George O. K'Aol and Francis Wambalaba
Corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Abstract
Subject area
Corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Study level/applicability
The Homegrown case is designed for teaching corporate social responsibility and business ethics at undergraduate and graduate levels. The case may be used on a variety of courses including: corporate social responsibility, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, and business ethics.
Case overview
In May 2003, the headline of the East African newspaper screamed “The Kenyan Horticultural Industry under fire.” The industry was accused of exploitative labor policies with respect to working conditions, workers' welfare, sexual harassment, and exposure to harmful pesticides by the key stakeholders led by the Kenya Human Rights Commission. The stakeholders had announced plans to conduct national and international campaigns against the flower growing and exporting companies in Kenya. Mr Richard Fox, the Managing Director of Homegrown was worried that the publicity had adversely tarnished the image and reputation of the horticultural industry in Kenya as a whole, including Homegrown. He wondered how best to respond to these allegations. Should Homegrown wait to see what the competitors and other stakeholders would do, as these were industry-wide problems or should Homegrown take the lead? And if so, what should be the scope of the programs, given the diverse nature of the issues? He had to make decision quickly.
Expected learning outcomes
The case provides opportunity for students to analyze, discuss, and debate topical issues in CSR. At the end of the case, students should be able to: identify emerging CSR and ethical issues facing the horticultural industry in Kenya; analyze the cost of implementing CSR programs in business organizations; evaluate the impact of CSR programs on business performance; justify and defend choices on CSR, and ethical decisions.
Supplementary materials
Not included.
Details
Keywords
This paper presents an historical reconstruction of the radicalisation of Alan Fox, the industrial sociologist and a detailed analysis of his early historical and sociological…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents an historical reconstruction of the radicalisation of Alan Fox, the industrial sociologist and a detailed analysis of his early historical and sociological writing in the classical pluralist phase.
Design/methodology/approach
An intellectual history, including detailed discussion of key Fox texts, supported by interviews with Fox and other Biographical sources.
Findings
Fox’s radicalisation was incomplete, as he carried over from his industrial relations (IR) pluralist mentors, Allan Flanders and Hugh Clegg, a suspicion of political Marxism, a sense of historical contingency and an awareness of the fragmented nature of industrial conflict.
Originality/value
Recent academic attention has centred on Fox’s later radical pluralism with its “structural” approach to the employment relationship. This paper revisits his early, neglected classical pluralist writing. It also illuminates his transition from institutional IR to a broader sociology of work, influenced by AH Halsey, John Goldthorpe and others and the complex nature of his radicalisation.
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Richard Fox and Warren A. French
Senior citizens adjust to retirement living in distinctly different manners. These adjustment mannerisms could be used as a basis for market segmentation. Although some of the…
Abstract
Senior citizens adjust to retirement living in distinctly different manners. These adjustment mannerisms could be used as a basis for market segmentation. Although some of the potential segments might be alienated by appeals aimed solely to the elderly, others might be successfully approached by appeals positioned specifically toward their needs.
Ellen Day, Richard J. Fox and Sandra M. Huszagh
Although the viability of global marketing is disputed, the best opportunities for pursuing basically the same strategy across national borders are in industrial marketing…
Abstract
Although the viability of global marketing is disputed, the best opportunities for pursuing basically the same strategy across national borders are in industrial marketing. However, because of the disparities across world markets, segmentation is essential to assessing opportunities for a standardised marketing approach. Segmentation based on economic indicators represents the first step in identifying potential markets. In this study, 96 countries were grouped into six segments. Implications for industrial marketers are presented, along with issues relating to using stages of economic development as a basis for segmentation and using a factor analytic and clustering approach to the segmentation of the global market.
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AB Product warranties, in general, have not been employed by marketers as an important strategic tool, yet the business in extended warranties, service contracts, and maintenance…
Abstract
AB Product warranties, in general, have not been employed by marketers as an important strategic tool, yet the business in extended warranties, service contracts, and maintenance agreements appears to be booming. But why? This article examines current practices, discusses critical issues raised in prior studies and the authors' recent research, and presents suggestions for the marketing of service and maintenance agreements. There is evidence to suggest that the long‐term market potential of many current offerings may be limited; however, careful consideration in defining the prime target markets and designing new types of agreements can help ensure success. The purpose of this article is threefold: first, to offer a brief review of current practices, which profiles the diversity of offerings and corporate philosophies; second, to discuss critical issues raised in prior studies and in our research; and finally, to present suggestions for the marketing of such offerings.
Richard Lancioni, Howard Forman and Michael F. Smith
With student, scholarly, and especially corporate interest in the study of logistics dramatically increasing, it is important for institutions of higher learning to act as quickly…
Abstract
With student, scholarly, and especially corporate interest in the study of logistics dramatically increasing, it is important for institutions of higher learning to act as quickly as possible to help meet this demand. In doing so, these institutions run into many roadblocks and challenges. This paper explores these and offers suggestions to minimize their effects.
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Examines the mature market, defined as consumers age 50 years orolder, and reviews 33 segmentation methods for the mature market andidentifies five key segmentation criteria…
Abstract
Examines the mature market, defined as consumers age 50 years or older, and reviews 33 segmentation methods for the mature market and identifies five key segmentation criteria: discretionary income, health, activity level, discretionary time, and response to others. Integrates methods devised by other researchers and provides marketers with a step‐by‐step, actionable segmentation method based on these five criteria. Offers implications for managers.
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The purpose of this work is to consider how to best prepare current and future business students for the inevitable ethical dilemmas that they will face in the course of their…
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to consider how to best prepare current and future business students for the inevitable ethical dilemmas that they will face in the course of their professional careers. To that end, the – still under-researched – rich history of the academic study of business ethics is leveraged in order to consider how a better understanding of the history of business ethics can help prepare for the future of business ethics. In addition to the above, the inescapable central role of the individual decision maker is demonstrated, with special emphasis on what is known about contemporary students of business can inform with regard to what business ethical challenges may await them and those impacted by their decisions.
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Perhaps the most remarkable event in the US medical market in the last ten years has been the astonishing growth of the new kinds of health‐care delivery systems that are…
Abstract
Perhaps the most remarkable event in the US medical market in the last ten years has been the astonishing growth of the new kinds of health‐care delivery systems that are collectively known as health maintenance organisations (HMOs). Indeed, they are now posing a serious threat to the conventional insurance sector which has traditionally covered most Americans. According to data collected by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Minnesota research foundation, InterStudy, some 18.9 million people were enrolled in an HMO in June 1985, so that the 400 HMOs then in existence accounted for roughly nine per cent of the health‐care market. Today's figures are undoubtedly higher, and one New York investment company expects that ‘by 1990, 75 million people, or 30 per cent of the population, will be members of HMOs’, with the organisations achieving ‘membership expansion and revenue growth of 30–40 per cent a year’