The Concept of Ethical Consumerism - Samsung Company - Case Study Example

Business Report By Student’s Name Code +course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Business Report Executive Summary In the recent past, the concept of ethical consumerism has become a major phenomenon. In the past, suppliers dumped their offerings in the consumer’s lap expecting him to gracefully accept the proffered goods. Today, a major shift has occurred, and consumers have adequate information regarding the consumerism process. In addition, buyers have become individualistic and sovereign. Thus, they are actively involved in the consumerism process. Consumers throughout the globe are striving to be ethical by buying only those products that are produced ethically, and those products that are environmental friendly. Recent research reveals that most people in the world today evaluates an organization’s production and marketing process prior to purchases. The findings that were made from this survey were that more than two thirds of the interviewees tend to assess an organization’s ethical production and marketing prior to any purchases. The report concluded that understanding the characteristics of the target market makes marketers to tailor their strategies to be in sync with the consumers. Introduction The concept of ethical consumerism was not a common phenomenon until recently. According to Fernando (2009) ethical consumerism refers to the tendency by clients to buy products that are ethically manufactured and distributed. Thus, ethical clients are those people that purchase goods that are manufactured in an ethical manner. For instance, a firm is considered to be manufacturing ethically if the employees involved in the production of goods and services are lawfully employable. Therefore, the company that uses forced labour as well as child labour does not fit into this category. This report discusses the concept of ethical consumerism. In so doing, the report provides an example of an ethical company, Samsung. In addition, it provides a short opinion survey on buyers’ behaviour. Ethical Consumerism People normally opt to purchase the best quality products and services that they can afford. Economists argue that most people usually chose the inexpensive goods and services, but only if they are guaranteed that the products will serve the same purpose as the expensive ones. At times, consumers might refrain from purchasing a certain brand because they have heard bad stories about a company. People might also choose to buy goods from developing nations because they believe that the goods were ethically produced or do not cause harm to the environment. Ethical consumers are influenced by such motives as environmental, spiritual and political to purchase a product from a given firm (Crane, 2008). The recent financial crisis, which took a toll on both developing and developed countries, is responsible for the lack of trust by consumers in recent years. In the United States for instance, lack of trust by consumers have led to loss of confidence in the integrity of business firms. Trust plays a critical role in enhancing long-term relationships between consumers and businesses. The questionable conduct of many large organizations in the recent past has forced ethical shoppers to critically examine the behaviour of firms prior to any purchase. Ethical consumers are prepared to pay a certain price not only to those products that give them value, but also for those goods that are ethically produced. There are various products, including insurance, food, beverage, energy among others that are regarded as ethical. However, much debate has been directed to what people eat, organic products, goods made from plants and renewable power. Case Study of a Company Operating Ethically Samsung is a South Korean company that has dominated the electronics market since 1938. The company sells various electronic appliances, as well as technology such as computers, mobile phones and televisions (Chang, 2008). The company accounts for more than 230,000 employees throughout the world. Samsung Company is an electronics company driven by the recognition that their choice of workplace is far much affected by more than the benefits and compensation it receives. Samsung Company has overtime in its business practices valued its employees and helped them climb the ladder towards attaining their highest levels of potentialities, while upholding balance in their work-lives. Samsung Company has strong foundations aimed at commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship. The following are some of the best business practices that the Samsung Company has specifically been involved in, and how they demonstrate responsible corporate behaviour of the company. Environmental Initiatives that Samsung Company has undertaken Samsung is a well-known electronic producing company whose products have been marketed all over the whole globe. The company has taken the opportunity to work at positively impacting on the environment. The company has taken the responsibility to produce products that are environmentally friendly. This has been realized by ensuring that the products the company manufactures have efficiency in energy usage. Recently, Samsung Company has implemented the Recycling Direct Program. The program has been set up as a measure to help those consumers who need to dispose their worn out electronic to dispose them in the best environmentally friendly way. This has helped minimize the rate at which the environment is being polluted by those old electronics (Williams, 2013). Samsung’s Initiative in Citizenship and Service Samsung Company has also actively taken part in building strong citizenship and offering various services to the society. This has made the company adopt a deep commitment to bettering the way communities live. The company has actively been involved in the ways the employees of the organization live, thus, forming part and parcel of the company’s corporate culture. Samsung has actively taken an active role in charitable programs, raising about 30 million US dollars since the year 2012. These charitable donations have been extended to more than 300 schools and also community based organizations and charities in the US. Samsung Company is out to ensure that these social contributions make key differences and impact positively to enhance the lives of children. This can only be made brighter by funding their education and promoting healthy living conditions and sanitation. Through the Solve for Tomorrow Initiative program, Samsung Company, in collaboration with its partners, has given out more than one million US dollars’ worth of technology value to public schools. Other charitable donations have been made to the Four Seasons of Hope, an initiative that has been helping support charities that are sponsored by sports stars from America. Samsung has had strong partnerships with different national organizations, including Habitat for Humanity. Samsung has partnered with this organization to help provide financial resources, appliance and volunteers. These resources, both financial and human, are used to build houses for the needy people. In the recent times, Samsung has had fruitful collaborations with UNICEF to provide relief efforts to victims of Haiti Earthquake. Global Contribution Activities by Samsung Company Samsung Company, through its Trading and Investment Group, has been actively involved in many activities aimed at fulfilling part of its corporate social responsibility. The Trading and Investment Group of Samsung Company has had a close partnership with Plan International Korea since 2009. The Korean international organization is aimed at facilitating sponsoring programs for children who come from the less developed states. Samsung Company has actively participated in poverty eradication activities for the less developed countries as part of the company’s social responsibility activities. Recently, Samsung launched sponsorship programs for those disadvantages children in overseas countries. Samsung employees have also been involved in various sponsorship programs for children from overseas countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Samsung Company is a globally known organization with many offices all over the world. The company has been actively involved in volunteer activities across the world. Workers at the Samsung’s Trading and Investment Group have taken active roles in volunteer activities. These activities have been helpful in meeting needs and demand of needy people. Samsung Company has, thus, gained a lot of trust and support from the local communities for its active involvement is volunteer activities (Michell, 2010). Samsung’s most responsible practice is its creative organizational culture. Samsung has been one of the global companies that create a participatory work environment for its employees, a platform under which they can feel a sense of dignity and pride in their undertakings. Samsung Company has overtime strived to build a creative organizational culture with its employees and all its operations. All these have been achieved under a dynamic, creative, and innovative environment. Being an international company, Samsung has embraced different personalities from diverse backgrounds and abilities. Survey on Influences on Buyers’ Behavior The concept of consumer behaviour has sparked a lot of debate in the recent past. In the face of global competition, marketers have been forced to study consumer behaviour in order to create market-responsive products. It is only by asking consumers what they need that companies can produce appropriate products. Adding to this, and perhaps more importantly, studying the consumer behaviour enables marketers to discover the latent consumers' needs and sets in motion the process of producing only those products that meet their needs (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2010). I carried out a short opinion survey on what influences buyers buying behaviour on a sample of students at GSM London. The data was collected through use of a structured questionnaire as depicted below: Research Questionnaire Questionnaire used to collect data from students at GSM London Name: Date of Interview: Gender: Male Female Age:  18-28Yrs  29- 39 Yrs 40-50 Yrs  51 and above Degree Pursued:  Undergraduate  Masters PHD Income: a) 10000 ( ) b) 10000-20000 ( ) c) 20000-30000 d) Above 40000 NB: Tick response as appropriate 1. Do you assess an organization’s ethical production and marketing prior to any purchase? a) Yes b) No 2. To what extent does disposable income influences you to make purchasing decision? a) Strongly non-influential b) Non-influential c) Neutral d) Influential e) Strongly influential 3. To what extent does a firm’s ethical behaviour influences you to make purchasing decision? a) Strongly non-influential b) Non-influential c) Neutral d) Influential e) Strongly influential 4. To what extent does brand recognition influences you to make purchasing decision? a) Strongly non-influential b) Non-influential c) Neutral d) Influential e) Strongly influential 5. To what extent does product quality influences you to make purchasing decision? a) Strongly non-influential b) Non-influential c) Neutral d) Influential e) Strongly influential 6. To what extent does value derived from a certain product or service influences you to make purchasing decision? a) Strongly non-influential b) Non-influential c) Neutral d) Influential e) Strongly influential 7. How well do you know ethically produced goods? a) Extremely well b) Very well c) Moderately well d) Slightly well e) Not at all well 8. Do you consider trust by consumers as tool for building profitable ties? a) Yes b) No 9. How committed are the modern day organizations to produce ethically goods? a) Extremely committed b) Very committed c) Moderately committed d) Slightly committed e) Not at all committed 10. What do organizations need to do to enhance their confidence in the eyes of the public? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… THE END THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION Conclusion From the responses obtained from the short survey carried out from a sample of 50 students at GSM London, it has emerged that there are various factors that determine what a consumer will purchase and the amount he or she will purchase. Some of the factors influencing consumer behaviour include societal, disposable income, the firm’s reputation, psychological among others. Consumers get to know the best options in markets by analyzing existing trends at a particular time. The tastes and preferences of consumers are ever changing; however, there are some constant factors which marketers should find out through research. These factors should be considered in the development of a production and marketing policy to ensure success. Undeniably, Samsung Company has adopted strategies and corporate responsibilities aimed at getting full trust of its customers. For instance, the company’s products are ethically manufactured, and do not cause harm to the environment. Going with the company’s vision ‘Inspire the world, Create the Future’, the company has adopted a wide range of responsibilities that realize the impacts they have on the society at all levels. Reference List Chang, J. 2008, Sony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants' Battle For Global Supremacy, New York (NY): John Wiley & Sons. Crane, A. 2008, The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford Handbooks Online. Fernando, A. C. 2009, Business Ethics: An Indian Perspective, India: Pearson Education. Hitt, M, Ireland, R & Hoskisson, R. 2010, Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization, Concepts: Edition9, London: Cengage Learning. Michell, T. 2010, Samsung Electronics and the struggle for leadership of the electronics industry, 1st ed, New York (NY): John Wiley. Williams, O. 2013, Corporate Social Responsibility, 1st ed, London: Taylor and Francis. Read More