The term strategic management

Strategic Management and Social Responsibility

Strategic management is the ongoing planning of all the components required for a company to fulfill its goals and objectives. This includes creating objectives and ensuring that they are implemented throughout the organization, as well as analyzing both the internal and external business environments.

Social responsibility, on the other hand, applies to both individuals and organizations. According to this concept, firms should conduct their operations ethically and with consideration for environmental, cultural, and social issues (Branco & Delgado, 2012). As a result, it is critical for firms to examine the long-term consequences of their decisions and to incorporate social responsibility activities into their decision-making processes.

Implementing Strategies for Success

As the Chief Strategist for Life is Good, I will develop and implement the following strategies to ensure that the company succeeds. First, it is important to develop sustainable strategies. In this case, the strategies should not push away the customers whom the company depends on to finance the foundation. The business should reassure their customers that they are not just running a business, but they are also committed to changing the lives of people – helping children who are in need. This can be done by running an ad campaign on their website and social media pages. The ad campaign should be designed to raise awareness among customers about the foundation and how they can donate towards it. When customers find out that the company is actually helping children in need, they will be encouraged to support the foundation.

Additionally, the company gives 10% of their profits to help needy kids (Life is Good, 2017). This strategy is in line with market penetration strategy since it will convince their customers that the company is not only in business to make profits, but also to have an impact on their culture and society. Once customers are persuaded that Life is Good is doing something good, the company’s reputation will be improved because of the creation of a positive word of mouth for the organization (The Saylor Foundation, 2014). Consequently, the company will continue to be in business and customers will prefer its products over substitute products hence increased profits.

Learning Activity

It is imperative for businesses to keep good moral ground in order to remain credible in the public’s eye. According to Branco & Delgado (2012), corporate social responsibility is a process whereby companies create strategies that are not only good for them but also beneficial for the society. Fostering a good corporate culture for employees, minimization of expenses and risk management are some of the examples of positive corporate social behavior in the banking industry. Lying to the shareholders on the financial health of the business and using deposits for risky investments are some of the examples of negative corporate social behavior in the banking industry.

Traditionally, banks made profits by charging more interest rates to borrowers than they paid savers. However, of late things are changing because most industries have realized the importance of corporate social responsibility. For instance, in the United States, most banks are now offering financial education to their customers. This is beneficial to both the banks and their clients because when customers are educated on financial management, they will continue using the services offered by those banks. The effects of negative corporate social behavior can be illustrated by what happened in 2008 where banks were forced to lend money in risky mortgage investments because of the pressure from shareholders. After that, the banks turned the mortgages into bonds and sold them to investors. By so doing, the banks were creating money, which was not leaving the financial sector (Positive Money, 2013). Eventually, the financial sector collapsed. In order to mitigate such negative corporate behavior, the federal government should put in place regulations and ensure that those laws are enforced so as to protect consumers and the economy.

References

Branco, M. & Delgado, C. (2012). Business, social responsibility, and corruption. Journal of Public Affairs, 12 (4), 357-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.1426

Life is Good (2013). Positive Purpose: The Resolve To Make The World A Better Place. Retrieved on July 2, 2017 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00PPXilS9wA

Positive Money. (2013). What Caused the Financial Crisis & Recession? Retrieved on July 3, 2017 from http://positivemoney.org/issues/recessions-crisis/#comment-898474409

The Saylor Foundation. (2014). Chapter 10 – Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility.