumer demands The consumer’s behavior defines whether the product is valuable. This attribute would dictate the success of an industry. Industries consider product innovation stra tegies, which would produce unique response in the market. It means that the product has to be hard to imitate as well as identified by many consumers. Many firms consider product innovation strategy, which would create a product that is hard to substitute as well as rare in supply. Products, which create satisfaction, would retain the consumers over a time. Types of resources Resources of a firm are critical to its success. These resources are either tangible or intangible. Tangible assets include infrastructure, reputation, and database while intangible assets are strategies of the firm. The ability of a firm to compete in the market depends on its asset mobilization. Strategic resources The influence that a firm exerts in the market would depend on the strategies it develops in the following areas: financial assets, human assets, reputation assets, capabilities and competencies, and intellectual assets. Mobilization of the assets with an aim of achieving the organization goals in fluences the positioning of the firm. Reputation assets The viability of a firm would depend on the reputation it commands in the market. For a firm to build a good reputation it would consider cost of the product, competitors influence, consumer behavior, and economic constraints (Haberberg and Rieple, 2007:8). The above factors influence the approach that a firm would take towards building its reputation. Firms rebrand their products in response to consumer behavior in order to keep the product viable in the market. Relational assets Competitiveness of a firm does not only rely on reputational assets, but also relational assets. The internal environment of the firm would influence its productivity. The relationship between various departments must focus on the interest of the firm. Internal relationship in the firm would influence the work out put of the firm. This will in turn influence consumers’ satisfaction. For instance, satisfaction of the employees would contribute t o satisfaction of the consumers because the employees would strive towards achieving the goals of the firm. The relationship between the firm and the government will define its operations in the market. Thus, the relation must demonstrate an interest in serving the consumers. Dynamic capabilities The ever-changing market conditions require dynamic approaches in organization’s functions. Firms must be ready to demonstrate innovation in a changing environment. The uncertainty of the future dictates that a firm has to change its

The Joint Venture between NBC Universal and Comcast Term Paper

The Joint Venture between NBC Universal and Comcast - Term Paper Example The joint venture will combine the United States biggest cable broadband provider in Comcast with the programming domain of NBC Universal. The Federal Trade Commission, concerned with a possible monopoly situation, has placed conditions on the joint venture. General Electric will supply all of NBC Universal assets to the joint venture, valued at $30 billon, less about $9 billion in debt, and the joint venture will be managed by Comcast (Event Brief). Comcast will add its cable channels, regional sports networks, and two entertainment Internet sites, Fandango and Daily Candy valued at $7.25 billion and with adjustments, Comcast will also invest approximately $6.5 billion in cash to the deal (Event Brief). This joint venture will allow Comcast to control the video content provided by NBC Universal in their cable and Internet systems. Comcast is engaged in the development and operation of cable, Internet, and telephony systems and the company has 23.8 million cable consumers, 15.7 milli on broadband Internet consumers, and 7.4 million Comcast telephone customers (Comcast and GE to Create Leading Entertainment Company). Comcast's networks comprises E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten sports networks and a majority stake in Comcast-Spectacor, who posse the Philadelphia Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers and two prominent multipurpose sports stadiums in Philadelphia (Comcast and GE to Create Leading Entertainment Company). NBC Universal has possession of and manages a collection of information and entertainment networks, a movie company 4,000 films, television production operations with 3000 titles, and the Universal Studios theme parks (Comcast and GE to Create Leading Entertainment Company). When General Electric acquired NBC Universal, it had a broadcast network with one revenue source. Eventually NBC Universal developed a cable unit with CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo, and Oxygen that now provides 78% of cash flo w to the company (Event Brief). The new joint venture of Comcast and NBC Universal would bring together the major delivery capacity of Comcast in broadband cable, regional sports outlets with the exceptional content production and supply resources of NBC Universal (Event Brief). The joint venture would immediately create a corporation that would be the biggest in the business. The joint corporation would provide services to 23% of American pay-TV households, 14% of cable programming, operate network-owned television stations that reach 27% of homes, posses a Hollywood film studio, amusement parks, and sports arenas (Hatch, David). This combined entity could have a significant influence on pricing and availability of content delivery by the competition. An economic study of the joint venture provided by the American Cable Association indicates that the combination of Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal would increase expenditure to customers by $2.4 billion more than nine years bec ause of increased fees for pay television service content ("ACA: Comcast-NBCU Deal Will Cost Consumers $2.4B."). The

Health Care and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Care and Law - Essay Example Data gathered from other sources were properly referenced. However, the authors did not mention how they were able to collect data used in this study. Therefore, acknowledging participant sensitivity and vulnerability are not applicable. Using sub-headings, the authors were able to arrange their thoughts and ideas with regards to this subject matter. For example, using the sub-heading â€Å"What are the Root Causes?†, the authors were able to identify all possible causes of health disparities in men as mentioned in other previous studies. This can be seen on page 1 of 3. To minimize the effects of research bias, the authors were able to base their research findings from the identified root causes of health disparities in men as presented in the literature review. By analyzing the gathered literature, the authors were able to come up with an objective solution for this problem. Yes. The purpose of this study is to discuss how it is possible to eliminate health disparities in boys and men of colors. In line with this, the authors revealed that such health disparities can be eliminated by using strategic research and action. Yes. Data interpretation matches the data collection. This study is to discuss how it is possible to eliminate health disparities in boys and men of colors. Therefore, the authors decided to identify the root causes of such disparities followed by discussing potential solutions on how to avoid health disparities in men. Yes. In the research findings, the authors considered the use of strategic research and action, increase the public awareness on health disparities in boys and men, and strategic planning are among the possible solution on how we can eliminate health disparities in boys and men. Yes. Research findings were linked to findings in other studies. For example, Steinberg (2009) pointed out that lack of health

Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego Essay

Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego - Essay Example Group psychology is not concerned with group, as one could get the wrong impression by the name; on the contrary, it is connected with the individual who is part of the group, because every human being happens to be a member of many groups according to his environment and situation in life. "Group Psychology is therefore concerned with the individual man as a member of a race, of a nation, of a caste, of a profession, of an institution, or as a component part of a crowd of people who have been organised into a group at some particular time for some definite purpose (p.3)1. Group psychology is only the sum total of all the individual psychologies belonging to that particular group. Freud was of the opinion that the crowd, a gathering, or a mass of people, can reflect different psychological dimensions than loose individuals. Those dimensions need not be part of their daily life. They might surprise themselves by exhibiting totally alien behaviours, which are more in step with the group, and have less to do with their individuality and identification. He says that an individual could be brought to a condition where his personality traits are totally lost and he would commit uncharacteristic deeds on being suggested. A group is always more susceptible to influence, and it could swing dangerously without any regard for personal gain. "While with isolated individuals personal interest is almost the only motive force, with groups, it is very rarely prominent," (p.17). Group can create an unusual influence on the individual's mental activity so that his emotions are extraordinarily intensified and sometimes it inhibits the intellect and rational factors. He says that if an individual gives up his identity and becomes a part of the group, he does so, because he feels the need of being in harmony with others. There is a kind of bonding in a group, which might compel an individual to be carried away instinctively. "that a group is clearly held together by a power of some kind; and to what power could this feat be better ascribed than to Eros, who holds together everything in the world" he asks. Libido, as Freud sees it, is an emotional form comprising all sentiments that come under 'love' with sexual union as its aim. It can contain self-love, love for parents/children, friendship and general love for all and animals, or nature, because all tendencies are part of 'an expression of the same instinctive activities which might result in various kinds of relationships'. The soul of the mass is another kind of libido, which emotionally binds the individual into the group and each individual usually feels the same and this libido becomes the mass soul that compels all the likewise members of the group to feel and emote identically. Another most important factor here is the leader of the group who "stands in the relation of a kind elder brother; he is their father surrogate" (p.43). Freud theorises that the same group essence could be found in the libidinal ties of panic phenomenon that exists in the military groups. This collective dread can happen "either owing to an increase of the common danger or owing to the

Lin200 final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lin200 final - Assignment Example 24. Localization is about the examination and study of various parts of the brain that carries out specialized functions in the learning and mastery of language. This is because different parts of the brains carry out various functions and the use of MRI scans and other things show the development of matter around various parts of the brain. Researchers indicate that language acquisition significantly alters the brain and parts of it. The left hemisphere of the brain and right hemisphere have specialized functions they each perform. For example, the Broca’s area is known for syntax learning. 26. A. Nonrefundable: non-refund-able; Category – Compounding form adjective; Root – Refund; Bases – Refund (verb), Able (adjective), Non (Adjective). Inflectional Affix: â€Å"Non† negating â€Å"Refund†; Derivational Affix: the connection of the first two roots with â€Å"–able† gives it a state or form. 28. A. Coordination is a problem with this because crippled and landing are somewhat problematic; There are also topicalization issues and there is also a problem with the pro-form substitution so I think it fails the test; B. There are some coordination issues with this sentence. â€Å"Took† does not seem to get along well with â€Å"to the garage†. There seem to be some issues with pseudo-clefting in this sentence as well. The sentence is grammatically correct, but has some few gaps. 32. Linguistic Relativity: This is the view that the nature and structure of a given language defines the worldview of its speakers. It posits that language and its structure determines the thought of its speakers. An example is the case of languages being specialized in certain worldviews and thoughts and helping to promote certain activities. For instance, Hebrew is structured to ensure that its speakers tilt towards a given worldview of Judaism and Jewish customs. 33. Homographs are words