McDonalds Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

McDonalds Business - Case Study Example With the growing public awareness and desire for socially responsible businesses, it is significant to note that companies consider planning for future socially responsible business operation (Kotler & Lee, 2004). An analysis on McDonald’s social responsibility evaluates an example of corporate social responsibility shown by McDonalds. McDonald is the largest company in the world that deals in hamburger food restaurants. In reference to McDonald’s corporate social responsibility, the company is taking action, maintaining openness in communication with its customers and shareholders and attaining results. The company works with its suppliers so as to promote socially responsible behaviors or practices in its supply chain as an integral part of the company’s supply chain strategy. This is part of the company’s social responsibility. In addition, the company has designed its own its code of conduct for suppliers which explains how the company desires or expec ts its suppliers to handle and treat their workers. The company has managed and succeeded in supporting suppliers who are removing sow gestation crates in supply chain. For instance, 50% of its Cargill contracted hog farms are all in new generation systems that do not apply gestation stalls for the benefit of the wider community. Additionally, McDonalds gives part of its pre-tax profits to corporate charity or philanthropy as part of its strategy to be socially responsible. The company conducts philanthropic contributions via the Ronald McDonald Houses Charities which focus to create, get and support programs that enhance and improve the well being and health of children in society. This body ensures that children in vulnerable communities can receive medication and dental treatment in order to improve their health and strengthen their respective families. This program aims to change and improve the lives of communities. As part of it being socially responsible, McDonalds has formul ated a way of engaging communities in operations through community based projects. Community based projects have become significant aspect of development assistance among world socially responsible organizations. For instance, McDonalds launched the Flagship farms initiative in Europe that aimed at employing innovative farming methods and practices across Europe and conducts research on how ethical farming practices can be included into commercial farming systems. Therefore, an economic relationship means a strategy of involving communities into business activity of the organization in order to makes sure that communities are embedded in corporate supply chain strategy so as to establish a sustainable business. Case study 2 McDonalds has got well written and designed corporate social responsibility program that it has well implemented in order to ensure that communities are integrated in its business and that it benefits from its business operation. For instance, the McDonald Compan y delivered its inaugural corporate social responsibility report in which the company sought to get extensive feedback from stakeholders and community. The company has included several things in its social responsible program that aim to make it more socially responsible. For instance, they have implemented program that aim to develop sustainable agriculture, employment policies

Coke and Pepsi in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Coke and Pepsi in India - Essay Example As the paper highlights Indian customers had a little choice of products or brands and sometimes they were forced to purchase products regardless of quality and reliability. In addition, Indian government mandated that the companies Pepsi and Coca Cola must be promoted in India under the names ‘Lehar Pepsi’ and ‘Coca-Cola India’. Boycotts of American goods and water contamination issues were some other aspects of Indian political spectrum, which influenced operations of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola in the country. The company management could have anticipated some of the Indian market issues particularly corruption within the Indian governmental settings. By forecasting this, the Coca-Cola could have avoided its hardships in the past. However, it was not possible for the company to anticipate the ongoing water contamination issues. In other words, each company could have handled the unexpected developments in Indian political arena better, if its management had been flexible enough to adapt to the developments emerged. From this paper it is clear that Pepsi entered the Indian market early in 1986. During that time, the Pepsi had not to compete with other multinational companies once it was the initial stage of Indian soft drink market. Therefore, the early entry assisted the company to attain a significant foothold in the market while it was still working with its product positioning operations. In addition, the Pepsi acquired 26% market share by 1993 as a result of its early market entry. At the same time, the early entry forced the company to change its name to Lehar Pepsi and additionally Pepsi had to struggle with other local issues. The Indian government restricted Pepsi’s soft drink sales to less than 25% of total sales. Likewise, the late entry of Coca-Cola in Indian market in 1993 aided it buying four bottling plants from the industry leader Parle.

Individual Rights and Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Individual Rights and Climate Change - Essay Example According to the research findings climate change will have major impact on people all over the world. Majority of the world’s population is susceptible to threats such as interruptions to water supply; raise in the severity of hurricanes, floods and famines, coastal erosion as a result of sea level increase; and to harmful human health effects, for instance, by means of an increase in the range as well as spread of disease. The effects of climate change are also a specific concern within the Asia Pacific region. In accordance with the fifth report from the â€Å"Working Group on Climate Change and Development, Up in Smoke? Asia and the Pacific released in November 2007†, the human drama of climate change will mostly be carried out within Asia, where more than 52 percent of the world’s entire population - more or less 5 billion people - lives. While responding to climate change, governments have conventionally tackled it as an environmental issue or more recently , as a fiscal one. Up until now, the communal as well as human rights inferences of climate change have little awareness. Yet the human costs of climate change openly intimidate basic human civil rights; â€Å"rights to life, to food, to a place to live and work, rights that governments have an obligation to protect†. One UN official states that global warming as well as severe weather conditions may have disastrous effects on the human rights of millions of individuals. Eventually, climate change may have an effect on the very right to life of a number of individuals; nations have a responsibility to prevent and deal with some of the â€Å"direst consequences that climate change may reap on human rights† (Godrej, 2006, p. 39). Equity concerns as well take place within the climate change perspective due to its inconsistent effect on already susceptible individuals as well as communities (Alston et al, 2007, p. 66). As said by the UK Secretary of State for the Environme nt, communally, climate change creates intense queries of impartiality and justice â€Å"between generations, between the developing and developed worlds; between rich and poor within each country† (McAdam, 2010, p. 62). The test is to discover a reasonable allocation of tasks as well as human rights. States have a positive responsibility to safeguard individuals against the danger created for civil rights by climate change, irrespective of the causes. The most successful way of easing this is to implement a civil rights based approach to strategy as well as governmental reactions to climate change; an advancement that is normatively supported by global civil rights values and that is aimed at encouraging as well as defending human rights (O’Brien et al, 2010, p. 43). Second part of this paper focuses on the human rights aspects of climate change. Particularly, it tries to find out how the human rights enclosed within the major global mechanisms are in jeopardy by the effects of climate change. Third part then goes on to focus on what responsibilities are imposed on countries, in both global as well as domestic regulation to act in response to these threats. Fourth part focuses on how nations may accomplish their human rights responsibilities, in the perspective of climate change reactions; arguing that a civil

Sir Francis Bacon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sir Francis Bacon - Essay Example Bacon's thoughts on science are closely associated with those of Galileo. A benefit of the early Renaissance was the rediscovery of the writings of those living in antiquity. With the new reading of Galileo, Sir Francis Bacon rejected the form of speculative reasoning that dominated the Middle Ages. Bacon believed that if you wanted to really know about something in nature, you needed to approach your study in a methodical manner, gathering real data that was observable and recordable. He states in his book The Great Insaturation, "There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flees from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms [laws]†¦The other derives axioms from the senses and particulars. This is the true way but yet untried. Bacon believed that if you wanted to understand soil or rocks, you would gather many different samples or specimens, study them and then let the facts of your study form new ideas about the natural worl d. Bacon melded his ideas with those of Galileo, formalizing them into a general theory of inductive reasoning that became known as empiricism (McKay 1992). Empiricism is the backbone of the scientific method utilized by students and scientists universally in modern times. Sir Francis Bacon believed that this new approach to knowing and understanding the natural world would radically change societies. He believed firmly that this new knowledge would give humans greater control over the natural elements .

Medieval Times in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medieval Times in Europe - Essay Example As the report explores one of the most notable was the difference in the appearances of those who attended church. Wealthy bourgeoisie merchants were rich in their clothes while the serf families were clad in dirty rough wool. In the middle ages there was a great level of inequality between the classes of society seen. The serf families lived in terrible hardships and it was not an uncommon happening in winter for either the youngest or oldest of poor families to die of cold and hunger. Where the serfs lived in cold stone huts with straw roofs, the noble lords lived in comfortable castles. A large difference was seen when comparing the living standards of the rich and poor. This discussion declares that there was no known cure for this disease and this lack of knowledge led to many different (and rather useless) remedies. These included allusions to alchemy, magic, miracles by the Church and various other cures. Of course, at the time none of them actually worked to help the countless people suffering from the blackening of their skin (due to hemorrhaging under the skin) and the painful swelling and wounds in their bodies and general fever. What was noted was that there was extreme fear for the disease as no one actually had any explanations for how and why it was spreading and killing millions. In their blind and futile search for a cure their frustration was directed at minority groups of society as the Jews and those already suffering from the disease.

Developmental Assets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developmental Assets - Essay Example Thus, cognitive engagement and behavior engagement encompasses the assets of school engagement and school boundaries in terms of the students’ involvement in learning activities and their adherence to school rules respectively. Similarly, emotional engagement covers the development asset of school climate adequately. The caring school climate involves an atmosphere of respect for each other as purported by progressivism. Ackerman (2003) insists that demonstrating respect for the student would foster a reciprocation of respect for the teacher thereby promoting an atmosphere of care and respect. The school personnel such as the teachers, the administrative staff and other such personnel would encourage the student to do the best that they can do at all times. The idea of showing favor to one student over the other would therefore be non existent. The second asset of school engagement incorporates the idea of a student being actively involved in learning. At no time is the student seen as a passive observer but the student is constantly involved in every dimension of the learning environment. The third assset which promotes the school as the primary promoter entails school boundaries. School boundaries emphasizes the fact that each school should have clear rules and consequences for breaking these rules. One risk factor that a student may experience without the strengthening of the caring school climate is the risk of cultural isolation or intolerance.This intolerance could lead to a rapid deterioration of the student’s self identity and self esteem. Such a decline in self worth may result in a number of inappropriate behaviors such as absenteeism, school drop out and delinquency. However, given a caring environment the students would understand the need to tolerate differences in each other whether it is colour, religion, or way of

The Coffee Crisis Essay Example for Free

The Coffee Crisis Essay Introduction In 2011, Diego Comin, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, revised his 2009 case study on the Great Moderation (reproduced by permission for Capella University, 2011). The case explores whether or not the Great Moderation, defined by investopedia. com as â€Å"the period of decreased macroeconomic volatility experienced in the United States since the 1980’s [during which] the standard deviation of quarterly real GDP declined by half, and the standard deviation of inflation declined by two-thirds (para.1)† is still in effect. This paper will use evidence from research in a draft by Pancrazi and Vukotic (2011) that proposes â€Å"macroeconomic variables in the last thirty years have not only experienced a reduction in their overall volatility, but also an increase in their persistence (p. 2). † The 2011 research paper also purports that â€Å"by using a New-Keynesian macroeconomic model the responsiveness of output variance to changes in the monetary policy decreases with an increase in the persistence of technology (p. 2). † The result, according to Pancrazi and Vukotic, is an â€Å"overestimate† of the monetary influence and authority to â€Å"smooth out the real economic dynamics (p. 2). † The Great Moderation and the The Great Recession. Comin, in â€Å"The Great Moderation, Dead or Alive? † (Capella, 2011), quotes Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve: reduced macroeconomic volatility has numerous benefits. Lower volatility of inflation improves market functioning, makes economic planning easier, and reduces the resources devoted to hedging inflation risks. Lower volatility of output tends to imply more stable employment and a reduction in the extent of economic uncertainty confronting households and firms. The reduction in the volatility of output is also closely associated with the fact that recessions have become less frequent and less severe (p. 17). † Comin points out that these conditions existed until the Great Recession of 2007 when the U. S. and other countries experienced the longest period of recession and â€Å" the largest GDP contraction in the U. S. since the Great Depression (p. 17). In â€Å"Overlooking the Great Moderation, Consequences for the Monetary Policy† (2011), the researchers hypothesize that the â€Å"Great Moderation might have been fertile ground for the recent recession (p. 3), in that technology caused an â€Å"increased persistence in the macroeconomic variables (p. 4). † Macroeconomic Observations. To summarize Comin’s (2011) account of macroeconomic activity in the U. S between 1930 and 2010, when observing the GDP during this period, he says, â€Å"it is clear that since around 1984 it has been harder to observe large deviations from the average growth rate (p.17). † When examining other macroeconomic variables, Comin says that hours worked, consumption, investment, labor productivity, and total factor productivity (TFP), have, for the most part, â€Å"experienced stabilization by roughly the same magnitude, [where] the stock market has not stabilized significantly. If anything, it has become more volatile over the last few decades (p. 18). † Pancrazi and Vukotic focus their research on â€Å"studying the behavior of the total factor productivity (TFP) before and after the Great Moderation (p.4)†¦[by] using a basic New-Keynesian model featuring imperfect completion and price stickiness, [to ascertain] whether a change in the persistence of TFP affects the responsiveness of the real variables to the monetary policy (p. 6). † Their observations include an examination of the stability of TFP and an assessment that â€Å"a higher Microeconomic impact of the coffee crisis. The case study conveys that â€Å"coffee was the main source of income for roughly 25 million farmers, mostly small land holders, in Latin America, Africa, and Asia (p.1). † The coffee crisis created immense hardship for these small producers; â€Å"in some countries, farmers had been forced to take their children out of school and put them to work (p. 1). † One of the consequences of the coffee crisis that was less publicized was how larger farms and their workers were devastated. Large farms generally do not use non-cash family workers, like many of the smaller farmers do; as a result of the crisis, many workers were laid off, subsequently putting larger farms completely out of business. (Price, 2003) Where some producers chose to get out of the coffee business and venture into unknown territory with a new crop, others either attempted to break into the coffee â€Å"niche† market or decrease their outputs. (Line Tickell, 2003) In the ICO report on the impact the coffee crisis has had on poverty, the socio-economic impact reported by the respondent countries is filled with narratives that describe families and farmers who worked in the coffee industry unable to pay for medicine, food, and other essentials. Families are also reported to have migrated to cities, where there is typically no work for skilled farmers; some countries report that workers have migrated leaving their families behind. (Osorio, 2003) Solutions for long term sustainability. The case study presents an outline of solutions recommended by the ICO, Technoserve (as reported to the Inter-American Development Bank) and Oxfam. â€Å"The Coffee Crisis† states that, according to Oxfam, â€Å"the long run solution†¦was a commitment to ‘fair trade’†¦ a system in which a buyer in the first world agrees to pay third-world producers enough to support a decent living (p.5). † Oxfam says that â€Å"the fair trade movement was designed to provide an assured income and other benefits to the farmers associated with it (Line Tickell, 2003, p. 8). † Technoserve believes the following â€Å"three areas offer the highest potential for sustainable impact: 1. Increasing coffee consumption in producer countries and emerging market countries; 2. Assisting unprofitable producers of high-quality Arabica to move into higher-priced specialty coffees; and 3. Helping regions with a high concentration of marginal coffee producers who cannot differentiate their product or compete on price to diversify into other products and industries (para. 15 16). † In June, 2004, Nestor Osorio of the ICO presented to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) a report titled: â€Å"Lessons Learned from the Coffee Crisis: A Serious Problem for Sustainable Development. † In it he outlines the economic strategies he believed would prevent a future crisis and assist coffee producer toward long-term sustainability. Two proposed policies address the supply-demand problem: 1. To use the experience of the coffee crisis to create awareness – best achieved through the ICO – in national and international bodies of the danger of embarking on any projects or programmes (sic) which will further increase supply; and 2. Working to increase the benefits accruing from value-added products rather than traditional bulk commodity exports. Osorio recognizes the importance of â€Å"the need for market development to increase demand (p. 5)† also. He says that projects intended to benefit the supply chain should include actions from farmer to consumer, as well as farmer to exporter. These include: 1. â€Å"Support for the ICO’s Quality-Improvement Programme as a means of improving consumer appreciation and consumption of coffee; 2. Action to increase consumption in coffee-producing countries themselves, which should have a number of positive effects such as providing an alternative market outlet, increasing producer awareness of consumer preferences, stimulation of small and medium enterprises, etc. as well as acting to increase demand; 3. Action to enhance knowledge and appreciation of coffee in large emerging markets such as Russia and China, following the successful ICO campaigns in the 1990s; and 4. Protecting consumption levels in traditional markets through quality maintenance, development of niche markets and dissemination of positive information on the health benefits of coffee consumption. (p. 5-6). † Conclusion The coffee market has been described as an â€Å"imperfect market; a market that in recent years has failed – both in human and economic terms (Lines Tickell, 2003, p. 8). † The coffee crisis illuminated the impact the market had on international trade, national economies, businesses and families many in underdeveloped, low income countries. Because the regions where coffee can be grown are also many times third-world or repressed countries, coffee production is considered a humanitarian concern as well as an economic issue. Where an organization like Technoserve may lean toward business partnership solutions for the coffee industry, and Oxfam may concentrate on the humanitarian perspective, the International Coffee Organization appears to have taken a balanced approach in presenting the plight of coffee producers from both altruistic and economic perspectives. Where it is understood that many depressed areas and nations depend on coffee crops for sustenance, the ICO has taken a stand that the lessons learned from the coffee crisis must be solved with the tenets of economics, coupled with social responsibility, if families, farms, businesses and coffee-producing nations are going to achieve long-term sustainability. References Capella University. (Eds. ). (2011). MBA6008: Global Economic Environment. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Lines, T. , Tickell, S. (2003, May 1). Walk the Talk, Oxfam International Briefing Paper, May, 2003. Oxfam International | Working together to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from www. oxfam. org/sites/www. oxfam. org/files/walk. pdf Osorio, N. (2002). ICO. org Documents/Global Crisis. International Coffee Organization. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from dev. ico. org/documents/globalcrisise. pdf Osorio, N. (2003). ICO. org Documents/G-8. International Coffee Organization. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from dev. ico. org/documents/g8e. pdf Osorio, N. (2004). ICO. org Documents/UNCTAD. International Coffee Organization. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from dev. ico. org/documents/UNCTAD. pdf Prince, M. (2003, December 3). CoffeeGeek Coffee Crisis:TechnoServe Releases Fact-Based Industry Analysis. CoffeeGeek News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://coffeegeek. com/resources/pressreleases/technoservedec42003.