Marketing Activities of New Balance - Essay Example

[Manager] 30 August Introduction: New Balance is the fourth largest footwear manufacturing company in USA and has beenin operations for the past 100 years. In those years, it has built a strong customer base locally and in international markets as a result of dedication and commitment to providing high quality footwear. Another important aspect of the company is its dedication toward corporate social responsibility and to build a sustainable company providing environment friendly products. The management of New Balance also realizes the importance of CSR activities in order to gain reputation and a large customer base in the new, socially responsible consumer market. Therefore, the company has made commitment to making the company an environment friendly organization where all the processes ranging from footwear manufacturing to retailing are environment friendly and dedicated to CSR activities. In light of its new mission, the company has identified various steps which could be taken to become more environment friendly globally and locally. Company strength in light of CSR: New Balance has been involved in CSR activities and has been adopting various strategies from time to time in order to become more environment friendly. From the case study, following strengths can be derived about the company which makes it a successful candidate for adopting CSR strategies: The company’s employees are dedicated and committed towards adopting a strong CSR strategy and work for making the company more environment friendly. They are willing to adapt to changes which may be required in order to become more environment friendly. Therefore, the upper management will not have to face resistance if they need to change the working conditions or company operations for successful implementation of CSR strategies. The suppliers of the company, both locally and abroad are also supportive and ready to adapt to any changes which may be needed in the manufacturing process of footwear in order to become more environment friendly or to abide by the laws of the legislation which may require the company to change their current manufacturing processes. The company is ahead of its competition in some of the manufacturing processes such as the elimination of PVC in the manufacturing of footwear. This can give the company a competitive advantage over its competitors which it can utilize to gain a larger market share. The company has a good reputation in the market and a large market share, thus a greater profit margin. This profit margin can be used to finance the R&D or the adoption of new technologies which may be required to produce more environment friendly products. Company weaknesses in light of CSR: Although New Balance has a strong background and support from its employees and suppliers to adopt CSR strategies and become more environment friendly, but there are some areas of weaknesses which may result in hindrance or slow transition towards a more socially responsible company. The factors which may cause these problems are as follows: The company lacks a strong leadership which is required in order to drive the company through the transition stage and become a socially responsible organization. The company needs a strong leadership at this transition stage which can keep all the resources of the company together and acts as a mentor during this stage. The company lacks a proper CSR department which is vital in order to implement CSR strategies. Apart from a single manager and an RL committee, there was not a separate, organized department which makes CSR strategies and ensures the implementation of these strategies in the company. The upper management viewed CSR activities as a cost rather than as a long term benefit for the organization and this view was the main hindrance in successfully implementing CSR strategy in the organization. There was a communication gap among the management and the employees as well as the customers which resulted in lack of awareness and knowledge related to CSR strategies being formulated in the organization. Areas of improvement: Taking into consideration the overall strengths and weaknesses of New Balance with respect to CSR strategy the company must take the following steps to implement CSR strategies in the organization and hence gain a competitive advantage and become the number one shoe manufacturer locally as well as in the international markets: The company must develop a separate CSR department which must be independent of business operations and must only be dedicated towards developing appropriate CSR activities and ensuring successful implementation of these strategies. This department must be headed by a competent manager who must have the leadership qualities to handle the resistance the department might face during the transition phase. The manager must also act as a change agent and must be a source of motivation for the employees who feel threatened of the changes in the organization. The CSR department must also work closely together with local and foreign suppliers to ensure that they are also practicing CSR strategies and manufacturing environment friendly products as required by the company strategy. The department must also be in regular touch with the R&D department and help them in developing more environment friendly products and hence ensure sustainability. The CSR department must also convince the upper management of the importance of CSR activities for the long term benefit of the organization. In order to be successful, the support of top management is vital and therefore the CSR department must make sure that the upper management is on their side while implementing CSR strategies. The department must encourage the sense of “Ecopreneurship” in the organization. Ecopreneurship is a portmanteau of “ecological” and “entrepreneur.” An ecopreneur is an individual who is focused on ecologically-friendly issues and causes, attempting to do business in a way which benefits the environment. the company can achieve the culture of ecopreneurship by adopting the following ways: 1. Energy and Resource Use Efficiency and Maximization: “In nature, one-way linear flows do not long survive. Nor, by extension, can they long survive in the human economy that is a part of the earths ecosystem. The challenge is to redesign the materials economy so that it is compatible with the ecosystem”. (Lester Brown. Earth Policy Institute). By minimizing waste production and maximizing reuse of waste streams, New Balance can potentially significantly increase profits. 2. Ecosystem Services: Services related to protection of ecosystem and natural resources and preventing environmental degradation can be an inspiration for the company. 3. Natural step principles: New Balance can see potential risks, such as extinction of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust or overharvesting etc, as opportunities for success through green business. 4. Eco- efficiency and eco- effectiveness: The CSR department should find methods of decreasing waste while increasing productivity such that the waste of the production process and the product itself can be the raw materials of a new product of service. The company must improve communication process among its management and employees as well with the consumers. It must hire spokespersons whose job is to convey, on regular basis, the steps the company has taken to become more environment friendly. This will not only result in awareness among employees and consumers, but will also bring in more profits as customers will become loyal to the company for its efforts to save the environment. Conclusion: By implementing ecopreneurial policies, New Balance can achieve both objectives, that is, generate profits to keep stockholders happy and at the same time achieve sustainability. Moreover, it is very important to keep the morale and motivation of the workforce high at the time of implementing strategies and this can be achieved by proper communication and by becoming more transparent. Hence, in order to achieve the sustainability of the company, it must ensure proper communication and an organization culture that promotes ecopreneurship. Works cited Volery, Thierry. "Ecopreneurship: rationale, current issues and futures challenges.." (2006): n. pag. Web. 20 Jun 2010. Schaper, Michael. "Beyond The Green Corporation ." Business week (2007): n. pag. Web. 20 Jun 2010. . Michael, Connor. " Corporations see sustainability offerring trillions in opportunity." Business Ethics (2010): n. pag. Web. 20 Jun 2010. < http://business-ethics.com/2010/02/05/1100-corporations-see-sustainable-development-as-trillion-dollar-opportunity/>. Carroll, AB. "Ethical challenges for business in the new millennium: corporate social responsibility and models of management morality." Business Ethics Quarterly (2000): n. pag. Web. 20 Jun 2010. . Read More