Thursday, December 26, 2019
Major Wars and Conflicts of the 20th Century
The 20th century was dominated by wars and conflicts that often altered the balance ofà power around the globe. The 20th century saw the emergence of total wars, such as World War I and World War II, which wereà large enough to encompass nearly the entire world. Other wars, like the Chinese Civil War, remained local but still caused the deaths of millions of people. The reasons for the wars varied from expansion disputesà toà upsets in government to theà intentional murder of an entire people. However, they all shared one thing: an extraordinary number of deaths. Which Was the Deadliest War of the 20th Century? The largest and bloodiest war of the 20th century (and ofà all time) was World War II. The conflict, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, involved most of the planet. When it was finally over, more than 60 million people were dead. Of that enormous group, which represents about 3 percent of the entire world population at the time, the huge majority (well over 50 million) were civilians. World War I was also bloody, with 8.5 million military deaths plus an estimated 13 million more civilian fatalities. If we were to add in the deaths caused by theà 1918à influenza epidemic, which was spread by returning soldiers at the end ofà World War I,à the WWI total would be much higher, since the epidemic alone was responsible forà 50 to 100 million deaths. Third in the list of bloody wars of the 20th century is the Russian Civil War, which caused the deaths of an estimated 9 million people. Unlike the two world wars, however, the Russian Civil War did not spread across Europe or beyond. Rather, it was a struggle for power following the Russian Revolution, and it pitted the Bolsheviks, headed by Lenin, against a coalition called the White Army. Interestingly, the Russian Civil War was over 14 times deadlier than the American Civil War, which saw the deaths of 620,000. The American Civil War was by far the deadliest war in history for United States soldiers. The second deadliest war in terms of American deaths was World War II in which 405,399 Americans died. The List of Major Wars and Conflicts of the 20th Century All of these wars, conflicts, revolutions, civil wars, and genocides shaped the 20th century. Below is a chronological list of the major wars of the 20th century. 1898ââ¬â1901 Boxer Rebellion1899ââ¬â1902 Boer War1904ââ¬â1905 Russo-Japanese War1910ââ¬â1920 Mexican Revolution1912ââ¬â1913 First and Second Balkan Wars1914ââ¬â1918 World War I1915ââ¬â1918 Armenian Genocide1917 Russian Revolution1918ââ¬â1921 Russian Civil War1919ââ¬â1921 Irish War of Independence1927ââ¬â1937 Chinese Civil War1933ââ¬â1945 Holocaust1935ââ¬â1936 Second Italo-Abyssinian War (also known as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War or the Abyssinian War)1936ââ¬â1939 Spanish Civil War1939ââ¬â1945 World War II1945ââ¬â1990 Cold War1946ââ¬â1949 Chinese Civil War resumes1946ââ¬â1954 First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War)1948 Israel War of Independence (also known as the Arab-Israeli War)1950ââ¬â1953 Korean War1954ââ¬â1962 French-Algerian War1955ââ¬â1972 First Sudanese Civil War1956 Suez Crisis1959 Cuban Revolution1959ââ¬â1975à Vietnam War1967 Six-Day War1979ââ¬â1989 Soviet-Afgha n War1980ââ¬â1988 Iran-Iraq War1990ââ¬â1991 Persian Gulf War1991ââ¬â1995 Third Balkan War1994 Rwandan Genocide
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
The Fight For Cameras Police Officers Should Wear Body...
8548488 The Fight for Cameras: Why Police Officers Should Wear Body Cameras In 2014, the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri sparked an outbreak of protests and negative attention against the nation s law enforcement. Michael Brown was shot and killed and the whereabouts of what actually happened were very unclear. Was it an accident? Was it intentional? Did Michael Brown give a big enough reason to be shot at or was the cop abusing of his power? So many questions were asked and many of them were left unanswered. There was not enough evidence to figure out what happened. Many witnesses thought that it was a race issue and that the officer, Officer Darren Wilson, had no reason to kill Michael. The grand jury declared Darren Wilson not guilty for the murder of Michael Brown (Buchanan 2015). After the tragedy occurred and the news of the officersââ¬â¢ liberty spread, the ââ¬Å"warâ⬠against officers had begun (Kaste 2015). 51 officers were killed nationwide all in 2014, a huge increase from the 2 7 killed in 2013 (Kaste 2015). People from all over the country were becoming terrified of the nationââ¬â¢s patrolmen. The fight between police officers and the community is becoming a serious issue. Cops are being blamed for unjust behavior against innocent people and nothing can be done to prove that what the officer did, was for a good reason. It is a ââ¬Å"he said/she saidâ⬠controversy when trying to figure out who s right. Incidents involving police force and citizen misconduct wereShow MoreRelatedEfficacy Of Body Cameras On The Police Officer Essay1737 Words à |à 7 PagesEfficacy For Body Cameras In a case highlighted by The police staff an Arizona police officer had a confrontation one day on the job that ended up in a fight with the individual that he confronted. 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Monday, December 9, 2019
The Wasps Nest free essay sample
After a thorough reading and analysis of the poem, I have found that there co-exists a number of underlying themes and contradicting meanings within the poem; I believe the most plausible and recurrent theory is that this poem revolves around the theme of significance, human nature and fear of a looming and impending threat. I have also seen that the themes, tone and meaning of the poem change throughout the poem. At first glance ââ¬âin its starting lines, 1 to 24- the poem appears to be about nothing more major than the characterââ¬â¢s disturbance at particular wasps which have chosen to make his US mailbox their nest. The poem then progresses, as do its continuously shifting tone and meaning. After identifying the situation of the waspsââ¬â¢ nest, the voice, at one point, seems to run into somewhat of a conflict where his usual instinct, moral judgment and human nature are locked in a power struggle of conflicting thoughts. As the poem then reaches its final lines, there begins an unraveling of deeper, more hidden themes. Written by James L Rosenberg, published in 1962, The Wasps Nest can be taken under many different annotations depending on oneââ¬â¢s view, throughout my analysis I have tried to convey as many possible ââ¬âplausible- ideologies as to the poemââ¬â¢s individual and/or co-operative elements whether contradicting, coinciding or emphasizing in relation towards each other. One could note that the real significance of the poem is hidden within the last seven lines of the thirty-one. Prior to the last seven lines; the complete tone and purpose of the poem shifts from the theme of a menial nuisance/ minor disturbance into questions about controversial thought of the significance of existence. Rosenberg starts line 1 in a majestic description which refers towards particular wasps which have inhabited his mailbox. Although his description is praising towards the wasps, his first sign of the acknowledgement of their existence as living creatures; the first sign of evidence as to this can be seen in line 9; ââ¬ËTheir insubstantial and their only homeââ¬â¢ In saying this, Rosenberg, for the first time, gives the waspsââ¬â¢ existence a certain sense of importance, by , in a way, personifying the wasps in referring to their nests as a ââ¬Ëhomeââ¬â¢ rather than a nest. This gives a rather synonymous connotation towards the feeling of humanity, thusly personifying the wasps with more of an equal human importance. Rosenberg continues this effect in several other lines throughout the poem despite its shifting themes and tones. Evidence of this can be seen in the following lines- 24 to 26-: ââ¬ËPerhaps, they sense, Iââ¬â¢ll never deal the blowââ¬â¢ These two lines show clear implications made by Rosenberg to give the wasps more acknowledgement by giving them a sense of human judgment and intelligence. The same effect can be seen in lines 21-24: ââ¬ËAnd yet they seem Too deeply and too fiercely occupied To bother to attend. ââ¬â¢ The fact that Rosenberg grants the wasps a sense of judgment in such a way that they noticed a potential threat and are too busy to attend to it. The mere fact that the author granted them with the thought that they could protect themselves adds emphasis towards my previous statement of the theme of acknowledgement. In lines 15-25, one can note somewhat of a conflict which appears where the voice questions his natural instincts to destroy the wasps nest (for the purpose of disposing of a nuisance and potential danger) with moral judgment and a deeper sense of human nature/emotion: ââ¬ËAnd I think They know my strength, Can gauge The danger of their work: One blow could crush them And their nest; and I am not their friend. And yet they seem Too deeply and too fiercely occupied To bother to attend. Perhaps they sense Iââ¬â¢ll never deal the blow,ââ¬â¢ Now the change in tone and meaning can be noted clearly. From monitoring the placement of these wasps and where they have decided to inconveniently locate their home to a comparison between their world and ours and the frailty of both of them that we share. In these lines, the author seems to relate and create somewhat of a likeness between our two worlds: whilst the waspsââ¬â¢ nest is depicted as small and fragile, the author motioned a thought that in this universe, so is ours. Whilst the waspsââ¬â¢ nest is depicted as small and fragile, Rosenberg motions a thought that in a universe so large, everything could be just as small and fragile. He bridged and related our world to the waspsââ¬â¢, Introducing the likeness that we are all small beings in universe so large, and if he delivers a crushing blow to their home, is there not just as likely a possibility that something even larger crush ours, just as easily? That our society could be an even larger forceââ¬â¢s waspsââ¬â¢ nest? It is according to my understanding and analysis that there is not enough evidence to say as to whom the main character/voice of the poem is. We can see that it is written in first person narrative, but this provides no nsight towards the actual identity of this voice in the poem. The setting of the poem is implied ââ¬âfrom lines 9 to 10- to be in the USA: ââ¬ËNeither the sore displeasure Of the US Mailââ¬â¢ Further implications as to the setting of the poem appear to be rather vague, although I imagined it to be set in a typical American suburban home as the man creates the thoughts noted in the poem, he is staring at his mai lbox, he is contemplating the fragility of his existence. The poem generally, although rather complex as a whole, does not contain many words which hold difficult and complex meaning. The meanings and connotations of the words are rather obvious in accordance to its noted denotations. The poem seems to be written in a style of free verse, this can be proven due to the fact that it is one body of writing; there are no stanzas. The length of the sentences vary from being long to short in a seemingly random order, and can thusly be justified as to coinciding with the poems theme in the way that the erratic sentence structure imitates the energetic aerials of the wasps. The further enjambment and caesuras spread throughout the poem could, in a way, emphasize a motion of streamlined thought, in the poem. It can be said that it is written as though one movement of developing thought streamlining from beginning to end of the poem. I conclude that after further analysis of the poem, my ideologies and theories as to the theme, tone and other factors which I have noted remain the same. I still believe that the boldest theme depicted is the theme of questioning significance and where ours stands in the universe.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Nike Csr Essay Example
Nike Csr Essay Nike CSR Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time (Carroll and Buchholtz 2003, p. 36). The concept of corporate social responsibility means that organizations have moral, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities in addition to their responsibilities to earn a fair return for investors and comply with the law. A traditional view of the corporation suggests that its primary, if not sole, responsibility is to its owners, or stockholders. However, CSR requires organisations to adopt a broader view of its responsibilities that includes not only stockholders, but many other constituencies as well, including employees, suppliers, customers, the local community, local, state, and the government, environmental groups, and other special interest groups. Collectively, the various groups affected by the actions of an organisation are called stakeholders. Nike started with a handshake between two visionary Oregonians Bowerman and his University of Oregon runner Phil Knight. Themselves and the people they hired evolved and grew the company that became Nike from a US based footwear distributor to a global marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment that is unrivalled in the world. Along the way, Nike has established a strong Brand Portfolio with several subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Converse Inc. , Hurley International LLC, Nike Golf, and Umbro Ltd. Their world headquarters is located near Beaverton, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. So while the Pacific Northwest is the birthplace to Nike, today they operate in more than 160 countries around the globe. We will write a custom essay sample on Nike Csr specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Nike Csr specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Nike Csr specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Through their suppliers, shippers, retailers and other service providers, they directly or indirectly employ nearly one million people. That includes more than 30,000 Nike employees across six continents, each of whom makes their own contribution to fulfil the mission statement, ââ¬Å"to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. â⬠I have chosen Nike, from the sporting goods industry, as my company to evaluate their level of corporate social responsibility, strategies and policies. My reason for this is that Nike has shown a huge change in the business ethics and corporate social responsibility over the last decade or so. From the beginning, Nike has used celebrity athletes to promote its products, and its advertising budget in 2002 ran over $900 million. Despite vast sales, Nike owns very few manufacturing facilities and describes itself as a marketing operation. Most of the shoes and apparel are contracted out to companies in the United States and abroad. The three main operations in America act as distribution centers. Nike came in for criticism when reports surfaced about sweatshop working conditions in factories overseas. Employees were said to be overworked, underpaid, abused and denied the right to organise. Nikeââ¬â¢s initial response to these allegations was to say that it was not responsible for the actions of its subcontractors. Since the boycott movement in the 1990ââ¬â¢s, Nike has taken positive steps to raise the standards of employment used by its sub contractors. An example of how they did this was by banning petroleum based glues and inviting independent monitors to visit the facilities. In 2007 Nike pledged to cut back on the level of overtime undertaken by workers at its factories, in an attempt to improve working conditions of up to 880,000 workers. This is a serious area of concern for Nike, which operates 130 factories in China, where many workers have been expected to work unpaid. They have also pledged new targets for reducing waste and carbon emissions. This is just a couple of measures Nike have practised and I will discuss a variety more throughout my essay. Their goal is to carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders. I am now going to list and elaborate on all of Nikesââ¬â¢ CSR policies and schemes. The Nike Considered Index Breakdown: This index tool is provided for evaluating the carbon footprint of a product prior to commercialisation. This system examines solvent use, waste, materials and innovation for ootwear. Apparel products are evaluated on waste, materials, garment treatments and innovation. Products are assigned a Considered score using the Index framework based on Nikes known footprint in these areas. Only products whose score significantly exceeds the corporate average can be designated as Considered. The Index metrics are based on over a decade of collecting solid waste and solvent use data in footwear, and th e examination of waste footprints in hundreds of apparel and footwear products across all sport categories. They are also based on the evaluation of every commercial material used to manufacture Nike products using a life cycle approach. Reuse the shoe program: Since 1993, Nike have recycled over twenty million sports shoes and contributed to more than 250 sports surfaces for children to play on. They promote this program by using the slogan, ââ¬Å"Worn out. Play on. â⬠Nike Environmentally preferred materials: Nike has developed a Material Analysis Tool (MAT) based on lifecycle thinking to quantitatively evaluate and rank our material choices, giving definition to Nike EPMs. Each material is assigned a numeric value that feeds into a sustainability score for our products. The MAT framework is a set of 19 environmental impact questions, in four categories that are weighted as follows: Issue| Weighting| Impact Metric| Chemistry| 40%| Risk (hazard and exposure potential) A number of toxicology endpoints are considered including:Carcinogens Acute Hazards Chronic Hazards Endocrine Disruptors / Teratogens | Energy Intensity / CO2| 25%| MJ / Kg of Material Energy Source Kg CO2 / kg of Material | Physical Waste| 20%| Recycled Inputs Manufacturing Waste Disposition Consumer End of Life Disposition | Water Intensity| 15%| gt;, =, lt; 100 Liters / kg of Material | Sustainable materials: Expanding the use of environmentally preferred materials as new technologies become commercially viable will allow Nike to integrate these materials into the products. These materials have added environmental benefits that do not compromise the quality and performance of Nike products. This allows for leverage on purchase volumes with suppliers, making environmentally preferred material options more cost effective. Nike focus on engaging men and boys in achieving gender equality: The Nike Foundation joined more than 450 cross-sector leaders in this unique symposium to explore research and best practices by programs that challenge rigid gender norms and engage men and boys in reducing violence against women and girls, promoting sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and fatherhood and care giving. One of the most fundamental impacts Nike can have is to improve working conditions in their global supply chain and the industry as a whole. The three main product lines of Nikes brand footwear, apparel and equipment are made by 565 contract factories that employ more than 800,000 workers in 46 countries around the world. Being the market leader, it is critical for them to stay competitive in terms of employee wage and manufacturing costs, however in terms of brand image and rapport it is crucial for Nike to act ethically. This is no doubt a difficult area for Nike and causes a lot of concern in the present day. Nike is very transparent when it comes to corporate responsibility as they show their reports on their website. A quote from their website states, ââ¬Å"Reporting provides information about Nikeââ¬â¢s corporate responsibility performance and strategy. Corporate responsibility must evolve from being seen as an unwanted cost to being recognized as an intrinsic part of a healthy business model, an investment that creates competitive advantage and helps a company achieve profitable, sustainable growth. Nikeââ¬â¢s long-term corporate responsibility goals are broadly embedded into our business. â⬠As I researched through the various practical models such as the AA1000 and GRI reporting I found elements that I can relate to Nike. Firstly, as I researched www. accountability. org, I found a business aid AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard. It discusses how securing the right to be heard for people who are affected by or can affect an organisationââ¬â¢s activities and obliging the organisation to respond to these concerns, makes organisations perform better. It increases their knowledge, their legitimacy, and the values that are affirmed or created by the dialogue enhance their reputation nd moral stature. Nike as a company and market leader in my opinion does this very well. Their website shows a substantial amount of information that stakeholders would want to know. On the site you can access all their CR reports online which show that they are satisfied with their business ethics and this can only benefit their brand image and strengthens their position a market leader. It also shows that Nike sees reporting as an important means of sharing information about its commitments, successes and targets regarding corporate responsibility. The website states,â⬠We prepare information, taking account of our business impacts and the desires of stakeholders, to provide an open, clear picture about our aims and progress in incorporating responsible practice into our operations. â⬠In addition to this, Nike also has an article on innovation and sustainability which shows, along with the other material mentioned that Nike does hold CSR in high regards, especially the informing of itsââ¬â¢ shareholders. Crowthers Stages of Maturity for CSR Stage of Development| Dominant feature| Typical activity| Examples| 1| Window Dressing| Redesigning corporate reporting| Changed wording and sections to reflect CSR language| 2| Cost containment| Re-engineering business processes| Energy efficiency programmes| 3| Stakeholder engagement| Balanced scorecard development| Customer/employee satisfaction surveys| 4| Measurement and reporting| Sophisticated tailored measures| CSR reports| 5| Sustainability| Defining sustainability:Re-engineering processes| Sustainability reporting| 6| Transparency| Concern for the supply chain: requiring CSR from suppliers| Human rights enforcement e. . child labour| 7| Accountability| Reconfiguration of the value chain| Relocating high value added activity in developing countries| Crowthers stage of maturity for CSR is another model that I feel I can analysis Nike upon. This model shows how companies develop their corporate responsibility strategies as well as being able to rate themselves in their develop ment process form one to seven. In terms of stage one; Nike has certainly achieved this through dedicating their CSR strategies on their websites for all stakeholders to see. For stage two Nike have began to use ecycled materials such as recycled polyester in many of products in the All Conditions Gear outdoor line as well as various active apparel items. Expanding the use of environmentally preferred materials as new technologies become commercially viable will allow integration of these materials into their products. These materials have added environmental benefits that do not compromise the aesthetic, quality and performance that consumers expect from Nike products. Stage 3 of Crowthers model deals with stakeholder engagement. Nike has expressed interest in the importance of suitable factories working conditions for employees overseas. In addition Nike is sharing select contract factory auditing tools. These tools help provide further transparency and insight into the manner in which Nike contract factories are evaluated for compliance with company standards. From this information it shows that Nike has covered stage 3extensively. Stage four has also been covered through Nike having all their CSR reports from 2004 on their website. Sustainability reporting for stage 5 again Nike has on the website www. nikebiz. com. In the United Kingdom, Nike has been a lead member of the United Kingdoms Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP). Through SCAP, they partner with the U. K. government to improve the environmental and social impacts of the clothing supply chain. SCAP was launched in February 2009 at Estethica, London Fashion Weeks sustainable fashion show. Main areas of focus for the action plan are the reuse, recycling, and development and use of sustainable fibres. Sustainability is crucial to Nikes future success and in their sustainability report it says,â⬠We anticipate a future that seeks out and rewards new models of consumption and growth, separated from material consumption. Its a transition from build, buy and bury the common business model today to a future of sustainable business models for consumption and growth. â⬠However, their main competitor in the sporting goods industry, Adidas, made it for the sixth time in a row into the ranking of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. The Global 100 is a selected group of companies taken from a pool of some 1,800 international companies which provides investors and other stakeholders with a unique evaluation tool. Launched in 2005, the annual Global 100 is announced each year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Nike does not display this achievment, so im presuming that they have not made into the rankings, suggesting that Adidas are more sustainable. Due to the fact that all Nikeââ¬â¢s CSR information is on their website, itââ¬â¢s clear that they are very transparent. Nike states in one of their policies that they will not to use leather in its products produced from cattle raised in the Amazon Biome as defined by IBGE (Brazilââ¬â¢s National Institute of Geography and Statistics. Another area where Nike shows their transparency is by allowing monitoring of all its factories. The European Unions European Commission has launched a voluntary online register for interest representatives (groups and bodies who seek to influence policy formulation and decision-making processes of EU institutions). Nike has been a member of this from 2008 and has been strongly committed to tr ansparency in government advocacy for many years. Although Nike, in my opinion have been successful so far in Crowthers model but when it comes to accountability it is a different matter. To a certain extent Nike are accountable as they provide a level of exposure on their website and are stakeholder friendly, but accountability does not stop there. Nike have 565 contract factories in 46 countries mainly in southeast Asia to reap the benefits of lower wage rates and excess to raw material suppliers. They are not, at the moment, looking to relocate to assist in developing companies. Besides all these initiatives in the area of fair labour practices that Nike introduced, the public awareness on the issue of social accountability that was resulted due to the earlier campaigns, which started in early 1990s, could not put to a halt. So I would rate Nike to be at the stage 6/7 of Crowthers model because they have shown transparency as I have discussed but I feel there is always more from a business of this size to give. For example instead of claiming that there abroad employees are getting legal, minimum wage they should be stating exactly how much they are getting. Therefore showing that they have nothing to hide and are accountable for there actions. According to Carroll, ââ¬Å"corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be socially responsible means that profitability and obedience to the law are foremost conditions when discussing the firmââ¬â¢s ethics and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money, time and talentâ⬠Carollââ¬â¢s model, the CSR pyramid deals with the four main aspect of CSR; Philanthropic, Ethical, Legal and Economic responsibilities. I am now going to discuss how Nikeââ¬â¢s social responsibility can be related to these key areas. The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (Carroll,1991. ) In respect to the philanthropic section of Carrollââ¬â¢s pyramid I can discuss a number of ways in which Nike have been a respectable corporate citizen. In 2009, Nike teamed up with RED to come together and fight HIV/AIDS in Africa by delivering funds to support programs that offer education and medication on the ground, and have used the power of sport to engage youth around the world, in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Another way in which Nike have supported the community is by donating money to the Bowerman Track Project. Bowerman (co founder) stepped down from the Nike board of directors in June 1999 after holding the post since 1968, over the past 10 years Nike have contributed two million dollars in grants to support the building and ongoing maintenance and refurbishment of running tracks in the United States. In terms of ethics, Nike have shared a variety of auditing tools to provide further transparency and insight into the manner in which Nike contract factories are evaluated for compliance with company standards. Examples of these tools are SHAPE (Safety, Health, Attitude of Management, People and Environment) and ESH (Environment, Safety and Health). Nike, like every other company holds their legal responsibilities in the highest regard. Nike is responsible in this respect as they pay employees in all factories the legal wage as well as not employing anybody under the age of eighteen. In addition to this Nike operate a global free phone line for employees to report in confidence any suspected violations of the law or our code of ethics. Any reported concerns around accounting, auditing or internal control are communicated to the Audit Committee of the Board. The fact that Nike are market leaders is because of their ability to make profits. Nikeââ¬â¢s current assets have risen from $9. 6 dollars in August 2009 to $10. 5 billion in August 2010. In relation to Nikeââ¬â¢s revenues, in August 2009 it was $4. 8 billion and in August 2010 it has risen to $5. 17 billion. Gross profit has also risen from $2. 3 billion in August 2009 to $2. 5 billion the following year. From these figure it is clear that Nike are still a profitable company. Nikeââ¬â¢s main competitor in their market is Adidas. In terms of CSR it was crucial that Nike treated employees in a fair manner and since their CSR improvements in 2000, Nike have saved themselves a large amount of valued customers. If Nike had not increased and established a level of corporate responsibility, the negative publicity, reports etc could have damaged Nikeââ¬â¢s reputation and customers may have shifted their buying preferences to Adidas. If Nike had not done what they did there is a strong possibility that Adidas could be todayââ¬â¢s market leader. ââ¬Å"Competitive advantage is a special edge that allows an organisation to deal market and environmental forces better than its competitors. (Schermerhorn) With all companies, there is always a need for bench marking against competitors. An area of Adidasââ¬â¢ weakness could the very recent merge between Reebok and Adidas, especially in terms of CSR. The problem with the two companies merging is that they could be culturally different and this could lead to the ign oring of cultural differences instead of implementing them, which could lead to failure in the combination. This is due to top level managers not having intercultural knowledge from lack of training in this area. The fact that the newly combined Adidas and Reebok will be dealing with management and infrastructure changes as well as learning a new corporate responsibility culture, Nike will be still going at full speed. Therefore developing their CSR policies, new innovative products and developments. Another area that I feel Nike is stronger on compared to their main competitor Adidas is the idea of stakeholder engagement. Nike in the 1990ââ¬â¢s were renowned for their CSR opaqueness but now are reporting on CSR, auditing tools, sustainability measure and community projects demonstrating transparency and recognising a wider stakeholder audience. Adidas on the other hand their reports are updated periodically and seem to be always referring back to their KPIââ¬â¢s. This narrows their stakeholder audience and weakens their CSR reports as a useful marketing tool. Updating their CSR reports rather than leaving all the reports online does not allow people to see how far the have developed in their CSR strategies or sustainability statements. To finalise my findings on Nike, they were poor on CSR in the 1990ââ¬â¢s. It could be they felt that it restricts the free market goal of profit aximisation, dilutes the primary aim of the business or limits the ability to compete in the global market place. However CSR demonstrates a commitment to societyââ¬â¢s values and contribute to societyââ¬â¢s social, environmental, and economic goals through action. It also insulates the public from the negative impacts of company operations, products and services. Although the main aim of Nike is to make profits, CSR essentially is ââ¬Å "doing the right thingâ⬠and Nike demonstrating this will enable them to make more money in the future. From my research I have found that Nike is, in my opinion, still leading in this industry in all aspects whether itââ¬â¢s market share, policies on corporate responsibilities or giving back to the community and I hope I have expressed enough throughout my assignment.
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