Essay: Nike corporate social responsibility

Nike is classified among the most valuable brands in the world, and it is a leading manufacturer, and seller of sportswear and apparels. Most of the organisation’s factories are located in Asian nations like Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and other nations. The company signs contracts with contractors who manage the production of sports goods in those countries. Being a giant player in the industry, Nike has been in the media focus for positive and negative reasons. Nike has been a significant case study and company of focus when it comes to ethical issues related to their business (Beresin 2010, p. 71). The corporate has received many criticisms for having the most miserable working conditions for their employees despite that it is one of the most profitable organisations in the world. The sweatshops in their factories in Asia, as well as the poor wages for its workers, were among the leading facts that have attracted the attention of critics across the world. On the other hand, Nike is also considered as one of the most transformed organisations regarding its step to address employee challenges and emphasising on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by trying to have a positive impact on the communities it works in. The critical essay will be mainly based on a group presentation about Nike. The presentation addresses the commitments and measures that the organisation has employed to ensure that it improves its corporate image through CSR. The presentation has some weaknesses and strengths about its description and analysis of Nike’s CSR challenge. The paper will also point out the reasons why analyst will agree or disagree with the presentation. The critical analysis will give room to identify the recommendations concerning what ought to have been done to improve the presentation.
The main point of focus for the presentation is CSR which remains the critical discussion across the presentation. CSR (CSR) is defined generally before narrowing down to Nike. The reviews are guided by the main components of CSR which determines what was expected of Nike to do as a way of showing its commitment and responsibility to the regions its factories are operated as well as being a role model for responding positively to the demands of the stakeholders especially their employees. CSR requires that organisations should take responsibility for their effects on the socio-economic and environment must be the primary focus of CSR activities. CSR identifies business ethics as a complex issue that businesses should pay attention to meet their corporate objectives (Villiers 2014, p. 43). The report uses the components of CSR to analyse the case of Nike by pointing out the key areas where the company is performing well as well as the sections that still require improvements.
Several positive insights can be drawn from the presentation based on how it was delivered and the significance of the covered subjects to the context within which they are described. A vital strength of the presentation is that it describes the real situation about Nike which is drawn from different periods since the company was founded in 1962. Although Nike is among the most profitable global companies, its operations, particularly in Asian nations, has been faced with challenges related to its efforts to maximise profits at the expense of their workers. In Asia, Nike has been accused of providing the poorest working conditions despite it being a leading manufacturer and seller of sportswear and apparels. The presentation points out the key areas that have attracted the attention of the world towards Nike. The sweatshops where the company manufactures its products were characterised by employee congestion which presented a significant health and safety risk to its workers. The employees were also subjected to long working hours and low wages which could not cater to their basic needs. Employees were also harassed by being denied time to visit toilets or take breaks during the working hours. The presentation has also pointed out how the company was committed to the protection of the environment since it was founded. According to the report, Nike was a major polluter of the environment by using dying agents that were major polluters of the environment. Besides, the use of environmentally unfriendly materials like plastics was also a major environmental concern. All the concerns that the presentation addresses reflect the real situation on the ground.
The report addresses the case of Nike by analysing the challenges that other companies dealing with similar products as Nike face regarding CSR around the globe. The approach makes it easy to comprehend the efforts that the organisation has made to show its commitment to stakeholders, ethicsdoubl and sustainability. To achieve this, the report breaks down the major developments that have occurred in the fashion market. About the report, more than 1 trillion USD was spent on clothes in the year 2000, and 75 per cent of the clothes and textiles were exported from developing countries. Increased demand for apparels between 2000 and 2014 has led to the twice the amount of product made. The number of clothes purchased by consumers each year has also risen by 60%. The report has also established that 99 percent of the sportswear and apparels sold in the US are manufactured in overseas. The analysis is fundamental because it shows the significance of the foreign nations specifically the Asian states to the company’s growth. The examination of the developments that have been experienced in the clothing and textile industry is essential and can be used to ascertain whether Nike is making the expected changes based on the fact that the sales and production in the sector have doubled within the last two decades. Making conclusions based on an extensive analysis of the entire industry increases the reliability of the information.
A major strength associated with the report is that its information is based on research. The presentation uses research to analyse the compatibility between CSR and profitability. The conclusion about the impacts of CSR on the profits of Nike is based on an analysis of about 167 companies. The finding implies that the presentation is entirely based on research; thus, the information provided is reliable. According to research, CSR is usually used as a strategy to increase the profitability of a business. Nike uses its commitment to back to improving its control of its operation and the wellbeing of the stakeholders as a competitive advantage to compete with its main competitors. Research suggests that CSR improves the image of an organisation in society and the global market. Since Nike started to show increased responsibility by addressing the issues that attracted criticism from groups like labour movements and human rights groups, its profits have increased, and it is expected to have long term benefits, Nike.
On the other hand, the presentation fails to explain some crucial aspects that justify its contemporary position regarding solving its past challenges and revamping its image. The presentation mentions how Nike has improved from its past particularly on improving the working conditions of its employees. Most parts of the presentation contain generalised information and not addressing specifics or details of the steps that the company took. After Nike made headlines for the wrong reasons especially for lack of social responsibility, the management conducted several audits across its factories in Asia and recommended transformations were meant to give the organisation a different image. Some of the critical things that the report has failed to elaborate on are the strategies that the company use to implement various changes like the abolition of child labour by giving strict guidelines that restrict their contractors from employing children. Besides using contractors to be in charge of their factories in different parts of the world, Nike also launched it independent plans to ensure that the contracted companies follow to the guidelines as a way of protecting its image which had been tainted by the widespread information about its unethical engagements, particularly in the Asia-based factories. Another area that the report has failed is the exact strategies that the company has been using to ensure that it achieves CSR. Some of the approaches for CSR include the alignment of a company’s CSR to its business strategy, reliable and sustainable partnerships that guarantee success, as well as drawing a clear plan for the future operations (Preuss 2013, p. 583). Most sections of the presentation are mainly focused on the past state of the organisation and partly on its contemporary condition. The presentation does not give an outline of what Nike plans about its future CSR.
The presentation gives a breakdown of how Nike has been making transformations to ensure that it addresses all concerns in its CSR actions. According to the report, the corporation has been publishing its corporate responsibility report continuously to show the major steps that have been made concerning improving its commitments to the society and the environment. The presentation also indicates that Nike has already implemented its action plan to solve the problems. In reference to the article, Nike has been successful in resolving issues such as unfavourable working conditions, low compensation and extended working hours, environmental pollution, and corporation with governments to restrict the formation of trade unions that can help to address the plight of employs. Based on the reality on the ground, I disagree with what the report asserts. The situation in Nike factories in different countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Korea gives a clear indication that the company has not solved its unethical working practices. Nike has resorted to public relations campaigns through the media to confuse the public about the real situation in its Asia-based factories. Sweatshops are still in existence in the Nike factories despite many media reports that the organisation has improved the working environment for its employees. Investigative reports have also indicated that people Workers in Nike factories particularly in Asia are paid meagre wages compared to the organisational global profits. Despite being among the most profitable global organisations, a majority of its factory workers cannot afford their basic necessities like food and decent shelter for their families. Besides, the employees are also still subjected to long working workers and being compelled to work for overtime. Nike also operates in nations where there are no labour movements and an attempt by its workers to form movements that advocate for their rights are met with a harsh response from the authorities (Beresin 2010, p. 73). The basis for disagreement with a section of the presentation is that Nike has not addressed all the concerns as it is claimed by the media and its corporate responsibility report for various fiscal years. The presentation is mainly centred on the information provided by the company and the press rather than conducting an independent investigation.
The analysis of the presentation reveals several sections that have compromised the reliability of the report and future reports about such an organisation ought to be free from such flaws. A fundamental shortcoming of the presentation is it is mainly based on the descriptions provided by Nike and the media. What the media and Nike provide does not reflect the real picture in its factories in Asian countries. The presentation is a product of the public relation campaigns that Nike has been capitalising on to revamp its public image. The future submissions need to be exclusively based on independent investigation reports rather than relying on what the company itself releases to make conclusions about its commitments to social responsibility. The use of independent investigation information would have helped to give the real picture about the situation in Nike’s factories.
The presentation depicts both strengths and weaknesses depending on how the information is presented. Some of the strong points about the report are that most of its conclusions are based on comparisons and research from other organisations and that it analyses Nike from its beginning with the main focus being CSR. On the other hand, the weaknesses of the report are that; it is mostly based on generalisations instead of giving specific details, and that the conclusions are mainly based on information provided by Nike and the media rather than independent investigations.