Dakz Performance Sports Apparel Essay

Q1 – Define Industry and advise about Dakz performance spots apparel Industry Definition (The grouping of similar economic or commercial activities that produce goods or services) Page 2.5 Dakz Performance sports apparel is into global athletic apparel and footwear industry. Dakz started making compression apparel for triathletes, before quickly diversifying into small production runs of cycling and runin clothes for athletes and active Australians. Dakz has expanded its business into broad range of performance,fitness and compression wear. Q2- How would you determine this industry is global ? To determine if te industry is global – We would consider the athletic apparel market goods traded globally. Dakz and other international brands like Nike, Addidas etc trade globally so we would be considered this industry to be in the global industry. Q 3 – Define industry value chain and prepare value chain for Dakz. The Industry Value Chain (Athletic Apparel Industry) –   Comprises the business’ processes, people, organisations, technologies and infrastructure which transform raw materials into finished good or services. Q4 – Define Industry life cycle and at what stage Dakz lies. Ans – Most Industries have a life cycle, similar to a product life cycle but much longer. Different strategies are required at different points in an industry lifecycle phase or stage. Throughout the life cycle, the structure and environmental an competitive forces that influence and industry change, As such, an organization needs to be adaptable. The industry would be considered to be in the mature stage of the industry lifecycle, this can be  determined because at this stage :- Buyer start to have greater power – Buyer have alternative choices and brands and are easily able to compare price due to the availability of information on internet and availability of different brands in market and super markets. Focus is on efficiency, cost control and market segmentation : – Focus of Dakz on cost reduction due to that they have outsourced manufacturing of goods to china to reduce its cost. Industry rivalry is intensified : – Most of International brands like Nike, Addidas has already entered into Australian market and more options are available. Question 5 – PESTEL Remote Environment Analysis (PESTEL) (factors influencing past growth in the industry and what is expected to drive future growth?) Page 2.23 ( Please refer yellow points for bottled water industry) Factor Issue Nature of Impact (=),(+),(-) Political There is no political pressure across world in exporting athletic apparel and footwear (+) Economic Continuous compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) @8% has been observed in this industry in Australia from 2008-2012 and component annual growth rate of @0.8% has been observed in this industry in US. (+) Social Customers had shown goods growth trend Since 2008 (+) Technological Compression apparel is highly specialized category in athletic apparel market, Dakz has already started manufacturing, compression apparel along with broad range of perfumes etc. (+) Environmental Information has not been provided in the case about environmental issues. N/A Legal Some Regulatory barrier has been imposed on wholly foreign owned companies in some Asian countries. (-) Overall – On the basis of analysis – the future growth of athletic apparel market could be expected to increase. Key Factor promoting future growth as as follows :- Strong growth in Demand Continuous growth in demand of compression apparel. Reduction in cost of manufacturing due to outsource of manufacturing in china. Question 6 – How would you apply Porter’s five force model in this case :- Threat of New entrants if high :- Market is big enough to attract new entrants, There is no such barrier imposed by government on new entrants. There is little expertise required to enter into athletic apparel but require highly specialized knowledge for category of compression apparel. Dakz has started business from very small that attract new entrants as well. Buyer Power is high :- Buyer have alternative channels for products and have many brands to choose are easily able to compare price due to the availability of information on internet and in supermarkets. Substitute power is low : – Dakz is making compression apparel for triathletes and other athletic apparel for athletes and active Australians. Usually athletes do not other clothes as substitutes other than athletic apparel so we can easily say substitute power is low. Supplier power is low :- Due to availability of other international brands in market, supplier power is low. Daks has 40% of market share in Australian and can be easily influence suppliers for not increasing raw material price. Industry Rivalry is high:- Due to continuously increase in demand since 2008, Industry rivalry is high. Price competitiveness drive rivalry. Availability of other international brands, no such barriers on new entrants ad continuous growth in demand of athletic goods pushes price competitiveness. So we can easily say that industry rivalry is high. Summary – Overall we can say demand of athletic goods will increase but if Dakz want to maintain or increase its share in Australian and international market, they have to fous on quality and their price must be competitive. Module 3: Understanding the internal environment (Internal Environment – the internal influences and performance of an organization, identifying and focusing on the operational drivers, along with ensuring efficient organizational and people performance) (Objective – understand current performance in order to drive future strategic options; growth, products/services, markets, differentiation, industry position) 1 & 2. Identify stakeholders and align stakeholder needs Key Stakeholders Stakeholders’ Objectives Alignment to objectives; met/not met Will Winsome (CEO and Founder of Dakz) Long-term sustainability Revenue and profit growth Seeks operational excellence. Very much aligned with company strategy due to significant investment in product development and monies in business. Yes, Being a major supplier to the non-alcoholic beverage market has afforded ABL significant power over its customers. It has enabled the company to retain cost reductions achieved through efficiency gains rather than pass them onto the retailers. These efficiency gains have allowed the company to enjoy higher profitability levels than the industry overall, and have supported continuous investment to improve technology and infrastructure. Yes, company is building competitive advantages by process re-engineering to reduce time to market  giving refrigerator and storage machines at retailers place. Introducing  world class manufacturing facilities and automated warehousing facility ABL’s revenue composition changing from 90% CSD based in 2002 to 68% CSD based in 2013. Tom Dwyer (Managing Directors) Sir Rod Fisher (Chairman of the Board) (Qualification: Distinguished Australian businessman and former Olympian). Long-term sustainability Revenue and profit growth Very much aligned with company strategy , he has joined board in 2009 ad be with company till 2013. Yes, Sales of company has been increased from $23.3 million in 2009-10 to $66.5 million in 2013. Profit of company has been increased from $3million in 2009-10 in $21.6 million in 2012-2013. Board of Directors Company growth Market share Prestige Revenue and profit growth Yes , growth has been achieved and Board requested company to accelerate entry into other complementary products to counteract decline in CDS (option bottled water industry) ABL has invested in large-scale recycling projects with major customers, such as shopping centers and fast food retailers, and has moved to improve its  environment image by emphasizing that all of its water is sourced within two-hour drive of bottling facilities. ABL is very conscious of the impact that its packaging has on landfill. It has several projects underway to find out ways to reduce its environment impact. Yes, Being a major supplier to the non-alcoholic beverage market has afforded ABL significant power over its customers. It has enabled the company to retain cost reductions achieved through efficiency gains rather than pass them onto the retailers. These efficiency gains have allowed the company to enjoy higher profitability levels than the industry overall, and have supported continuous investment to improve technology and infrastructure. Shareholders Innovation Revenue and market share growth increase in share price and return Tailoring marketing campaigns to customer groups and to beverages for different times of the day. ABK is exploring a new product idea ready-to-drink, chilled coffee. First Australian beverage manufacturer to introduce sugar-free drinks using Stevia. ABL developed slimmer cans and smaller bottle sizes. ABL prefers to work with experts for improvement in packaging Company identified organic and acquisition growth options within product range. Also acquired several coffee bean businesses to capitalize on growth of the coffee market in Australia. Yes, growth has been achieved due to increase in market share and ABL has enjoyed higher profitability levels than industry average Return on investment and market share are performance measure used in all of ABL’s business unit. Employees Stability of employment Pride of working for an innovative organization. Yes, Focus is on sustainability in employees, workplace and community, therefore areas of concern align with employees and Career prospects such as graduate employment program Significant investment in training and development ABL is focusing on low cost leadership, and has reduced staff levels ABL is second largest manufacture and planning to be largest in new future, hence it’s a matter of pride for the employees who are associated with the company. Community/ Environment No Environment Impact. Healthy and tasty product. Triple bottom line reporting Not much, Impact of bottles on landfill and the carbon output of production and distribution. Not much because CDS’s product are not good for health. However to add healthy drinks to the product portfolio, ABL has acquired fruit juice manufacturer in Victoria and entered into milk drink market with the purchase of manufacturing facilities from a dairy co-operative. The company is proud of the fact that it was the first Australian beverage manufacturer to implement triple bottom line reporting Government Reduce Health Impacts of CDS on society (Obesity &diabetes)

Multicultural Issues in Counseling Essay

In the field of counseling and psychology, it is always necessary that the counselor understands the predicament that the patient is facing. This is because, this patient is coming for assistance because he or she is not in a position to do his activities right. Therefore in this case it is necessary that the supervisee and in this case Ann has all the attributes that are needed as this is the only way that she will be able to help Donald. As Barratt, E. et al, (1997) in their research found out, it calls for a good rapport between the counselor and the patient for the patient to receive meaningful treatment or help. This is not the case here as Donald is always complaining that Ann is not giving him enough attention. In real sense, it is the broken rapport that exists between them that is the problem. In the content of my informal assessment of Ann’s multicultural counseling skills, I would clearly indicate that Ann lacks the basic and crucial skills that are necessary for a counselor to execute his or her duties. I understand that the main reason for this is the background where Ann has grown. She has grown up in an area where there are no mixed races. This developed in her limited socialization skills when dealing with people. This is her new interaction with a person from a different race and due to this; it becomes very difficult for her to deal with the patient. As Gladwell, (2007) argues, it calls for a counselor to have good communication and socialization skills so that he or she can be able to assist a patient. In addition, the counselor should understand that the patient is not in the right frame of mind. The counselor should not give the comments that the patient gives the same weight as the way he or she would if the person was in the right frame of mind. These are some of the basic attributes, which Ann lacks, and I would include this in my informal assessment report. According to Dinn, W. et al, (2000), gauging the level of awareness has its basis on how well one executes the duties assigned to him or her. In this case, Donald is complaining that he is lacks appropriate attention and therefore he is contemplating on stopping treatment. On the other hand, Ann is claiming that she has done all that she could so to help the patient. This is a clear sign that Ann is giving up. The patient is already hopeless and the doctor or the counselor can only revive his hope. If the counselor loses hope, it means that there is no chance of recovering. It is also a clear indication of lack of commitment and objective by the counselor. The level of Ann’s self- awareness is therefore very low. The reason is that she is not fully aware that she is the counselor and that the patient really needs her assistance. She seems to forget her role in the whole process, which is to help the patient recover. In addition, Ann is complaining that Donald is over-dependent on her. She fully understands that Donald is suffering from Schizophrenia and dependency is expected. This is a clear indication that Ann happen to have very limited knowledge of the appropriate treatment interventions. For instance, it would be absurd for a surgeon to complain that he or she is encountering a lot of blood when he or she fully knows that this will be inevitable. If we receive such a complaint, it is a clear indication that the person has no or limited knowledge of what he is doing and what he is supposed to do. This is the case happening with Ann. At the same time, Ann is complaining of not having a good communication with the patient because he has difficulty expressing himself in English. As she was born and raised in only one region, there are chances that she did not have good socialization and communication skills and probably the problem is not the English but the access which she is having difficulty understanding. In conclusion, in my informal assessment, I would clearly indicate that the problem here is not the patient but Ann. She seems to lack the basic attributes of a counselor. A good counselor should be dynamic in all the activities that he or she is doing. He should not use a universal platform to treat his or her patients. He should take each patient individually, understand him or her and adopt a proper method in treatment. This is something that Ann needs to improve on. She also needs exposure as she has very little experience in dealing with people. For instance, she has very limited if any knowledge and experience with the African-American culture and all this is attributed to the way she was raised. ? References Barratt, E. et al. (1997). Neuropsychological & Cognitive Psychophysiological Substrates of Impulsive Aggression. Biological Psychiatry , 1045-60. Dinn, W. et al. (2000). Neurocognitive Function in Antisocial Personality Disorder. Psychiatry Research , 173-92. Gladwell, M. (2007). Blink: Power of Thinking Without Thinking . Irwin: Back Bay Books .

Global marketing strategy and product launch Essay - 1

Global marketing strategy and product launch - Essay Example The report concludes by highlighting the possible problems likely to be encountered in the expansions and goes further in giving the recommendations on the overcoming these challenges. AUDIT Company background Tesco PLC is one of the leading companies among the food retailers in United Kingdom with a market share of 15% , the company not only sell food items but also other products including clothing, housewares , alcoholic beverages and gasoline. This company has its major markets in United Kingdom, Wales and Scotland where it has over 550 supermarkets where about 250 are superstores, it also operate in other countries under the various brands and a major independent gasoline provider in United Kingdom and because of its expansions of its operations and market it has emerged to be among the top multinational companies in United Kingdom. Tesco Stores limited was found in 1932 and has grew rapidly and for a number of decades it has grew rapidly, this was attributed by the acquisition of various grocery chains and the development of superstores which offered a variety of food and other non-food goods which were relatively less expensive. During 1970s the company has a slow because of the intense competition from other companies like J.Sainsbury PLC. There were price wars between the two Companies and this led to many small retailers driven out of the market, the strategies applied were mainly to win customer trust and loyalty. In 1983 it change its name to Tesco PLC and thereafter collaborated with Marks % Spencer and developed major shopping centres across other cities outside United Kingdom as well as launching of new products. In 1990s the company concentrated on the acquisition of new markets and development of new products and services, it expanded into the various countries by taking over and merging with other companies. The company aims at building a multinational empire in Europe by developing new and innovative products and services and to further seek opportunities to expand into overseas countries and markets. The more recent developments and innovations by the company include the introduction of Clubcard loyalty card, Tesco Visa card, Tesco saving accounts, Tesco personal Finance and the launching of its brands and products in the newly acquired and developed markets all these are aiming at consolidating the company hence ensuring that it has enough strength to venture in launching of new products and markets. Environmental analysis There are several factors which have led to Tecso PLC to consider in venturing and launching its operations in overseas markets notably are the business environmental factors which. This analysis is the evaluation of the Company external analysis comprising threats and opportunities and five business environmental dimensions are involved, these areas of dimensions include economic, legal-political, social cultural, technological and the future certainty. Economic These are the economic trends that h ave influence Tecso PLC to consider venturing in the in expansion to overseas markets, these factors that are comprises the target market includes: better terms of interest rates in the target market; higher economic growth rate, per capita income and disposable income; availability of a wider sources of power energy; lower and moderate rates of inflation and where there is moderate levels of employment in order to easily acquire

Strategic Human Resources Management Bachelor Essay

Strategic Human Resources Management Bachelor - Essay Example This paper contributes to the work/life balance and work/non-work conflict literature by analyzing the literature of various studies, which examine the attitudes and experiences relating to work/life balance among UK, employees in the first 10 years of their careers. Specifically, the analysis explores the extent to which work/life balance matters, the extent to which it is being achieved and the factors that determine perceptions of work/non-work conflict, including the state of the psychological contract between employer and employee, work involvement and organisational support. The potential impact of work/non-work conflict on organisational commitment is examined, and the policy implications for employers considered. Corporate leaders understand that employees' work and family lives rare inextricably linked. They al ways have been but today, with increased pressures in both domains, the overlap and the challenges created are increasingly obvious and complex to resolve. Solving the paradox seated in an organisation's need to be optimally productive and the individual's need to find quality time to meet domestic responsibilities, to establish, maintain and grow relationships and to relax and re-charge, is the great challenge of the new millennium. Most managers have yet to overcome the conundrum for themselves let alone help employees resolve it in their lives. The prospects for easing the work/ life imbalance dilemma lie, at least in part, in establishing what is creating it. 'Know thy enemy' and so forth. Enemy number one must surely be the 'time distribution imbalance' trap - consistently committing too much time to work where this is having a detrimental impact on personal life. However, the concept of 'work-life balance' means different things to different people, and there are always shades of grey. What is an imbalance to one person is perfectly acceptable to another. In addition, commercial realities cannot be ignored. Somehow, the needs of key customers and/or other stakeholders must be met or they will take their patronage elsewhere. These and the myriad of other related issues are why the problem is so vexed and why many leaders effectively suspend their attempts to solve it. It ends up in the 'too hard' basket. However, given the gravity of the problem and the potential upside that comes with finding a remedy, at some point the issue must come back to the fore. So where to start Most managers agree that a so-called 'quality work environment' reduces the employment stresses that can spill over to staff's personal lives and create distress. The quality work environment bundle might include job characteristics such as work time flexibility, individual responsibility and autonomy, the physical office environment, pay, equity and advancement conditions. Lastly, but certainly not least, the nature of interpersonal relations in the office is very important. For some time, it has been argued that achieving a 'balance' between home life and work life is increasingly a priority for many people. As long ago as the late 1980s, Scase and

Social and economic impacts on health care in present day related to Coursework

Social and economic impacts on health care in present day related to budget - Coursework Example Inadequate funds also lead to inadequate drugs to administer to their patients. A society will eventually have an inadequate health care thus leading to loss of lives to people who played vital roles in boosting the state’s GDP either directly or indirectly. Budgetary cut hinders health organization from expansion. A health institution might not be able to improve its structures or have more branches due to lack of enough funds. It also discourages innovation, since there will be no sufficient funds to support any project such as offering ambulance services to both its incoming and outgoing patients (Wang, 2006). Lastly, budgetary cut lowers morale of health workers. There will be no funds to employ new health workers despite the increasing rate of patients. It forces the old health workers to work extra hours in regardless of compensation. Health workers experience salary cut-off or even payment delays since some urgent projects needed immediate funding that took time to bring back the income (Khan & Hildreth, 2002). In summary, every state should put more emphasis on sensitive sectors that often require more funds during budgetary allocation despite the budget

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Article Critique - Essay Example The main concern of the writer in his article is about the scientists community who remained silent and just not putting the whole picture of human induced climate change and issues like global warming and sea level increase in front of the people. Their deliberate silence bring them good fortunes in the form of more research grants. There are pressures from certain quarters on scientists not to report actual situation and affects of climate change on ice sheets and sea level. This article goes on to discuss the climate changes and its affect on ice, ice sheet of Greenland and Western Antarctica, different models of non-linear and linear types to establish scientifically that what is and will be the actual situation if the human induced greenhouse gases emissions goes on. The writer goes on to discuss IPCC business as usual scenarios and different studies and literature on the climate changes to establish scientifically that the concern about ice sheet melting and sea level rise is n ot a hoax but it’s a reality and it is actually not as reported by scientific community but even the more bigger issue. Article goes on to discuss the writer’s personal experiences and his problems of real/ actual situations presentation. Article even goes on to discuss the difference between normal people and scientists and put some moral questions that scientists must have more responsibility to put across the actual pictures of any catastrophies, which will likely to happen in future. In reporting, scientists must take utmost care and their findings should be based on some scientific evidences. Article even goes on to say that for some governmental agencies like IPCC, reticence may be proper but as an individual scientists, they have to more responsible in reporting the effects of greenhouse gases on climate and must come out from their comfort zone and say something based on pure research and evidences. Doing so they may

Sources of air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sources of air pollution - Essay Example What will happen if the temperature of the world increases? Global warming will occur. Global Warming is prevalent on our Earth even today. It is causing deaths of thousands of animals each year, glaciers are melting and the pollutants are causing diseases such as asthma and lung cancer, etc. The destruction of ozone layer is continuously taking place by our activities, the use of natural resources by us and also by emissions of harmful gases in the atmosphere. At first, we will look into the sources of air pollution inside our homes. We, as human beings are a major constituent of creating air pollution. In our offices, schools, and homes, we make use of certain products and perform activities which are the reason for air pollution. Such activities are known as anthropogenic sources of air pollution. These activities include cooking and smoking. Other sources comprise of Boilers in which we boil water or other liquids at our homes, steam generators as they create smog when we start them for electricity purposes. Also piston engines, furnace, and gas turbines create pollution in the air1. Also, industrial plants set up by humans, power plants and vehicles which have internal combustion engines generate VOCs, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and their particulates. In most big cities and urban areas of the world, cars are the primary source of these air pollutants such as Los Angeles and Mexico City2. Farmers burning wastes from crops create carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other particulates. Other human activities such as leaky refrigerators, aerosol sprays, perfumes and fumes from varnish, paint, and other solvents are the main factors in increasing air pollution. Natural sources, also known as biogenic sources, are also a cause for air pollution but are not as harmful as the human sources. The quality of air is destroyed or worsened by natural processes such as volcano eruptions which produce chlorine, sulfur,

Toyota Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toyota Case Study - Assignment Example This may be seen as one of the key models for Toyota to consider in recognising the need for change, here the case study points to an organisation which is relatively closed, the company losing touch with its customer base and management team focusing upon internal interactions and change initiatives. Adoption of the open systems model for viewing an organisation may allow the company to concentrate to a greater extent upon the needs of its customers, rather than focusing upon internally hard systems issues. 2.0 Recommendations for Change Having analysed the case study and conducted the relevant situational analysis, it would appear that Toyota suffers from a number of major issues. The single two biggest issues which the company may be seen as facing are poor internal communications and a disconnect between the company and its customers in the market. Such issues have lead to poor product quality in recent years and the failure to develop new products which have a clear demand in so me local markets. In considering how Toyota is to overcome these problems, the report recommends a program of radical hard systems restructuring. Here Toyota should consider adopting a regionally based business model and move away from the current centralised model operated from Japan. The benefits of implementing such a change initiative would be that Toyota would be closer to its customers both geographically and from a communications perspective (Griffin and Pustay 2009). This would allow the company to develop products which are suited to localised needs, rather than developing a set of international products which are designed to appeal to a global market. In addition, Toyota would also be able to detect any problems within a local market in a much shorter space of time, than where communications as at present have to filter back to the head office in Japan. As such, the recommendation of this report is that Toyota should set up one head office function in each key national mar ket, each to be run as a separate strategic business unit. In making the changes, the researcher recommends that Lewin’s (1957) three stage model of change should be used. Here the model advocates three stages, namely â€Å"unfreeze† â€Å"move† and â€Å"Freeze.† In short, the unfreeze stage represents a preparatory stage in which members of the organisation are encouraged to both see the need for change and then move towards the planning required at the implementation stage. The move stage represents the actual implementation stage of a change initiative, finally the freeze stage represents a consolidation stage in which managers ensure changes to processes and practises are embedded in the organisation and old ways of working are not slipped back into. While Lewin’s (1957) three stages of change is a widely accepted model, it is not the only model which Toyota may consider. Another similar model is that of Kotter’s (1996) eight stage mode l for creating change which includes: Establishing a sense of urgency Creating a guiding coalition Developing a vision and strategy Communicating the change vision Empowering employees for broad based action Generating short term wins Consolidating gains Anchoring new approaches

A Training Program for Persons with Mental Retardation Program Assignment

A Training Program for Persons with Mental Retardation Program - Assignment Example The test development can be traced back to the 1980s. In 1986, there was a trial version of it created by a student pursuing Masters Degree under one of the authors. The test operates on samples of the elderly population. In its first test, normative data was provided differently in groups of respondent ages, (50-69 and 70+ years) and the National Adult Reading Test Estimated IQ (NART-IQ) group (85-89,100-114,115 and above). This test was conducted on 186 men and women (50 to 96) inhabiting England, and the majority of those tested came from Bristol Area. Unfortunately, there is little validity evidence to underscore conclusions made from the LLT experimentation on the elderly people. As said before, the exam is purely conducted on the elderly people though not in groups but as solo individuals. The exam, however, faces criticism due to its minimal levels of validity in evidence purported to have been gathered and therefore not appropriate for clinical applications. (Coughlan. A Holl ows, S.p.22) 2 The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) is developed with the aim to identify people who are most probable to have substance dependence malady (is). The test can be of use in a forensic setting if one wants to know whether an individual’s behavior is dependent on substance dependence. It has been noted that behavioral traits of people dependent on substances vary a lot.     The test was authored by Miller, Glenn. A and published by The SASSI Institute. It has been reviewed in the book ‘’the fifteenth mental measurements yearbook’’ by Plake, Impara, and Spies (2003). The test includes face valid and items that are considered subtle that have no relationship with substance abuse. Materials used for the test includes guides that have instructions for administering, filling in the scores, interpreting and manuals providing information on validity, reliability and development. Examples of professionals’ inferences that may be extracted on the premise of scale scores include awareness of the negative effects of substance abuse, evidence of emotional pain, and risk of being in touch with the legal or judicial institutions and people. The test is applicable to adults and Adolescents between 12 and 18years.The SASSI’s room for easy administration, scoring and analysis and the availability of computer styles for relia ble storage of data and analysis makes the test instrument highly useful in producing valid results in research ventures. For example, the Adult SASSI-3 has helped identify persons who have high chances of substance dependence problem with a total objectively-tested accuracy of 93%.The Adolescent SASSI-A2 has a 94% overall tested accuracy. 3 The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th ed. (WAIS-IV) is used to examine IQ or Cognitive functioning and is designed to target adults who fall in the 16 to 90 years age bracket. The exam looks into cognitive ability using a basic group of 10 subtests that aim at four specific areas of intelligence: perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension, working memory and speed of processing.

Business Operations - A Systems View Assignment

Business Operations - A Systems View - Assignment Example When faced with rising costs and slumping sales, Aramex’s management would tend to look within examine existing operations and reversing the trend. The idea of looking at the external aspects beyond their company is not a new concept. What is new, concerns viewing their company as collective of systems, creating a whole, whereas also examining the relations between the individual systems in order to determine their effect on the whole system. The systems theory advances the premise that organizations consist of systems that form a larger system. The manner in which a sub-system fits in the system determines whether the sub-system will prosper. The managers at Aramex can use this concept to achieve a more holistic picture of the entire organization. Learning and understanding how Aramex relates to the system it exists in, and the manner in which the organization’s internal systems detract or contribute from the larger system relationship could give a more relevant analys is. Restructuring a learning company needs an understanding of the concept of learning organizations and its relationship to the outcomes the organization desires (Kontoghiorghes et al, 2005: p185). ... If the material is not flowing, then the supply pipeline is non-existent. Instead, there will be inventory imbalances with products and components not ending up where the organization wants. The movement could be very broad in its geographical scope. Completed products and raw materials could be moved among and between any regions in the world. As organizations pursue competitive advantage, most are now considering their supply chains and developing customer-supplier relationships to the smooth flow of materials (Phillips et al, 2006: p452). The plan for movement of material needs to be flexible. Sometimes, the existing supply chain is perceived to be a barrier and too rigid (Phillips et al, 2006: p457). The weakest link at Aramex, according to Iyad, is forecasting in their corporate execution and planning. Therefore, the movement needs to be able to deal and adjust with business activity swings. This could need a multi-level, multi-level, and/or multi-mode service program to keep a smooth flow of the global supply chain. For instance, it could need a mix of air and sea modes to ensure a smooth flow of material, particularly if there are swings in requirements and volumes. On the other hand, a mix of slow and fast boat transit time, freight costs on the sea, and transit times for trading off. In addition, if the material’s destination were on, say, the east coast, a mix of all water and MLB service, the multi-carrier approach would work, although it could stay with the same line of steamship. Enabling Responsiveness throughout the Supply Chain While the movement of materials and products is fundamental to Aramex, it is also important for them to know where the inventory is and whether there

American Pluralism Essay Example for Free

American Pluralism Essay Throughout history the United States has had immigrants flock to the united states in hopes of better opportunity. In the eyes of many ,the United States was land of prosperity and opportunity. This dream of becoming successful from nothing was known as the American dream . It built this nation into what it is today, which unfortunately is tainted with many negative aspects. President Clinton once said â€Å" The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one – if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far your God-given ability will take you. † This coming from a man who was the president . However Clinton has neither â€Å"played by the rules† nor did he work hard. Clinton has made 80 million just off speaking , as well as his breaking the rules, which he is so famous for. Then how was this man, not hardworking and adulterous, become the American dream? Solely because the American dream is a myth, a fixed calculated lie. The American dream is just a notion to distract the less fortunate people that race, gender, and class control how much money you are going to make. A huge factor hinder people from acting out this dream is race. Race is socially constructed concept where groups of people of similar features and cultures are labeled . However races in our country still to this day are not treated as equals. For example, the average salary of a white person is above 45 according to the office personally management while ,a Hispanic is at 36 , black is at 37, and Asian is at 42, all for the similar jobs. However this is for the minorities who make it through the other hardships. For example one of these other hardships is â€Å" the school –to prison pipeline†. It is a foreign idea to most people because of how abstract it sounds. However the difference of funding in students directly affect attitude , dropout rates, and criminals. These students lack resources, qualified teaching, and rigorous advanced classes. Minorities are also punished worse, black children are suspended at least 2. 6 times to whites, thus leading to their 6 times more than whites rates of going to juveniles. In the eyes of an minority, school is a joke or a dream. Consequently there are few legal jobs that pay enough for a living without a high school diploma. This example is perfection under the school –to prison pipeline, giving the wealthy white leverage over minorities. Adding insult to injuries these injustices are replied with white advantages. as detailed in White privilege †White privilege is like an invisible knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports†(McIntosh. 45) In a just and perfect society we would all be equal, however the world we live in is very unequal. Not only is our world not economically equal , but racial either. Throughout America’s history there were an inequality among races. For example as a white person , you can be assured that the color of your skin wont effect the type of college you will be accepted to, as a minority that guarantee doesn’t exist. Thus how is a person of color supposed to make a proper and wealthy life for themselves if that door of education was never opened? This control of education keeps whites as the wealthiest race, and as such becomes a privilege only for them. How can such laws be kept in play if they hinder other races? The answer lies in politics. Due to white privilege, white people can expect to have people of their color to be accurately represented. This gives an huge hand in any legislature that can possibly effect minorities. Even in all these privileges, there’s an negative aspect that becomes paramount in our modern day society. These privileges cause a strenuous tension between races , because of the fabricated superiority that it gives whites over minorities. Hence, this so called â€Å"invisible knapsack† is only invisible to the user , and is in perfect sight of the oppressed. This just adds to the ocean of oppression felt by minorities proving race hinders the completion of the American dream. Male or female, seems like a simple question. However there is a world of connotations that come with such labels. Men and women have these values that are pushed upon them by society, confusing them to who they truly are. This Severely effects people who are confused on who they are ,because these â€Å"transgender† might just people who are just different personality wise. Furthermore it affects you more than mentally but also affects you economically. â€Å" The more economic resources such as education and job opportunities , are available to a group, the more they tend to be monopolized by men†(Lorber 246). The author is stating that women in general are qualified yet underpaid. This is entirely true , through every field of work you see women being paid less for the same or less work. Lorber believes socially that gender is a process of assigning rights and responsibilities. Men and woman see what is â€Å"expected† of them and assume the role is theirs, whether it be fair or not. This contradicts the American dream, because it preaches economic prosperity for all who work for it, and statistically women cannot reach that level. Hence, they hardly attempt to reach that high. How did they get to this point what defined these roles to one another , the answer lies among media. Advertisements, commercials, magazines. We are constantly bombarded with these pictures, voices, and idols . Anyone who looks normal or acts different is assumed to be a joke or outcast. Through these images we show our children how to act and to assign themselves personalities because of what their genetic makeup is. † It is this link with violence that makes the objectification of women more serious issue than with men. † (Kilbourne.263) This violence factor directly correlates with dominance. If you look through photos or magazines you can pick up a specific trend of nudity and pornography. Even more so , there is a constant jab at women , making them â€Å"inferior† With this sort of image growing up why would there be any motivation to be more than in those pictures? What is better than becoming rich? Being born rich is the most logical answer and this is how this 1 percent lives. The majority of this money, the . 1 % is old money. This money has been accumulated for hundreds of years and will be for hundreds more. The correlation of class and achievement of the American dream has been time and time proven. â€Å"Reality 6:All Americans do not have an equal opportunity to succeed. Inheritance laws ensure a greater likelihood of success for the offspring of the wealthy. †(Mantsios. 320) Yet another prime example of what class does for your chances at the American dream. The converse can also be enforced, without class it is a abnormality to live â€Å"the American dream†. The â€Å"American dream† is just something we can strive for but not truly reach. The American dream was known for our idea of Manifest destiny so we killed thousands of Indians because we thought of them as second class citizens. We have supposedly progressed ,transcending racism and sexism into an extinct ideas. However they just exist socially and economically now, just changing its brutality. These issues can’t be stopped through intellectual movements or programs, laws need to be enacted to change these process. These political figures need to stop thinking with their wallets and speak from their people. Without our changing of the law how are we supposed to become a more equal society. We live under a living document called the Constitution, if it promises our pursuit of property, now happiness , why can’t it assist us in the American dream. MLA Work cited page McIntosh, Peggy . White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. IndependentSchool. 1990 Mantsios, Gregory media magic :making class invisible. Rothenberg P. S. , ed. Race, Class and Gender in the US 3d ed. New York: Martins, 1995. Lorber, Judith. â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. † Yale University press. Yale college. 1994.

Psychological Effects of Imprisonment on Young Offenders

Psychological Effects of Imprisonment on Young Offenders The aim of this dissertation is to examine the claim of authors such as Harrington and Bailey (2005) that a substantial proportion of young offenders in the UK suffer from severe mental illness. In accepting this claim, the secondary aim of this paper is to glean a greater understanding of why this is the case; do these offenders acquire mental illness as a result of the modern prison regime and regardless, why is the modern youth justice system so ineffective in dealing with this seemingly widespread problem? The researcher of this paper shall argue that the currentyouth justice system needs, if it to achieve one of its primary aims,namely to rehabilitate youth offenders and prevent them from becomingrecidivists, to focus their research and practice more heavily on thepsychological processes which cause a young person to offend, so thatsuch offenders, who are clearly suffering from mental problems, can bemore easily identified and, where possible, positively helped toresolve these issues whilst they are serving their custodial sentencesso that upon release these individuals are more likely to desist fromcriminality. The principle methodology of this paper will be a literature review,a review of both primary and secondary sources from the subject fieldsof forensic psychology, criminology and penology. Introduction: The primary issue which will be raised and explored throughout thisdissertation is the contention that the current youth justice system,and in particular the youth prison system, is failing to adequatelyaddress the psychological needs (or as they are described by manycriminologists: ‘criminogenic needs’) of youth offenders in the UK.Such an argument necessarily involves a simultaneous examination notonly of the statistics which are available regarding the prevalence ofmental illness in youth prisons and the rates of recidivism of thoseyouths who have been previously sentenced to immediate custody, butalso an examination of the latest psychological research in prisons,the current (and, to a lesser extent, historical) policies andpractices pertaining to the ‘treatment’ of those imprisoned offenderswho have been diagnosed with mental illness and also the writings ofexpert researchers in these relevant fields who provide originalinterpretative insights into the problems associated with mentalillness in youth offenders and potential approaches to minimise thisapparent epidemic. The structure of this review shall take the following form: Thisdissertation will commence with a brief overview of past and presentsystems of caring for children serving custodial sentences and howtheir mental health needs were and are now met, including anexamination of the changing definition of ‘needs’ in this context. Theresearcher, using research from government enquires, literature andreports concerned with this issue will then seek to identify thoseyouth justice policies and practices which are apparently ineffectiveand/or inappropriate in reducing this problem and, in conclusion, makerecommendations for future necessary/ effective reforms and also futureresearch which should be conducted to assist in our understanding ofthe psychological causes of crime and to assist in the formulation ofsuch reforms. The researcher of this paper is greatly interested in the subject ofthis paper: After reading in Society Guardian articles about our youngprison population the researcher was surprised to learn that there areover 11,000 young people between 15-20 in jail in England and Waleswith a diagnosable mental disorder, that 10% will suffer a severepsychotic disorder in comparison with 0.2% of the general populationand that the UK has the highest number of prisoners under 21, incomparison with the rest of Europe, 3000 of them being held in youthoffenders institutes. Similar surprise ensued from discover of researchconducted by the UK Office for National Statistics which found thatnine out of ten youth offenders in the UK suffer from a mentaldisorder. The researcher feels strongly that more research needs to beconducted into these issues so that these worrying findings can bediluted; it is primarily for this reason that the researcher has chosento conduct this research on that topic. Intending t o pursue a career inthe youth justice system working with young offenders in the UK, theresearcher also feels strongly that a deeper substantive knowledge inthis area will aid not merely his professional development but also hisability to help reduce the incidence of mental disorder in the UK youthjustice system. The researcher concedes that the objectives of this research didchange direction at various points of the review: Initially, the aimwas to identify the current practical failings of the youth justicesystem and to convincingly demonstrate that these failings directly orindirectly contribute to the problematic prevalence of mental illnessin youth offenders and to likewise suggest practical reforms whichshould be employed to reduce this phenomenon; latterly, the researcherunderstood that rather than suggesting changes in practical reform thathe should attempt to identify the failings in the current research andthe strategies employed by the justice system, and to suggestalternative strategies and ideas for future research which will then inturn result in more effective justice practice. The structure of this paper, as described in paragraph two of thisintroduction, has been carefully constructed to complement itsarguments: the historical analysis of trends in UK penal policy andpractice (pertaining to youth offenders) over the past fifty years,with which this paper will commence, provides ample support for thelater contention that the current approach employed by the youthjustice system in the UK to reduce the incidence of mental illness inits prisons is inadequate and also for those policy reforms which willbe recommended by the researcher in this paper’s conclusions. The Structure of the Literature Review: As noted previously in the introduction, above, the literaturereview of this paper will not confine itself to any one particulardiscipline; after all, the subjects of criminology, forensicpsychology, social work and, to some extent, penology are havededicated varying proportions of their research on the issues withwhich this paper is concerned; namely the prevalence of mental illnessin young offenders in the UK Youth Justice system, in particular thoseoffenders currently serving custodial sentences in young offendersinstitutes, and practical methods for reducing this problematicphenomenon. A clear concern to any researcher conducting amulti-disciplinary literature review of this kind is that the order ofthe analysis is prone to be confusing; a researcher could choose toperform a separate review of the literature from each respectivesubject area or, alternatively, a researcher might choose to make nosuch division but rather separate the review into the relevantquestions and under each separate heading utilize the literature fromany relevant discipline in no particular order. The researcher of thispaper has chosen to adopt the latter of these two approaches; he feelsthat to divide the review analysis according to topic area is whollyartificial, especially in light of the fact that any research orliterature which will be discussed will be wholly relevant to the sameissues pertaining to young offenders. With this methodological approach in mind, the questions which thisliterature review will seek to discuss and, where possible, answer, areas follows: 1] What is defined as ‘mental illness’ and how has this definition changed over the past 60 years? 2] How prevalent is mental illness in young offenders who arecurrently serving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes inthe UK? 3] To what extent is this a recent phenomenon? And to what extent isthis a phenomenon which is particular to young offenders serving asentence in a secure institution rather than to those young offenderswho are serving non-custodial sentences or those young persons who havenot been involved in the Youth Justice system at all? 4] Historically, how has the UK Youth Justice System responded tothe problem of mental illness in young offenders who are currentlyserving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes? 5] Is there convincing evidence which suggests that there is linkbetween this prevalence of mental illness and the high rates ofrecidivism in young offenders serving custodial sentences? 6] What is the approach which is currently employed by the UK Youth Justice System to tackle this problem? 7] To what extent is the current policy approach of the UK YouthJustice System appropriate in achieving its objectives in this regard? 8] How is this policy approach being implemented by the UK Youth Justice System? 9] Are these practical reforms appropriate in light of the policyapproach adopted to reduce the incidence of mental illness in youthoffenders in the UK? 10] What changes should be made to the current policy and practiceof the UK Youth Justice System to effect a more successful reduction ofthis problem? 11] What further academic research is needed to assist in the formulation of these new policies and practices? 1] What is defined as ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental health’ and how has this definition changed over the past 60 years? Any literature review on the prevalence of ‘mental illness’ in aparticular population, in this case young offenders serving custodialsentences, would be incomplete without a preliminary discussionpertaining to the definition of ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental health’ inthat context. Within the context of young offenders, it is interesting to notethat there is very little consistency in the definition of ‘mentalhealth’: In fact, ‘a review of over 60 national and local education,health and social care documents (policy, strategy and guidance)revealed little consistency within, as well as, across agencies. Therewere 10 different terms or phrases used to label the positive end ofthe mental health continuum and 15 to describe the negative’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. This having been said, it does not seem that the definition of ‘mentalhealth’ in this context is particularly contentious. The Kent andMedway Multi Agency CAMHS Strategy Group have provided a workingdefinition which incorporates each of the individual definitions foundduring their literature review of relevant policy documents: ‘Mentalhealth can be defined as: The ability to develop psychologically,emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, to initiate, develop andsustain mutually satisfying personal relationships, including theability to become aware of others and to empathise with them, and theability to use psychological distress as a developmental process, sothat it does not hinder or impair further development’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6].   However, to find a comprehensive definition of ‘mental illness’ in thiscontext is not so straightforward: It would seem that practitioners inthe field of forensic psychology have divided mental ill-health intothree separate categories separated on the basis of severity ofsymptoms; namely, ‘mental health problems’, ‘mental health disorders’and ‘mental illness’. Mental health problems, the least serious form of mental ill-health,‘may be reflected in difficulties and/or disabilities in the realms ofpersonal relationships, psychological development, the capacity forplay and learning and in distress and maladaptive behaviour. They arerelatively common, and may or may not be persistent’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. Mental health disorder is the term subscribed to those persons whoare suffering from persistent mental health problems which affect theirfunctioning on a day-to-day basis. Whilst most young people will atsome stage in their development suffer from mental health problems, itis not normal to expect such persons to suffer from mental healthdisorders. As noted by the Kent and Medway Multi Agency CAMHS StrategyGroup, mental health disorder, as a term, ‘[implies] a marked deviationfrom normality, a clinically recognised set of symptoms or behaviourassociated in most cases with considerable distress and substantialinterference with personal functions or development’ [JointCommissioning Strategy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Servicesin Kent, Draft Report, 15th January 2007, p6]. Finally, mental illness, the most serious of the three forms ofmental ill-health, can be recognized in those young persons sufferingfrom severe clinical psychosis or neurosis, e.g. those suffering fromschizophrenia. These definitions provide a clear and useful taxonomy from which wecan begin to analyse the statistics on the prevalence of mentalill-health in young offenders in the UK. However, before we commencethis analysis, it is first important to briefly examine the perceivedhistorical relationship between mental ill-health and crime ; afterall, it has often been the case in the past that societies across theworld have attributed certain (if not all) aspects of criminality tosymptoms of mental ill-health, in particular mental disorder and mentalillness. For example, The USSR during the Cold War often incarceratedpolitical ‘criminals’ on the basis that they must be mentally insanefor holding such opinions and beliefs. Whilst the above example would shock most people of today, thisphenomenon is not that far removed from how the UK government hastraditionally treated the mentally ill: ‘In the UK, mental health carewas for decades provided only in large ‘asylums’ keeping ‘mentallyill’ people out of society believing this to be for their own good andthat of their communities. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating atthe end of the 1980s, government policy switched to providing moreservices in the community and in most cases limiting hospital treatmentto when it is needed most acutely’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group onPrison Health, House of Commons, November 2006, p2]. In light of the fact that historically the mentally ill have beendealt with in the same way as convicted criminals, it is not toodifficult to understand why there has developed a publicly perceivedlink between mental illness and criminality. This misconception hasalso been given weight by a small number of brutal homicide cases inwhich the perpetrator was schizophrenic; whilst social workers andpsychiatrists of today realise that schizophrenia does not necessarilycause its owners to be criminally violent, public opinion is still notas understanding: ‘Our understanding of mental ill health has†¦developed [since] that time, though public debate on the topic has notalways been in step†¦ the popular assumption that mental ill health andcriminality are inextricably linked needs to be broken and policyinformed by a deeper understanding of the complex links between mentalill health and offending’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group on PrisonHealth, House of Commons, Novemb er 2006, p2]. Therefore, whilst theremay be certain links between mental ill-health and criminality, thereis no intuitive similarity between these two respective phenomena. 2] How prevalent is mental ill-health in young offenders who arecurrently serving custodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes inthe UK? N.B. At the outset of this section of the literature review it isimportant to remind ourselves that secondary reviews of primary datacan often be misleading or, worse, erroneous. For example, to quote asection from the website of the government’s ‘Crime Reduction Toolkit‘A recent report by the Office for National Statistics, PsychiatricMorbidity Among Young Offenders, found that 9 in 10 young offendersaged between 16-20 years old showed evidence of mental illness’. Thisstatement would, using the taxonomy of mental ill-health discussed insection [1] above, appear to suggest that 90% of young offenders in UKPrisons are suffering from severe psychiatric illnesses such aschizophrenia: such a contention is clearly erroneous as if this werethe case then 90% of young offenders in Prison should in fact not be inprison at all but rather in secure mental hospitals. What the statementshould have said is: ‘A recent report by the Office for NationalStatistics, Psyc hiatric Morbidity Among Young Offenders, found that 9in 10 young offenders aged between 16-20 years old showed evidence ofmental ill-health’. Hopefully this example has shown how careful onemust be when attempting to describe or analyse the data findings fromprimary research. All of the literature and research supports the contention thatmental ill-health among young offenders in UK Prisons is prevalent. Arecent Report suggests that â€Å"Young people in prison have an evengreater prevalence of poor mental health than adults, with 95% havingat least one mental health problem and 80% having more than one. [Laderet al., 2000, cited by Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, March 2006,p3]†. This same conclusion is reported by Singleton et al. (1998): ‘95per cent of young prisoners aged 15 to 21 suffer from a mentaldisorder. 80 per cent suffer from at least two. Nearly 10 per cent offemale sentenced young offenders reported already having been admittedto a mental hospital at some point.’ A more recent research study conducted by Professor RichardHarrington and Professor Sue Bailey on behalf of the Youth JusticeBoard, entitled ‘Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision forYoung Offenders in Custody and in the Community’, found thatapproximately 33% of the young offenders sampled had at least onemental health need, approximately 20% suffered from clinicaldepression, approximately 10% of these young offenders had a history ofself-harm   and approximately 10% suffered from post traumatic stressdisorder and severe anxiety . This study also found that approximately5% of the young offenders sampled had symptoms indicative of clinicalpsychosis and that 7% of the sample population seemed to suffer fromhyperactivity. [Harrington and Bailey, 2005]. In conclusion, it seems indisputable that mental ill-health isprevalent among young offenders in the UK, in particular among thoseyouths serving custodial sentences. 3] To what extent is this a recent phenomenon? And to what extent isthis a phenomenon which is particular to young offenders serving asentence in a secure institution rather than to those young offenderswho are serving non-custodial sentences or those young persons who havenot been involved in the Youth Justice system at all? Whilst there is evidence that even as far back as 200 years ago UKPrisons were occupied to some extent by persons who suffered frommental problems, disorders and illness [Thomas Holmes, 1900], it isdifficult to ascertain whether this was due to the same reasons whichcause the phenomenon today, or whether these offenders were simply putin prison because of their mental ill-health, a practice which, asdiscussed above, was common in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately,in regards to the historical po sition, this is not a problem which canever be easily resolved, and it is a question which is still relevantto a discussion of the phenomenon of today: Is the prevalence of mentalill-health among young prisoners due to their treatment within theyouth justice system or did these individuals suffer mental ill-healthprior to their involvement with the justice system? Hagell (2002) p37 suggests that mental ill-health is more prevalent inyoung offenders than in their law-abiding peers, but this still doesnot answer the question of whether the reason that these individualsbroke the law in the first place was because of their mental problems,disorders or illness: â€Å"there is little doubt that young people caughtup in the criminal justice system do have elevated rates of mentalhealth problems when compared to other adolescents. A conservativeestimate would suggest that the rates of mental illness in these youngpeople is three times as high as that for their peers.† Likewise, an article by Sir David Ramsbotham entitled ‘The Needs ofOffending Children in Prison’, which was published in the Report fromthe Conference of the Michael Sieff Foundation entitled ‘The Needs ofOffending Children’, at p19, that whilst 95% of young offenders incustody are suffering from mental ill-health, only 10% of the generalpopulation are suffering from such problems, disorders or illnesses. This finding is supported in result, if not precise figures, by aresearch study which was conducted by the Mental Health Foundationentitled: The Mental Health of Young Offenders. Bright Futures: Workingwith Vulnerable Young People [Hagell, 2002]. This study stated:â€Å"Despite methodological hindrances, it is clear from this review of theliterature that there is a consensus that young people who offend arelikely to have much higher than usual levels of mental health problems.Estimates from research studies suggest that the rates of problems wereapproximately three ti mes as high as for their peers in the generalpopulation. In general, the mental health needs of young offenders arethe same as those of the general adolescent population but more acute.†[Hagell, 2002, p28]. Regarding whether the prison regime itself is responsible for thisprevalence, or merely the fact of incarceration, a study by Nicol et al(2000) found that there was very little difference between the levelsof mental needs in those young persons held in prison and those held inother forms of welfare establishment. This implies that the same mentalproblems, disorders and illnesses which lead a young person to beincarcerated in a welfare institution are also present in those youngoffenders who break the law and are subsequently sentences toimprisonment. A study commissioned by the Youth Justice Board [Harrington andBailey, 2005, p8] seemed to suggest that the mental needs of youngpersons were reduced as a result of being sent to Prison: â€Å"Youngoffenders in the community were found to have significantly more needsthan those in secure care†¦Needs increased for young offendersdischarged from secure facilities back into the community, suggestingthat needs are only temporarily reduced while in custody. In conclusion, there is no doubt that the prevalence of mentalill-health amongst young incarcerated offenders is not a newphenomenon, although it is impossible to state with any certaintywhether this phenomenon is worse now than it ever has been in historypreviously. Regarding whether this phenomenon is particular to youthoffenders over their law-abiding peers, it would seem that it iscertainly more pronounced with this former group, but also with thoseoffenders serving community sentences and those young persons who arebeing held in welfare establishments. 4] Historically, how has the UK Youth Justice System responded to theproblem of mental illness in young offenders who are currently servingcustodial sentences in young offenders’ institutes? As noted earlier, ‘In the UK, mental health care was for decadesprovided only in large ‘asylums’ keeping ‘mentally ill’ people out ofsociety believing this to be for their own good and that of theircommunities. Beginning in the 1950s and accelerating at the end of the1980s, government policy switched to providing more services in thecommunity and in most cases limiting hospital treatment to when it isneeded most acutely’ [All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prison Health,House of Commons, November 2006, p2]. During the 1950’s and 1960’s the link between mental ill-health andcriminality had arguably never been stronger; all prisoners wereregarded as patients who could be effectively ‘treated’ to prevent themfrom re-offending in the future and whilst little specific attentionwas paid to the individual mental needs of offenders, the types oftreatment reforms which were offered by the Criminal Justice System atthis time were very similar to the kinds of group treatment therapiesbeing offered to those mentally disordered and mentally ill patients inthe mental asylums and hospitals of the day. During the 1970’s thisparadigm of offender treatment was abandoned primarily as a result ofresearch studies conducted into the success of some of these treatmentreforms: conclusions from several research studies into theeffectiveness of these criminal treatments on reducing criminalbehaviour strongly suggested that ‘nothing works’ (Thomas-Peter, 2006,p29). T hese embarrassing findings caused the pendulum to swing awayfrom rehabilitation towards a firmer commitment to incapacitation andpunishment through positive custody. During the 1980’s, the wave of ‘new public management’ was born(Thomas-Peter, 2006, p30). This movement focussed heavily upon theprocedural roles of the Prison and Probation Services in reducingre-offending. The Prison service started to contract out some of theirprimary responsibilities in a quest to encourage more efficient servicefrom both their private sub-contractors and also their remaining statePrisons who would have to meet their performance targets to avoid beingprivatised in the same way as so many other Institutions had been.Likewise, the Probation service was reorganised and reintegrated toencourage greater efficiency of performance: ‘[The Probation Service,rather than] a loosely co-ordinated collection of individual socialworkers [became a unified and managed service] with a clearer sense ofdirection and purpose, which was more able to engage on equal termswith other services and to contribute and give effect to nationalpolicies’ (Faulkne r, 2007, p7). During the 1990’s researchers revisited the studies conducted in the1970’s and found that rather than demonstrating that ‘nothing works’,rather they supported the contention that certain types of treatmentinitiatives were working with certain types of individuals: Whilst only10% of a group may have responded well to that treatment, if thesimilarities between those responding offenders could be identifiedthen for this new group, the reform could be said to be verysuccessful. This has lead researchers such as Harper and Chitty (2005)to argue that the new question should not be ‘what works?’ but ‘whatworks for whom, and why’? This paradigm shall be discussed in greaterdetail in section [6] of this literature review. It is important to note that, except for the changes made to theProbation Services in the 1980’s, the above discussion summarizes thedevelopments in the paradigm of Criminal Justice generally and does notspecifically answer the question of how the Criminal Justice system hashistorically dealt with the problem of mental ill-health in youngimprisoned offenders. The fact is that even as late as 2002, there was no real unifiedsystem implemented to deal specifically with this particular problem.Research on this topic was sparse and focused rather than on nationalstrategies, on local remedies such as the pioneering work done by theAdolescent Forensic Services in the Midlands. Generally, where YoungOffenders Institutions were involving forensic psychiatrists or mentalhealth social workers this was not being done with the aim of treatmentor rehabilitation but rather for the purposes of assessment. Also,rather than assessing each young offender, these processes tended to beused for those offenders who were clearly suffering from mentalill-health and those offenders who specifically asked for suchassistance. A report published by the Mental Health Foundation in 2002,entitled ‘The Mental Health of Young Offenders. Bright Futures: Workingwith Vulnerable Young People’ [Hagell, 2002, p23] summarized theposition at that time in the followin g way: â€Å"As far as the MentalHealth Foundation is aware, there is no recent research data availableon the provision of psychological and psychiatric services to youngoffenders across the criminal justice system. However, at the time ofwriting it is clear that, from existing fragmented information, thereis no routine, standardised screening employed across the criminaljustice system and that responses to problems are inadequate andfragmented.† Whilst it is true that certain practical initiatives were introducedfrom the mid-nineties, such as Youth Offending Teams, Detention andTraining Orders, Parenting Orders and Child Safety Orders, thediscussion of the effects of these reforms shall be reserved forsections [6] and [9] of this literature review, in which we shallanalyse the current policy and practical approach employed by the YouthJustice System in dealing with the problem of prevalent mentalill-health among young prisoners. 5] Is there convincing evidence which suggests that there is linkbetween mental illness and the likelihood of being sentenced toimmediate custody? Is there convincing evidence which suggests thatthere is link between mental illness and the prevalence of mentalillness and the high rates of recidivism in young offenders servingcustodial sentences? One would be right to question the relevance of this enquiry to themain purposes of this research paper; after all the objective of thispaper is to examine the current strategy in dealing with the problem ofmental ill-health in young offenders institutes and to proposerecommendations for future clinical research and immediate reform.However, the researcher of this paper has chosen to dedicate a sectionof its literature review to the issues raised in the title of thissection because he feels that, if a convincing link between mentalill-health and criminality/criminal recidivism can be demonstrated thenit would provide additional support for the importance of reform inthis area. After all, the youth of today are the adults of the future,and if it can be shown that reducing the prevalence of mentalill-health in young offender institutions has a positive (reducing)effect on the rates of recidivism then the Criminal Justice System maybe compelled to dedicate extra time, money and resource s on furtherresearch in this area and also on the implementation of reformsdesigned to reduce the prevalence of this problem. The first point to note is that there is a body of research whichsuggests that young persons with mental disorders are more likely to bearrested, charged and convicted for their criminal behaviour than thoseyoung people in similar circumstances who do not have such severemental problems [Teplin, 1984]. This is supported by the research studyconducted by Singleton et al (1998) which found that the majority ofprisoners who had been diagnosed as having mental illness had, prior tohaving contact with the Justice System, already had contact with theNHS and other welfare services. These findings cannot be squared easily with the findings of otherresearch studies which suggest that â€Å"further offending [is] notpredicted by mental health needs or alcohol and drug abuse problems.[Harrington and Bailey, 2005, p8]† After all, if mental ill-health canpredict first instance-offending in young persons, then it must alsosurely be a predictor of recidivism in these persons also. Thisresearcher is therefore more inclined to rely upon other researchstudies which suggest that this is not the case: For example, the studyconducted by the Mental Health Foundation [Hagell, 2002, p24] foundthat: The outcomes for young offenders in need of mental healthservices include: further offending and worsening mental healthproblems if the needs are not met. The two are interlinked. While theoffending may have been a risk factor for mental health problems in thefirst place, it has long been understood that mental health problems inturn go on to be a risk factor for continued off ending (Kandel, 1978;Rutter et al 1998). Early detection may reduce the likelihood thatyoung offenders will persist into adulthood.† 6] What is the approach which is currently employed by the UK Youth Justice System to tackle this problem? As discussed earlier

Csr Case Study On Ikea Management Essay

Csr Case Study On Ikea Management Essay This report identifies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a demanding topic that has moved from ideology to reality and is acknowledged as a significant dimension of contemporary business practices and has been recognized as an important tool for business survival in the 21st century. This report takes into deep understanding of CSR by depicting a road map of core subjects with related issues and implementation based on the principles of CSR and discusses briefly on its characteristics; pros and cons; theories and approaches; justifications and fundamental principles. This report gives an insight on the significance of CSR and examines in detail about the expected key potential gains from its operational use followed by the discussion on the problems and barriers that CSR generally faces .Finally the report chooses the case study on IKEA and discusses in depth about its CSR experiences by studying its development and strategy dimensions of CSR in corporate social agenda(strateg ic and responsive forms of CSR) and analyses IKEAs responsibilities as integral elements of strategy with a brief discussion on CSR communication. The concept of CSR has widened its scope and its increasing global demand makes us to realize the responsibilities of a firm with its dimension towards social, economic and environmental impacts. INTRODUCTION: This report identifies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a hot topic and the reason for choosing CSR is due to its high profile attainment in the academic domain and most of us feel CSR as an absolute necessity to define the roles of organizations in Society and apply their responsibilities to their businesses in terms of social, ethical and legal standards. Moreover, CSR has become a globalised concept and achieved business prominence because of its geographical prevalence from US origin to its widespread suitability and establishment in Europe. This report structures the content to understand the concept of CSR by depicting a road map of core subjects with related issues and implementation based on the principles of CSR and discusses briefly on its characteristics; pros and cons; theories and approaches; justifications and fundamental principles. This report gives an insight on the significance of CSR and examines in detail about the expected key potential gains from its ope rational use followed by the discussion on the problems and barriers that CSR generally faces .Finally the report chooses the case study on IKEA and discusses in depth about its CSR experiences by studying its development and strategy dimensions of CSR in corporate social agenda(strategic and responsive forms of CSR) and analyses IKEAs responsibilities as integral elements of strategy with a brief discussion on CSR communication. UNDERSTANDING CSR: The term CSR seem to be new but research predicts that there has been an evolution of its concept throughout many decades. Way back in 30s of last century, the focus of marketing was initially on distribution and logistic, that was about how to provide some products at minimal cost. With the total marketing, the centre of attention is to set on the selling systems on the marketing mix comprising the 4 Ps: Price, Products, Place, Promotion. Social marketing emerged in the 70s whereby the company decides on the long-term interests of stakeholders internally as well as externally. A stakeholder could be any individual or a group, who can influence or get influenced by behavioral impacts of an organization. The categories of the companys stakeholder are shown in the table below: Companys Organizational structure and location Involvement in the Business activity Internal External Direct Shareholders, investors, managers, employees Customers, Lenders, Tax agencies Indirect Consultants, Suppliers, contractors Community, NGOs, Media General public Professional bodies The impact of any organization on the society through their operations, products or services rendered by associating with stakeholder groups such as customers, suppliers, employees, investors and community and this can be displayed in the form of a diagram below Source: Mallen Baker (2007) Different terms and ideas are associated and so it is difficult to define CSR due to ambiguity in the CSR field of research. There is always a problem to stick onto universal definition of CSR as the concept ranges from mere compliance with law to pure Philanthropy. Corporation refers to group of members acting as an individual, be it for business or elsewhere. Philanthropy has little to do with CSR because philanthropy is about how a company spends its money and CSR is about how a company generates money and how responsibly they conduct their business in doing so. However, European commission identifies CSR as a broad concept and recognizes, CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis(Commission of the European Communities 2001). WHAT CSR IS NOT? 1. It is not an alternative for the regulation of companies! 2. It is not a replacement for how companies should manage their social, ethical and environmental impacts! 3. It will not save the world! CHARACTERISTICS OF CSR: The main features of CSR can be summarised as shown in the table below: Features Description Triple-bottom-line Economic, social and Environmental Voluntary All activities are taken up voluntarily. Stakeholders integrity Connecting all parties involved. Long-term action Carrying activities over a long-term period. Credibility Enhances the credibility of the firm. PROS AND CONS OF CSR: Arguments for CSR Arguments against CSR Enhances reputation in society. Solves the problems caused by business in society. Stabilises corporate power with responsibility. Increases long-term profitability Beyond government regulations. Adjusts to imbalanced demands of stakeholders. Improves environmental conditions. Business should be meant for profit maximization. Enforces unequal costs among competitors. Stakeholders compelled to hidden costs. Business may lack social skills. Makes to forget the aims of the business Social responsibility cannot be a legal responsibility. Places responsibility on the business but not on individual. CSR THEORIES AND APPROACHES: The focus on economic, political, social and ethical aspects in social reality aspects according to Parsons (1961) are primarily based on four features that can be perceived in any social structure such as adaptation to the environment ,goal attainment, social integration and pattern maintenance or latency. This hypothesis led to the classification of CSR theories into four types which can be depicted in the following table with their related approaches. TYPES OF THEORIES AND ITS FOCUS APPROACHES ILLUSTRATION INSTRUMENTAL THEORIES Focus on the economic aspect of the interaction between business and society Augmentation of shareholder value This theory argues that CSR is the only means to the end profits. It is based on wealth creation that is measured by share price. Strategies for competitive advantage Social investments in the context of competition Strategies based on the view of firms available natural resources. Strategies related to the bottom of the economic pyramid. Cause -related marketing Considering Socially recognised philanthropic activities applied as an instrument in marketing POLITICAL THEORIES Focus on the business power applicable in the areas of politics Corporate constitutionalism Firms social responsibilities arise from their strength of social power Integrative social contract Assumption of the existence of contract between the business and society. Corporate citizenship The firm is perceived as a citizen with participation in community. INTEGRATIVE THEORIES Focus on the integration of social demands Issues Management Firms response to the social and political issues and their impacts Public Responsibility Current legal procedures and public policies are considered as recommendations for social performance Stakeholder management Stabilizing the firms stakeholders Corporate social performance Exploring the responses from social legitimacy to social issues ETHICAL THEORIES Focus on the right factor to attain a good society Stakeholder normative theory Considering trustful duties towards firms stakeholders Universal rights Considering the frameworks related to human rights, labour rights and respect for environment Sustainable development Achievement of human progress by accounting present and future generations The common good Awareness towards the common good of society JUSTIFICATIONS FOR CSR: The prevailing justifications for CSR are shown in the picture below: Moral obligation Attaining commercial accomplishment in approaches that tribute ethical value Insufficient assistance to stabilize complicated competence related to social and economic interests. Varied personal values among managers and stakeholders Licence to operate Developing goodwill to safeguard the consent of Governments and stakeholders Licences and approvals are needed for a business to operate. However, this kind of approach will have to compromise in controlling CSR agenda to the externals that lack knowledge about companys operations and competitive positioning. Encourages defensive responses for time being. Sustainability Self-interest to encounter the present needs without compromising the future needs Efficiency on environmental issues yielding immediate economic benefits. In other aspects other than environmental issues, intangible long-term results give a weak justification for short-term costs. Existing justifications focus on the pressure between the firm and society rather than bringing coordination. These generic rationales give a trivial guidance for taking up company activities. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF CSR: CSR mainly relies on three fundamental principles such as Economic, Social and Environmental areas. The purpose of CSR is to integrate business activity with its culture for attaining sustainability in its economic, social and environmental areas. Each fragment of CSR includes activities, which differ depending on the type of firm and the needs of stakeholders. ECONOMIC AREA: The firm is expected to behave as a transparent enterprise .Positive relationship among the investors, customers, suppliers and shareholders is expected. Economic impacts at local, national and international levels should be monitored. Stakeholders and the activities of CSR in the economic area of the market are shown in the table below: Economic area Market Stakeholders Owners and investors Customers/consumers Suppliers /partners Regulatory bodies Media CSR activities Creates ethical codex Transparency Best practice management Practice anti-corruption Build Stockholders relations Build Customer/consumer relations Build suppliers relations Build investors relations Protect intellectual property SOCIAL AREA: Responding and tackling the behavioral attitudes to employees in the working environment and focuses on assisting the local community. The company influences the working standards, education, health safety and develops the cultural aspects. The stakeholders and CSR activities in the social area are shown in the table below: Social area Stakeholders Work location Local community Employees Unions Non-Profit organizations Public CSR activities Health safety of the employees Human resources development Get rid of child labour Follow working standards Supporting laid-off employees Assurance of jobs Supporting social integrity Corporate volunteerism Donor ship Educating Public Improving the quality life of employees Creation of jobs and develop local infrastructure. ENVIRONMENTAL AREA: The Company focuses on its impact on ecosystem and elements like land, air and water. The company feels its determination to protect the natural resources. Environmental area Stakeholders Groups related to environmental aspects. CSR activities Eco-friendly processing and manufacturing products and services. Agreement with regulatory and standards(ISO,EMAS) Renewal of energies policy by recycling and using eco-friendly products. Lessening the environmental impacts. Protecting the natural resources. ROADMAP FOR CSR: The following roadmap depicts the core subjects and CSR implementation based on the principles . Source: vi.unctad.org/russiast09/docs/millercsr.ppt CORE SUBJECTS AND ISSUES: Issues related to core subjects of CSR can be depicted from the following table: CORE SUBJECTS ISSUES ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE Shareholder activism Political economy Cross border investments by foreign investors HUMAN RIGHTS Due attentiveness Risk conditions Escaping complicity Determining grievances Inequity and susceptible groups Civil rights Political rights Employees fundamental rights Socio-economic and cultural rights LABOUR PRACTICES Social conversation Child labour Forced labour Employment relationships Work conditions Social security Health and safety at employment Training and progress in the employment ENVIRONMENT Avoidance of Pollution Maintenance of resources Mitigating and adapting climatic change Protecting the nature REASONABLE OPERATIONS Anti-corruption Sensible political implications Good competition Encouraging social responsibility in the field of influence Assessing the value for property rights CONSUMER ISSUES Awareness Market sensing Health and safety for consumer protection Consumption sustainability Consumer support and solution for disputes Data security and privacy Entry to necessary services COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND IMPROVEMENT Education Culture Creating employment and developing skills Advancement of technology Income generation Social investment Community health CSR DRIVERS: The key drivers of CSR are discussed in the table below: DRIVERS DESCRIPTION Profound self-interest Generate ethical, social and economical cohesion where markets, labour and communities are linked to work together. Social investment Social capitalism and contribution to infrastructure has been seen progressively as necessary part of business activity. Transparency and trust Public perceives business as low ratings of trust. Public expectation about companys openness and accountability leads to prepare a report encompassing their performance in the areas of social and environmental issues. Increased public expectations of business Public expects beyond the companys contribution to the economy by taxation and provision of employment. In addition to the above key drivers, the following list shows general drivers of CSR. Business Risk management Reputation and brand management Learning and innovation Cost savings and operational efficiency Competitiveness and market positioning Improved relations with regulators Organizational transformation and continued improvement IMPLEMENTING CSR: Each firm is unique in its operational procedures, its awareness of CSR issues and the amount of work done towards CSR implementation.Therefore; different firms adopt different frameworks depending on their CSR approach.However, it adds value to the firm when CSR is implemented in a systematic route by integrating its mission, strategy, cultural, environmental and risk profiles, processes and activities. The following framework for CSR implementation gives scope to build quality and environmental management, which follows the model of plan, do, check and improve based on ISO standards .This flexible framework can be adapted by any firm as suitable for its organization. Implementation Framework PHASES STEPS TASKS Plan 1.Perform CSRassessment Gather a CSR management team Work out the definition of CSR Re-examine corporate documents, processes and activities Recognize and connect key stakeholders 2. Build up a CSRstrategy Develop support with experienced managerial staff Investigate others tasks Design a format of proposed CSR activities Build the ideas for scheduling and the business case for them Fix on areas of roadmap, methodology and focus Do 3. Explore CSRcommitments Take a glance on CSR commitments Organize discussions with key stakeholders Design the group to develop the commitments Plan for an introductory draft Check with concerned stakeholders 4. Implement CSRcommitments Build an integrated CSR decision-making framework Prepare a CSR business plan Lay down the quantifiable goals and find out the measures of performance Slot in the employees and to whom so ever applicable to CSR commitments Propose and perform CSR training Set up workshop to address the behavioural problems Design for setting up internal andexternal communications Check 5. Authenticate and report on progress Gauge the performance Hold stakeholders Report on performance Improve 6. Evaluate and Enhance Assess the performance Discover the opportunities for enhancement Engage stakeholders Double-check: Once a cycle completes Go back to plan and go ahead with subsequent cycle SIGNIFICANCE OF CSR: The issue of CSR initiatives and the perceptions of ethical standards have gained more attention by the management in considering approaches to strategic marketing. Usually, CSR is of growing importance towards managing the business processes and is magnetizing growing company investment. Unfortunately, marketing departments lack the skills to manage even the issues related to reputation thereby narrowing the insights. For example, pharmaceutical companies were criticised in the media for arrogance and lack of transparency. In order to rebuild its reputation, Pfizer took initiative to offer free medicines to those who were laid-off during recession. So marketing strategy expects to look for opportunities for better competitive positioning in market segments through increased customer value integrated with CSR initiatives. Majority of business leaders are focusing on CSR as a tool for differentiation and competitive advantage leading to generate revenue. CSR is not only important in considering the consumer relationships but also scrutinizes business-to-business relationships (comprising supply chain partners) with stakeholders like investors, government and lobby groups. CSR is an important business strategy by giving meaning and direction to day to-day operations. Satisfying each of the stakeholder groups allows companies to maximize their commitment to another important stakeholder group-their investors, who benefit most when the needs of these other stakeholder groups are being met. The business succeeds when values within the decision-making process and objectives of the organization are met. Lifestyle brand firms, in particular, need to live the ideals they convey to their consumers. CSR as a strategy is becoming increasingly important for businesses today because of three specific trends shown in the table below: Trends Discussion Changing social expectations: Consumers and society in general expect more from the companies whose products they buy with the regulatory bodies and organizations in place to control corporate excess. Increasing affluence: A society in need of work and inward investment is less likely to enforce strict regulations and penalize organizations that might take their business and money elsewhere. Globalization: The Internet fuels communication among like-minded groups to initiate a product boycott. These three trends portend corporate success. The result of this mix is that consumers today are better informed and feel more empowered to put their beliefs into action. CSR is particularly important within a globalizing world because of the way brands are built, at a time when these values and demands are constantly evolving. CSR can therefore best be described as a total approach to business in maintaining brand dominance. KEY POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF CSR: The benefits to firms, community and environment by practicing CSR can be discussed at length in the following table: KEY POTENTIAL BENEFITS DISCUSSION Efficiency in risk management: CSR oversees and scrutinizes the corporate activities by effectively managing the risks involved in governance, social, economic, environmental and legal aspects in day-to-day complicated market, thereby safeguarding the supply for overall market stability. Impact analysis about a firm by considering the concerns of the parties involved is one of the better ways to anticipate in managing the risks. This ultimately sharpens the decision-making. Enhanced reputation management: Reputation of a firm is mainly based on values such as trust, quality, reliability, which reflect the organizations image and brand recognition and so any firm concerned about addressing the CSR issues, can manage their reputation with effective CSR management. Ability to develop the recruitment and retention of staff: Effectiveness in CSR policies improvise the human resource management which has direct impact on firms image related to its products and services.CSR indirectly aids in executing the programs that enhance the morality and loyalty of employees who are valuable resources for companys performance. Fostering innovation, competitiveness and market positioning CSR gives positive impact in avoiding the risks by tackling diverse stakeholders who are the basic sources for generating ideas for novel products and markets thereby differentiating from its competitor, which result in competitive advantage, thus developing competitive strength based on innovative business models. For instance, a certified firm with social and environmental standards improves the chance to become a supplier to specific retailers. Increased operational efficiencies and cost reductions: By implementing CSR, there is always an opportunity to transform waste streams into revenue streams by systematic approach of environmental aspect of renewable energies by reducing costs through recycling. Tangible cost savings signify the reduction in carbon emissions. Building efficient supply chain relationships: A firm is at risk to susceptibility in its supply chain. Companies with like-mindedness can build long-term business relationships with aim to increase their profits by maintaining standards and thereby tackle the risks. Larger firms encourage smaller firms with whom they are related to take up CSR approach. For example, particular retailers may require their suppliers to adopt certain codes and practices. Improved ability to tackle change: CSR aids as a radar to anticipate the emerging market trends and by regular stakeholder dialogue with customers, a company can respond to any changes that occur in regulatory, economic, social and environmental aspects. Generate robust social licence to function in the community: Better understanding between citizen and stakeholder recognition of the firms activities and objectives can render enhanced stakeholder relations, thereby giving scope for robust alliances of public, private and civilized society.CSR enhances the social capital. Enhances investment: As CSR enhances the brand reputation, it leads to raising the companys profile in the investment community. The company value can be improved through further investments.CSR approach drives the financial institutions about incorporation of social and environmental criteria into their project plan leading sharp decision-making of where to invest money and this motivates the investors to look for better CSR management. Better relations with media and government regulators: CSR indicators act as tool for the governments to decide on obtaining export assistance contracts in some countries. In many cases, though CSR activities are beyond the regulatory requirements, governments considered CSR views to expedite the approval processes for firms in order to meet their sustainability goals by recognizing the business sector engagement as a requirement. Building customer relationships: In Cause related marketing the altruistic activities of the firms can be recognized by morally conscious customers who may be flexible in paying higher prices or in reduced costs may increase their purchasing power and so CSR in broader sense has significant impact in building the long-term customer legitimacy,loyalty,trust or brand equity. Acting as a catalyst for responsible consumption: In order to combat with the ever changing consumption patterns, company has to play a key role in achieving sustainability by the way it supplies its goods and services in the marketplace to meet responsible consumerism which considers to relate consumer rights and issues and how well the relationship between producers and consumers is authorized by regulatory bodies. BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES: CSR implementation in a competitive world draws certain barriers and challenges which are due to : Difficulty in implementing CSR concurrently with other business Concerns in a balanced and remarkable manner Difficulty of transparency Lack of clear communication Economic thoughtlessness Various instability problems in developing countries especially problematic for SMEs Complexity of the issues involved and so difficulty in managing the supply chain and regulating the sub-contractors Complex set of issues as CSR covers a broad array of direct and indirect business performances, achievements, and so its impacts differ from one business sector to another International differences that may lead to lack of universal acceptance in examining the potential impacts of CSR. Misinterpretation due to CSR being judged differently in many parts of the world depending on different priorities. For example, Chinese consumers interpret social responsibility as safe, high-quality products, while South Africans consider it as a contribution to healthcare and education. In Australia, Canada, Indonesia and the UK the highest priority is to protect the environment. In Turkey, it is believed as an indicator for charitable donation. In U.S, France, Italy and Switzerland and most of South America, the highest priority is towards fair treatment of employees. Complex set of stakeholders appealing to the business for a CSR attitude the appropriate stakeholders need to be involved stakeholder involvement is important, yet difficult Always ambiguity between CSR and financial success Low voluntary acceptance of CSR can lead to green washing Lack of devices to measure, monitor evaluate and report the impacts Two myths Smaller companies think it the responsibility of the bigger ones and It is mainly a philanthropic exercise High overheads of implementing and sustaining CSR efforts. No universally accepted frameworks Some of the main internal company barriers to CSR initiatives are: Executives recommending strategic marketing programmes that focus on CSR-based positioning must be aware of the likely barriers and challenges from those who do not believe CSR as a legitimate strategic tool. CASE STUDY: CSR AT IKEA: The reason for choosing IKEA as case study of CSR work is to understand its CSR focus as a leading company, which ranks as the first in CSR in the Accountabilitys Responsible Competitiveness Index 2008 (RCI). IKEA was selected due to its long history and experience in the area and its response to several CSR-related crises and criticisms that has enabled the organization to develop structured policies and a range of collaborations and initiatives with stakeholders and could set an example for companies aiming to develop their economic and environmental sustainability. IKEA is a value-based Swedish furniture giant that has wide recognition for its focus on cost reduction and it is a progressive company that manages to integrate its cost focus with CSR issues. This report discusses in detail about how this integration is possible for IKEA and it is interesting to know its implications for other companies who want to combine CSR into their business practices. The CSR experience gained by IKEA can make other companies to realise that CSR is not necessarily a cost addition but it is a cost-cutter, which imparts increasing knowledge on how companies can be socially responsible. The aim is therefore to analyze the