Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Business Ethics - Essay Example The present study focuses on learning about the CSR activities of Starbucks Company and the different issues that the organization addresses. Starbucks and their CSR Efforts: The Starbucks Company was initiated in the year 1971 in Seattle when three friends Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker had opened up a small coffee shop. However there have been several changes over these years where the company experienced selling out and expansion processes before the position where it has reached now (Garza). Starbucks had always considered the fact that communities should be served at their best and hence such corporate social responsibilities were performed by the company ever since their coffee shop initiated (Being a Responsible Company, 2011). The company is committed to provide â€Å"good governance, ethical conduct and social responsibility† along with maintaining relationships with the stakeholders of the company (My Starbucks, n.d., p.10). The recent reports of CSR eff orts of Starbucks Company reflect their progress in several areas of work. The company’s recent commitments also include assisting the coffee farmers, and supporting communities and environments. Other commitments also include ethical sourcing of coffee, responsibility for the environments, involvement in community development, and practices in the workplaces. As studies reveal, the company is a leader in the industry as far as ethical sourcing of coffee is concerned, where the company has accomplished sustainable coffee, higher price payments, fair trade certified coffee, and Conservation International Collaboration addressing changed in climate. The company has also proved to be a leader in environmental responsibilities trying to focus on renewable energy, and green building. Relationships with customers and neighbors are also included as major responsibilities of the company (Starbucks Makes Corporate Social Responsibility Report Public, 2008). Thus the company’s e fforts on CSR can be found to be effective on maintaining the environments and communities as well as improving the image and reputation of the company. Stakeholders of Starbucks Company and Effects of the Company’s CSR on Them: The different stakeholder groups of the company that Starbucks need to consider while planning for their CSR activities include the employees of the company, the shareholders, the partner organizations, government and non government organizations, university student organizations and academic institutions, regional community groups, and the media (Reid, 2006). Strong relationships need to be built and maintained with these stakeholders thus implying the fact that the CSR activities of the company would have significant effects on these stakeholders. The Starbucks Company considers the needs and expectations of different stakeholders and accordingly communicates the CSR activities to them. For stakeholders like the NGOs, the company tries to integrate the strategies, practices and operations focusing on a holistic approach towards solving different problems. The motives are ethical, economic, and legal. For investors or shareholders, the company has always tried to connect the values of the company with its performances, the motives being economic and ethical, also attempting to create values with the

Marketing Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Marketing Audit - Essay Example McDonald’s Australia is a constituent of the APMEA group. This group accounts for almost 18% of the total revenue generated by the firm and within this group China, Japan and Australia accounts for the maximum amount of revenue. According to the McDonald’s Australia Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2012, there were around 808 McDonald’s restaurants spread all over Australia as at 31 December 2009 (McDonalds Australia, 2010). McDonald’s Australia Limited operates its franchisee business in Australia and more than 70% of its restaurants are locally owned (McDonalds Australia, 2012). The head office of McDonalds Australia is located at Thornleigh, New South Wales and its four regional offices are located at Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Marketing Audit Objectives The primary objective of the marketing audit of McDonald’s Australia that has been discussed in this report is to increase the sales of the company in Australia so a s to generate increased profit for the company. The marketing audit has been undertaken to identify the various avenues through which the company can have a 7% annual growth in sales revenue generated in Australia by the end of the year 2013. Based on this primary objective other related marketing objectives of McDonald’s Australia to achieve its target would be to open up new restaurants in different parts of the country, increase brand awareness amongst Australian people to help increasing the customer base of the company, promotion of its products, and creating competitive advantage in the fast food retail industry by strengthening its core competencies and catering to the specific needs and requirements of people based on their specific tastes and preferences. Thus the marketing audit report presented in this study would help the company to identify key performance indicators that can be helpful in formulating the marketing strategies of the company in an effective and ef ficient manner. Marketing Audit Scope The marketing audit of McDonald's Australia would be performed using secondary data from various authenticated sources. The marketing audit would mainly cover five broad aspects as discussed below: Situational Analysis: The situational analysis of McDonalds includes its SWOT analysis. The marketing audit report would try to analyse all the strengths and opportunities of the company which could be utilised to achieve its marketing objectives. Moreover the identified weaknesses and threats of the company would also be helpful to suggest ways of converting them into company’s strengths and opportunities. Internal audit: This would include the analysis of the internal environment of the company covering some key areas like human resources, research and development, financial budget and marketing strategies followed by the company. Environmental audit: The environmental audit of McDonald’s would be based on mainly the PESTEL analysis th at would help to have a better understanding of the Australian market