Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example As far as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) domains are concerned, Wal-Mart has been a very helpful neighbor and an active citizen in thousands of communities around the United States and the world as well. Wal-Mart has a strong organizational philosophy towards being a member of the community that it has opened up its chain within. It feels that its role towards uplifting the human and societal domains is nothing short of a privilege. The organization believes on fostering as well as deepening the community partnerships since these remain very critical towards its future undertakings. It must be remembered here that Wal-Mart is one company that is renowned for its values-based, ethically-led promise towards the publics and the community at large. Wal-Mart believes in the age-old premise that an organization would serve the community in the best manner possible if it wants to build long term relationships with the people who are within the community itself. They would be best served if their interests are being upheld and when they are given the right to be themselves, and to manifest the basis of success through commitment and facilitation in the form of different environmental, social and charitable initiatives that have essentially been employed by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart believes in the fact that community partnerships as well as good working realms ensure that the company grows by leaps and bounds, and that it has a positive word of mouth across a number of channels and within publics that it directly or indirectly caters to, in the long run (Hoffman 1990). Wal-Mart knows that it can only move ahead if it grows responsibly and intelligently along with strong community domains. The CSR strategy of Wal-Mart depends a great deal on the focus, implementation and the budget which has been earmarked for such settings. The CSR focus has remained on the areas including education, public health, sports, environment, disaster relief, child safety and charitable s upport over the years. On the same lines, the CSR implementation has been emphasized upon a great deal through its own projects, a foundation in the name of Wal-Mart, and the efforts that are done through volunteerism. The CSR implementation phase has therefore been divided into three separate initiatives that have been undertaken by Wal-Mart in essence. Moving ahead with the CSR integration phase, one can see that the CSR strategy is divided into two sub-units which include the company product and the company strategy. Both these sub-units depend greatly on how Wal-Mart brings about significant value for the sake of Wal-Mart and how it has shaped up beliefs and attitudes with the changing times. Since the strategy basically defines how products are going to be sent across the channels, it is of significance to comprehend what kind of strategy would reap the best results from the long term scheme of things (Schneider 1998). It is also pertinent to note here that the company product and the company strategy are inherently linked with each other, and thus there is a clear cut definition of both of these sub-units. What is mandatory on the part of the CSR integration is how these two would bring in the much needed value for the sake of the organization and specifically in terms of the CSR initiatives that have been taken in a head-on manner by Wal-Mart. The CSR representative within Wal-Mart reports to the

BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example The segmentation has been done by using demographics and behavioural strategies. The target market has been chosen after identifying the size and profitability of the segments. After developing the positioning strategy, the marketing mix has been created for the target market. Finally, an overview of the financial plan of Manga Cafe has been discussed. IDENTIFIED PROBLEM The business plan of launching Manga Cafe in London appears to be a unique idea as there is currently not such cafe in London however, because of the aggressive competition among the international brands in the UK Cafe industry; Manga Cafe needs a very well-organised and efficient marketing plan. INDUSTRY COMPETITION Various coffee brands are operating in London; however, the three largest market leaders include Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Nero. The following positioning map shows the positioning of major cafe providers in London based on their quality of services and prices. Starbucks being the market leader is offe ring average quality but at very high prices, therefore, shares of Starbucks are declining not only in UK but in most of its major markets (Bishopric, 2011). Costa is expanding throughout UK because of its reasonable prices and better quality and in 2010/2011, company aims to open 130 more outlets in the UK (Bakeryinfo, 2010). Nero is considered as a cheap brand which offers value through high quality products and services. Positioning Map THE PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION Manga Cafes are very popular among the Japanese communities. The increasing number of Japanese residents in the UK builds a strong demand for Manga Cafes in the UK, European and foreign markets. Since there is no Manga Cafe in London yet, therefore, launch of Manga Cafe in London appears to be a feasible business option. This cafe will fulfil the increasing demand of Japanese comics in Europe. The cafe will offer a platform to the people where they can come and enjoy reading Japanese comics. Moreover, additional ser vices will also be offered to entertain the visitors such as Japanese food, internet facility, games and DVDs. The visitors will be charged based on their duration of stay in the cafe. MARKETING PLAN Market Segmentation To segment the market, demographics and behavioral segmentation strategies have been used. In demographics segmentation, the consumers have been segmented based on their age, profession and nationality. Age: The age group structure of London in 2001 is given below (Office for National Statistics, 2002). Age Structure of People in London Source: Office for National Statistics Profession: The second demographic variable is profession and in London people belonging to different professions such as education, workers, professionals, unemployed reside. Nationality: The third demographic variable is nationality and since Manga Cafe is a Japanese cafe therefore, only Japanese nationals will be directly targeted. However, the total population of London in 2009 was 7,686,000 and it includes around people with 34 different nationalities (London.gov.uk, 2010). Table: London Population by Nationality Source: London.gov.uk In behavioral segmentation, the consumers who will be having knowledge, interest and positive attitude towards Japanese culture will be