1. Introduction
Dansko, founded in 1990 is a US-based comfort shoe company strongly attached to the Danish culture. The heritage of co-founder Peter Kjellerup and the affection for nature and sustainability is deeply rooted in the company’s way of doing business. From a comfortable barn shoe selling to friends and family, Dansko grew into a multinational company with production stretching from China to Italy and a global customer base. Over the years, the company has received numerous awards for its exceptional social responsibility and sustainable initiatives such as “Best for Workers” by non-profit organization B Lab, the prestigious LEED® Gold certification for it’s headquarter and distribution centre in Pennsylvania, or the American Podiatric Medical Association (AMPA) certification for companies promoting a healthy foot (Dansko LLC, 2015a). The following paper will in greater detail analyse how the Danish heritage influenced Dansko’s development, review advantages and disadvantages of the employee-ownership program and evaluate if production in China might be harmful to Dansko’s highly social responsible reputation.
2. How did Dansko’s founder Peter Kjellerup’s Danish heritage affect the development of Dansko’s shoe line and its commitment to ethics and social responsibility?
Peter Kjellerup’s Danish heritage and background strongly influenced the culture of the company, starting from the name to the commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. Sensitivity
adventure. I’ve been there with him through thick and thin but that was until he was taken away by the police on to the cattle cars. We didn't know where we were going but ended up in a place called a concentration camp. This adventure was not an exciting one but I saw soldiers separating John from his parents and eventually they separated me from John. I was thrown away with all these other shoes who also led their owners to a strange “shower” that was rumored to have led them to no longer be with us anymore. All of the shoes that have been thrown away feel the same pain and we wait for our owners to come back so we can be reunited.
Primark, an Irish clothing retailer company was set up and headquartered in Dublin in 1969. Nowadays, there are over 250 stores across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and the United States. Moreover, Primark operates with about 700 suppliers in China, India, Bangladesh, Turkey and Eastern Europe. Primark takes corporate social responsibility for the shareholders, owners, customers, suppliers as well as employees. Corporate social responsibility is that a company not only creates profits for the shareholders, but also undertakes the social responsibility for customers, employees and environment, including complying with business ethics, rights of workers and the rules of environmental protection. In order to develop continuously, corporate social responsibility plays an significant role in a company, which drives stakeholders have reliance on the company. This essay focuses on the ways in which Primark taking its duty to society and the ways in which the company should have done better.
Nike’s employment of the cultural relativism philosophical approach, used to justify ‘sweatshop’ labor practices in developing countries, had a detrimental effect on the reputation of the company. In 1998, Nike had to lay off staff amid lagging sales resulting from the backlash against the company. Today, Nike is recognized as the leader in athletic apparel, and one of the favorite brands among millennials and teens. A significant part of that success is attributed to the company’s dramatic change in social responsibility, initiated by its then CEO, Phil Knight, in 1998 (Lutz,
This case study of Footwear International demonstrates the cultural differences in society. It shows the consequences when a society, like Bangladesh, get interpreted the wrong way by the people. John Carlson from Footwear International experienced an innocent mishap within his company, which had disrespected many people. He needs to let the people know that it was an honest mistake and that Footwear International will do whatever it takes to correct the problem.
Bertrand Piccard quotes, “In the 21st century, the heroes will be the people who will improve the quality of life, fight poverty and introduce more sustainability. This is a powerful message, it sums up the concepts discussed throughout the course. Additionally, the case studies such as the New Belgium Brewery, SC Johnson and The Kimberly Clarke organization have been proven to practice this philosophy. As society progresses in its efforts to provide a more sustainable future, there is a fundamental foundation of principles that must be followed to ensure success. Sustainable business development takes into account the application of business operations as it relates to the three pillars of sustainability, which is a dynamic yet integrative place to begin this journey. DesJardins, (2006) calls for a re-imagination of the future to create a vibrant sustainable model; which forms similar beliefs to Piccard. In addition, organizations are more inclined to create sustainable practices based on consumer demand and the willingness of leadership to participate in sustainability programs.
This case analysis will focus on the issues surround the lifestyle product company Holey Soles. Psychologist Ann Rosenberg founded the company in September 2002. She initially operated in her garage and backyard, until she recruited Joyce Groote (now current CEO of Holey Soles) and expanded the company into other parts of North America. Holey Soles focuses on creating innovative footwear made from their trademarked technology SmartCel and SoleTek, which is an injection-molded foam technology. As of July 2007, sales had grown at 300% in each of the last two years and the company was ranked number four in the 2006 Profit magazine ranking of Canada’s Emerging Growth Companies. However as they continue to operate, they
Dansko has fairly strong core competencies. The shoes are uniquely valued by their customers and therefore bring good returns. The shoes are made for comfort and they live to their standards. This strongly influences people to choose the product. Dansko shoes are not easily imitated because they were only manufactured by one company and they only manufactured the shoes for Dansko. The shoe originated in another country and the same manufacturer is still being used. This allows Dansko to provide products that are better than the completion and allows them to
While the knowledge that many amenities that are expected in America are not remotely available in some regions of Africa is common, shoes usually do not top that list. While many American cities institute laws requiring those in public to wear shoes, some African villages find the concept of footwear foreign. The problem of shoelessness extends beyond just comfort, as foot injuries spread disease, create life long disabilities, and reduce the quality of living for many children. Giving shoes to these children, then, seems like a fitting answer to a desperate situation. Companies built upon that answer such as TOMS shoes, however, end up contributing to impoverished conditions that drive shoelessness rather than reducing it in the long run.
Finally, use of “green” Footwear-Making materials and Ethics Training to all employees is proposed for the good image of our Company B.
Since its creation, Nike has proven itself as a popular brand and it has created niches by selling products such as footwear, apparels and various types of sports equipment. This paper will attempt to trace the product development of Nike shoes from its origins in conception and design to the manufacturing and production process located in contract factories in developing countries to advertising and marketing of Nike as a cultural commodity and finally, the retailing of the footwear around the world.
Since 2006, when the TOMS Shoes was founded, their ‘one for one’ business model has been widely embraced or criticized by different companies and the consumers. While, Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Company, was on trip to Argentina in 2006, he witnessed the extreme poverty and poor health conditions. After countersigning children walking barefoot, it dramatically heightened Blake’s awareness. Consequently, after witnessing those events, Mycoskie came up with a simple and innovating plan to create a for-profit business with a philanthropic component. Consequently, Blake created TOMS company with a unique principal and business model referred to ‘One for One’. TOMS ‘One for One’ is a unique business model, where for every pair of shoes purchased TOMS donates a pair of shoes to children in need in developing or underdeveloped countries. The company’s name ‘TOMS’ generated from the word ‘TOMORROW’, which was the original concept of the company, ‘shoes for tomorrow’.
Apparel and shoe manufacturers continued to offload the more costly yet easily replicated part so their business models to concentrate on brand building, marketing, sales and attaining greater distribution channels globally. These are the pressures all apparel and shoe manufacturers face, and it is particularly challenging in the athletic show industry (Kynge, 2009). Adidas, Converse, Nike and Reebok have been outsourcing production of their shoes for in some cases nearly three decades. Nike was one of the leaders in this strategy, seeing to create a more efficient supply chain and also drop the labor and union costs of manufacturing in the U.S. (Boje, Khan, 2009). Adidas, Converse and Reebok have all followed Nike's lead, with Adidas benefitting from the fall-out generated when investigate reports showed Nike using child labor throughout Pakistan and Vietnam (Boje, Khan, 2009). All four of these companies share a common prioritization of manufacturing operations, yet none of them with the exception of Nike has a comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in place to ensure ethical compliance to global standards of outsourcing in their industry (Nike Investor Relations, 2012). The intent of this analysis is to compare and contrast the four companies mentioned and their outsourcing practices. Their reasons for choosing to outsource are very much the same; the industry is shrinking
American business should not be permitted to claim it is an ethical firm if it ignores unethical practices by its international suppliers. For the purpose of this assignment I will use the Nike Company to highlight its unethical practices. Despite the popularity of Nike in the American market, it has been accused of exploiting employees abroad. The corporate social responsibility stipulates that a company should maximize its profit and minimizes its cost in operations and manufacturing, also at the same time benefit the community it operates in. This paper will further elaborate on the global strategy employed by Nike Company as it outsources its goods and the unethical issues its
We are facing various social, economic, environment challenges today which are getting worse day by day, it may also include rapidly increasing population, and most important unprecedented macroeconomic stress. In order to save the world from a potential catastrophe, we have to make significant changes in our behaviour as well as the system we are in. There is an escalating global movement to address all the issues which may question the sustainability of an organisations. Sustainability of organisations, nations, humanity is becoming a primary goal of the individuals and groups in all the different sectors anyone can think of. Leaders are very keen to launch new sustainability initiatives on a daily basis in order to make the surroundings more sustainable in nature. So now in this report which is based on the case study of “Nike: sustainability and labour practises”. This case illustrates that Nike was found guilty regarding the labour practises the company was following which the reason for the external criticism Nike had to face around the world during 1990 and 2000. The main purpose of this report is to study the sustainable initiatives Nike had to take to tackle these issues and further how much those steps are similar to the theory regarding the sustainability of the organisations.
With a slogan of “Just Do It,” Nike is known all over the world for its products ranging from apparel to shoes. Receiving recognition and sponsorship from various celebrities and athletes including Michael Jordan, Nike’s brand is generally associated in a positive light. However, the brand itself, variety of products, and numerous sponsors exist as only a few aspects of this continuously expanding brand. Another aspect to consider when addressing the overall existence of a product as well as the constant introduction of new products is the production process itself: how the product came to be, who is involved in creating the product, and where the product is produced.