Business Values Assessment Report Free-Samples Myassignmenthelp

Questions: 1.Identify and Describe the two Companies you have researched; the countries and/or Industries in which they Operate. 2.What differences are evident between the two companies in terms of the range of issues dealt with in their Social Reports and the depth of Coverage on Specific issues?3.To what extent can these Differences be Explained by the country or industry differences? What other Explanations might there be? 4.Assess the apparent quality of the Social Accounting Approach utilized by each company according to Zadek et al.s (1997) criteria. 5.Discuss the extent to which the Social reports provided by these Companies reflect their stated values. Answers: 1.Both coca-la and Nike are companies based in the United States and each operating in its industry. Coke is in the beverage industry while Nike is in the footwear and apparel industry. The two companies reports on their CSR progress each year and the reports made public through their individual websites. The sustainability reports of the two companies show that they present a span of issues ranging from environment, social well-being and economic problems. However, there are differences in the contexts of their reporting with each company choosing what to prioritize in their CSR programs. Although both companies disclose their reports on CSR, they have been challenged about their practices in the industry. Nike Inc. has faced criticism from many organizations regarding its labour practices. As at 2011 July, the company reported that some of its contracted factories had not met the international standards of workers treatment. It is at this time that the Associate Press highlighted the issues of the Indonesia plant where supervisors were verbally abused (Associate Press, 2011). Furthermore, the issue of sweatshops in China, Vietnam, Mexico and Indonesia were highly criticized widely. Other controversies that raised concerned on the company practices are child labour, strike in the Chinese Factory and Gatlin Sponsorship (Bloom, 2015). Coca-Cola on the other hand has in the past faced criticism for their practices. The issues raised included water use, packaging, and air pollution. In 2013, the company was criticized for litigation that led to the invalidation of bottle recycling in Australia. They won a court case despite the environmental concerns raised due to their packaging materials used. Furthermore, in 2014, the company was accused of violating the Clean Air Act at their minute maid plant in Michigan (Shane O'Halloran, 2014). The two companies have faced a lot of criticism in different areas that has led them to concentrate more on the highlighted issues in their CSR reporting. Judging from the reports of the two companies, Coca-Cola focuses on four aspects including, water, women, well-being, and giving back to the society (Coca-Cola, 2017). Through their 5by20 program, the company has reached out to 1.7 million women in the world. They believe in empowering women as one way of growing the economy of the country and the well-being of the whole society. By the year 2020, the company estimates to have reached out to 5 million women and empower them economically. Most of the considered women are entrepreneurs who have are well acquainted with business (Callahan, 2017). About water, the company reports on its stewardship and replenishing in which Africa and India are the greatest beneficiaries of the program. Its aim is to achieve a sustainable environment with efficient water and sanitation. Through the report, it is revealed that the company plan to reach out to as many countries as possible raising awareness on collective action for water with WWF. The company wishes to improve the well-being of the community as a whole. Due to this reason, they have invested in both agriculture and sports. Most of the programs under this company revolve around ensuring the people in the society lives happier lives and have sustainable incomes. In their move to giving back to the society, the company works towards ensuring all people are treated with respect and dignity. Actually, they uphold all the human rights regulations. Furthermore, they have invested in climate protection through replenishing of water bodies and enhancing sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, Nike primarily focuses on the community with various issues like education and sports. They also report on environmental and labour issues. Through the active school program, Nike is partnering with different schools in China, Russia, Turkey and Brazil to provide children with a safe environment for practicing sports and other activities even when the schools are close (Nike, 2016). Furthermore, the company has invested in producing footwear that is environmentally friendly and made of materials that produce less waste. Their motive in doing so is to reduce the amount of waste the company provides through its activities. Indirectly, they are conserving the environment without investing much effort. In fact, the company aims at lowering the emissions to minimize pollution (Nike, 2016). 2.The possible explanation for the differences in social reporting for the two companies is based on the differences in sectors they operate from. Coca-Cola being in the beverage industry utilizes water and agricultural products in as their raw materials. Therefore, to protect the interests of its business and at the same time giving back to the society, their major CSR programs are focused on replenishing and conserving water bodies. Further, they have ventured into sustainable agriculture especially in Africa and India. The fact that success goes handily with empowerment has made company develop a program that supports entrepreneur women to succeed more in their businesses for a sustainable economy. In this regard, their CSR reporting covers the community and its well-being in different dimensions entirely. As for Nike, a manufacturing company emits carbon and other solid wastes in their activities. Furthermore, following the many controversies surrounding the company in relation to labour, the company have highlighted how it is promoting labour laws. For instance, due to pressure mounted on them by an organisation called CorpWatch, the company has now disclosed information concerning its contracts in their corporate governance report (Associate Press, 2011). On matters of environment, Nike reports differ from Coca-Cola since its primary targets is reducing GHG emissions by 10% and fully utilizing renewable energy by the year 2025 (Nike Inc, 2015). This is according to the sustainability business report produced by the company in 2015 for the financial year 2014/2015. 3.Assessing the approaches used by the two companies in their corporate reporting, Zadeks criteria give a clear understanding of the approaches as discussed below. Inclusivity: Both companies engage their major stakeholders in developing the reports making it possible to address different aspects as per the requirements in social reporting. In the case of Nike Inc., they collaborate with the community, investors, employees and the government id streamlining the reports in order to obtain an all-inclusive perspective of the corporate social responsibilities. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, involves the different parties in their development including health experts, manufacturing and food quality assurance organisations, environmental bodies and its key investors. They all access the quality and the contents of the reports in details to gauge the authenticity of the information. Completeness: Although there are always deficiencies in reporting, the companies have managed to achieve completeness in their reporting through different aspects. They report on their core positive outcomes as well as their weak areas and provide their plan for improvement in such sections of their operations. Evolution: both companies are embracing technology in their reporting. Lately, there has been an increase in the number of people who can access the internet. These companies have capitalized on this opportunity and are now posting their reports on their websites where the public can easily access. Again, in their blog sections, they have included a real time update of their CSR projects that are being undertaken and their locations. Continuous Improvement: Although Coca-Cola has achieved this milestone in its social reporting, Nike still has lagged behind in improving its reporting. In some instances, the company withholds some crucial information that is critical to the development of the company. Such issues include labour policies and employee satisfaction with the working environment (Todd, Mottus, Mihlan, 2008). Disclosure: both companies have complied with this and are documenting their reports and posting them on their individual web pages. Transparency in sharing assessment, impact, and performance reports is present in the two companies. External Verification: Both Nike and Coca-Cola have embraced the endorsement of their reports by third parties other than their respective CEOs. This increases the validity of the information presented in the reports (Fortanier, Kolk, Pinkse, 2011). Comparability: While Nike refers to G4, Coke refers to G3 assessment criteria. For Nike, it compares it past four years to the current year to gauge their improvements in the weaker areas. Coca-Cola also compares its performance on CSR using its previous three years reports. The comparison charts are always designed to give the public a summary breakdown of the achievements of the company in the past years. Management policies and systems: Nikes operations are guided by their values and corporate culture which is essential in ensuring that the staff follows they existing system for the company to prosper and meet its organizational goals. Coca-Cola has a board that is mandated with ensuring Business Codes of Conduct is adhered to within the company. All the staff and the stakeholders are expected to conform to the cultural practices of the company which encourages accountability, integrity, and transparency (Coca-Cola Company, 2017). Concerning principles, both companies have met the systematic principle in reporting. They annually produce documented and complete social reports to the public and its stakeholders. They also allow public participation through considerations of their feedbacks from the reports as well as allowing a comparison between different consecutive years. The companies will then aim at restoring the weak areas of their performance before the next reporting period reaches. 4.Generally, to a large degree, the social reports are reflecting on the core values of the two companies. According to Coca-Cola, its mission statement is refreshing the world in body mind and spirit (Coca-Cola Company, 2017). Their seven-core value includes: Leadership: The Company is guided by the policies enforced by the leaders. They are courageous in shaping the future of the company through compliance with the existing corporate culture and government regulations Collaboration: Coca-Cola has collaborated with many organisations to enhance its activities and delivering on their CSR. This has helped the company to expand its market to almost all the countries in the world (Coca-Cola Company, 2017). Integrity: Such a unique virtue within this company is their ability to be real. This is guided by their integrity in social reporting. In fact, most of their reports obtain positive feedback from the public and other external auditors verifying the authenticity of the information provided in Accountability: Coca-Cola has always been accountable for its actions. All the information contained in their social reports is because of their doings. They believe that If it is to be, it's up to them. The success the company has achieved over the past years is founded on this particular value. Their response to issues is spontaneous, and the approach is upbeat. Passion: Coke is committed in the heart to become a sustainable business and making a difference in the society through its programs and product qualities difference. Quality: Among the top Priorities of the company is providing its customers with quality products as services. Such is an admirable value that some companies have struggled to maintain their operations without much success (Soyka, 2013). Diversity: The company is not only interested in making profits from their sales. It also ventures into societal aid programs and agriculture. They have diversified their activities beyond the beverage industry. Such a move by any organisation widens the market and improves the loyalty of the customers to their brand (Khan, Muttakin, Siddiqui, 2012). Regarding Nike Inc., it does not have core values but operates with two core principles; unleashing human potential and Invent better. These two aspects have helped the company to implement their strategies and champion for innovations effectively. Actually, the frequency at which they implement new footwear designs is enough evidence of how their core values are applicable in their operations (NIKE, Inc., 2015). 5.The choice of the two companies was based on an agreement between the group members who saw it best to use the two. It was not an easy task to settle on the named companies since the adoption based on the facts and the availability of supportive information that would ensure the research is valid and accurate. Although we disagreed on some aspects, we used the data available on the long sustainability reports from the companies to harmonize our thoughts. From the discussion, I concluded that both companies use the community-based approach in reporting but touches on different issues with the various depths in contents. For Coca-Cola, their reporting mainly covers water, well-being, women, and general environmental issues. As for Nike, its social reports mostly dwelt on labour practices, environment, and employee welfare. However, there were some other aspects, which each company addressed depending on their CSR programs. References Associate Press. (2011). "Nike still dogged by worker abuses",Japan Times, p. 4. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press Bloom, B. (2015). "Justin Gatlin not only threatens Usain Bolt he threatens athletics."The Daily Telegram. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/11496111/Justin-Gatlin-not-only-threatens-Usain-Bolt-he-threatens-athletics.html Callahan, A. (2017). Gender and Macroeconomics: Whats Next?. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/gender-and-macroeconomics--whats-next- Coca-Cola Company. (2017).Our Mission Statement Company Values | Coca-Cola GB.Coca-cola.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/mission-vision-and-values Fortanier, F., Kolk, A., Pinkse, J. (2011). Harmonization in CSR Reporting. Management International Review,51(5), 665-696. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11575-011-0089-9 Khan, A., Muttakin, M., Siddiqui, J. (2012). Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from an Emerging Economy.Journal Of Business Ethics,114(2), 207-223. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1336-0 Nike Inc. (2016). Unleash Human Potential. Nike News. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://about.nike.com/pages/people NIKE, Inc., (2015). Sustainable Business Report. Retrieved 3 May 2017, from https://www.nikeresponsibility.com/ Nike Inc. (2015).FY14/15 Sustainable Business Report(1st ed.). Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/nikeinc/assets/56356/NIKE_FY14-15_Sustainable_Business_Report.pdf Shane O'Halloran. (2014). Coke, EPA to reach a settlement in Clean Air Act ammonia violation charges".Food Engineering Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/92039-coke-epa-to-reach-settlement-in-clean-air-act-ammonia-violation-charges Soyka, P. (2013). The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework: Toward Better Sustainability Reporting and (Way) Beyond.Environmental Quality Management,23(2), 1-14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tqem.21357 Todd, L., Mottus, K., Mihlan, G. (2008). A Survey of Airborne and Skin Exposures to Chemicals in Footwear and Equipment Factories in Thailand.Journal Of Occupational And Environmental Hygiene,5(3), 169-181. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1545962070185334