What Impact Has the Commercializaiton of English Football Clubs Had on Their Own Corporate Responsibility Policies

The ethics of businesses are under more scrutiny than ever before (Bones, 2014). Ethics can be considered as following a code of behaviour agreeable with the context of society and can also be defined as the application of moral and ethical considerations in a business environment (Hurn, 2008). Sport businesses have been targeted a lot more in recent years due to the conditions they place their workers in has become more apparent to the outside world. Nike are one of the world’s leading sports brands but have been faced with many allegations in recent years (Daily Mail, 2011) in regards to the conditions they put their workers in and their ethics and morals have been questioned. This report will critically evaluate the impact ethics has on the business operations of Nike and then analyse the reasons for why ethics impact the sport organisation. Finally, recommendations will be made to improve Nike’s business ethics.

Nelson Mandela once said “sports have the power to change the world” (Sanchez, 2014). Sports are a major influence on youth development, affecting physical health, mental health, social skills, contributing to academic success, building character, and creating valuable lessons. They can provide opportunities to exercise, spend time with friends and compete in a healthy environment, while also reducing the rates of juvenile arrests, teen pregnancies and school dropouts (Foundation for Global Sports, 2013).

Stakeholders will generally detect duplicity in CSR motives; intrinsic or genuine motives as well as extrinsic profit-related motives; however, stakeholders will be tolerant of clear extrinsic motives, if the CSR initiatives are rooted in intrinsic values. This leads to the perceived “win-win” scenario, and is one of the driving factors behind company CSR initiatives, as they realize the value of helping society while still being able to focus on the impact to the bottom line (Tonello, 2011). In addition, if campaigns are not communicated specifically around the brands it produces, then a “halo effect” for the entire industry could be the end result, of a poorly executed communication strategy (Marquis et al., 2011) Therefore, it is important for Dannon to construct a carefully balanced communication strategy, which considers the perception of its stakeholders in the marketplace, while also ensuring to highlight the specific impact of its CSR initiatives within the communities it operates.

Based on my interpretation of CSR, I see it as a voluntary obligation that companies have promised to their stakeholders to fulfill by improving, or at least not harm, the environmental and social wellbeing. When companies engage in CSR, they voluntarily promise to, for example, carry the responsibility to protect the environment and take actions against bribe or other corruptive activities related to their business. It certainly has some positive influences to specific areas based on my knowledge gained from other classes; nevertheless, when judge CSR in the context of total impacts on our society and environment, it is obvious that CSR has failed its mission to lessen the negative impacts of business based on the evidences that provided by the author. Also, since there is a strong positive relationship between CSR behaviors and consumers’ reactions to a firm’s products and services, it seems to me, now, that CSR for the most companies is just a fancy cover that helps them to create or promote a good image and reputation. The recent case that shows the failure of CSR of Volkswagen even make me believe that CSR programs may be just a marketing or public relation exercise for many

Surveys were taken by sport England who allocate money to sport within the country and services, to find out who was participating to find out if participation had improved or not, the surveys importance is high as it is used by Sport England (2014) how to spread their funding and services. Participation is a main part of the Sport Development Continuum shown in appendix A. The 1st is foundation. Which is mostly includes Physical education (PE) in school which are most children’s first time. The participating in PE lessons I n school will cause joining of an outside clubs of the child’s choice is participation which is the 2nd step.

Sport in the 21st century has developed so far that there are now infinite levels of competition. Sport on the professional level serves as the model after which all other levels of sport imitate. Professional sport is a multi billion dollar business with money generated from advertising, media coverage, gambling, ticket sales and other forms of merchandise. Sport's purpose is rapidly becoming more of a commercial pursuit with the intention of making money rather than adhering to its original purpose of enjoyment and play.

In this article, “The Truth About CSR,” authors Rangan, Chase and Karim stress the importance in aligning a company’s social and environmental activities with its business purpose and values (Rangan, Chase, & Karim, 2015, 41). Outcomes of CSR programs should be a “spillover” and not a primary focus of a business, expressing concern towards social responsibility and corporations failing to contribute to society accordingly (Rangan, Chase, Karim, 2015, 42). There is a great deal of importance in companies refocusing their CSR activities on a primary goal and in providing an organized process for bringing consistency and discipline to CSR strategies (42). Rangan, Chase and Karim want corporations to understand why it is important for them to evaluate their CSR activities and refocus them towards the goal of reinforcing the firm’s societal and environmental actions, while also ensuring their actions add to the overall purpose and values of the corporation. According to the authors, even though

An objective connected to 'expanding support' and 'augmenting access' would be eventual instrumental in guaranteeing the local authorities that perceive the significance of sport to the prosperity

Sports are evolving everyday bringing new attractions to other countries around the world. Many people feel that if it weren't for Sports countries wouldn't be as noticeable as they are now in today's world. Some countries do not feel that they have been impacted by sports at all. Though countries do not see how sports has affected them, it cannot be overlooked that sports have made an impact on countries.

In the context of the sport industry, organisations around the world have been facing an increasing pressure to maintain both profitability and also behave in a socially acceptable manner. However, there has been little research provided on how effective CSR can be, as well as how it is perceived by fans and the surrounding community. A 2006 study suggested that CSR was positive in softening the criticism surrounding large sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, in an environment where business is increasingly criticised for unethical activity (Babiak & Wolfe, 2006). The authors go on to suggest that sporting organisations have no choice but to involve CSR strategies into their business plans, whether they be altruistic or pragmatic in

This recent reality, combined with globalization, is forcing companies to forge new kinds of relationships with buyers and countries. The financial valuation of companies are taking ever greater account of intangible elements, such as brands, patents and the company’s general image, with companies being bound to take account of these things in an effort to satisfy their shareholders. Environmental protection has become a highly motivating factor, and companies are being pressed to identify stakeholders with whom to team up. With brand value and reputation increasingly being seen as one of a company’s most valuable assets, CSR is now seen as building loyalty and trust amongst shareholders, employees and customers ( Tssa, (n.d.)).

The benefit to business of good Corporate Social Responsibility is difficult to quantify as it varies depending on the nature of the enterprise. Some scholars believe that there is a business justification for CSR. That is, what is good for the environment and society will be good for company profitability. And studies have shown a slightly positive correlation between CSR and financial gain (Steiner and Steiner, 2006). However, as Freidmanism claims, the first responsibility of business is to make enough profit to cover the costs for the future. If this social responsibility is not met, no other responsibilities can be (Hargreaves, 2006). Therefore it is critical that CSR activities are included in strategy formulation and that the level of resources devoted to CSR is determined like any other strategy – through cost/benefit analysis. Corporations will not throw money away…they need to see it

Current approaches to CSR are fragmented and/or disconnected from business goals. Many firms still consider CSR as another generic public relations problem in which media campaigns and CSR reports are used to paint the company as a positive ethical, social and or environmental advocator and supporter. For example, the annual reports discuss a firm’s sensitivities to CSR issues, but completely lack the entire story and offer no further forward commitments from the firm. Further, the ratings and rankings measurements are self-appointed by the firm, not always accurate to validate the work and direct impact to what they are measuring, and the criteria base varies widely and weighed differently in the final scoring. Worst of all the data lacks impartial auditors for validating the data to ensure the ratings have been accurately met, and data is statistically significant and a good proxy for what it is supposed to reflect. This has resulted in reactive initiatives designed to appease vocal

Therefore, corporate’ activities have strong influences to the stakeholders. Hildebrand,D,et,al (2011) argued that under a specific but identifiable situation, a company’s CSR actions are able to satisfy stakeholders’ higher-order and self-related demand, meanwhile enabling the stakeholders to identify with the company. On the other hand, Piercy, N. and Lane, N.(2009) indicated that CSR seems to be the most efficient way for the corporate marketing efforts of most firms. It may enable the stakeholders to be loyal even life-long customers of the companies.

Result of CSR in reference to various stake holder group expectation’s (good and poor cases)