University of d

Faculty of Management
Business Management 2nd year
Corporate Social Responsibility
Janusz Reichel, Ph.D.

Authors:
Ewelina Sotysiak
Piotr Bartenbach
Bartomiej Staszczyk
Dominik Wolski

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

SPARTA
1

Table of content
Chapter 1: Company Presentation .................................................................. 3

Chapter 2: Stakeholders Analysis ................................................................... 6

Chapter 3: Risks of unethical behaviors and social problems linked with

companys activities ..........................................................................................19

Chapter 4: CSR Strategy ............................................................................... 24

Chapter 1:
Company Presentation

Place
Spartas headquarter is situated in New York, 595 5th Avenue. We also have several
offices in almost all major regions in which we operate. We have offices in Europe
(in Germany - Hamburg), North America (in USA - Los Angeles), South America (in Brazil Santos), Asia (in China - Beijing) and in Oceania (in Australia - Melbourne).
Main operation
Our principal activity is to manufacture sports goods such as training equipment,
footwear, clothes and other sports accessories. We also produce pleasure boats and golf
equipment.
We operate in five segments. The Boats division manufactures and markets fiberglass
pleasure boats, offshore fishing boats, pontoon and deck boats. The Golf division produce a
full range of golf equipment, golf apparel and golf shoes. The Sports division produce
footwear, apparel, and sport accessories (i.e. bags and balls). Products sold through the ski
division include skis, snowboards, snowblades, ski boots and bindings, inline skates, hiking
gear and apparel. The fitness division designs and manufactures fitness equipment
Main Markets
Our company operates worldwide.
Main markets in which our company operates and sells its goods consists of:

North America (Canada, USA),

South America (Argentina, Brazil,

Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia,

Colombia, Ecuador),

Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand,

Europe (European Union, Croatia,

UAE),

Asia (Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia,

Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey,

Africa (Egypt, South Africa),

Ukraine)

Oceania (Australia, New Zealand).

Number of assortment presented on every market is different and depends on demand.

Supply Chain
The supply chain of our company consists of the following steps:

In the first step our design department start designing process. After that we acquire
materials, depending on the product to be made, like steel or cotton then our suppliers deliver
them to our factories where the materials are processed and we receive ready products. When
the products are prepared they are sent to our retail shops.
We use just-in-time model so we do not have to store materials and products for a long
time which allows us to constantly produce and sell.
Company Size
Production
Our company produces broadly understood

Profit
Profit is growing every year as well as the

sports equipment and apparel such as

turnover and in previous year we achieved

running shoes, swimming suits, golf clubs,

$ 5,800,000,000.

bikes, rollerblades and etc. More or less in

Turnover

our stores can be found almost everything

The turnover of our company is growing

necessary to almost every sport. In previous

sustainably since the establishment and by

year, 2010, in our factories 2,900,000,000

the end of the 2010 year it has reached

pieces of any kind of equipment or apparel

$ 48,730,000,000. This year is going to be

were produced. Compared to the year 2009

even better.

our production has grown by 7,5%.

Employees
Type of staff
We take care of every aspect of our business activity on our own, therefore, we hire
people for production, marketing, accountancy, sales, research & development and etc. We
need all kind of employees, for simple work at the production line as well as highly educated
specialists.
We are employing people from all around the world in our facilities. For now we have
around 135,000 employees. Great majority of our employees are production-line workers that
assembles products and supervises the production processes. Of course, we also employ
highly educated specialists in all segments of our operations and in management.
Mission
Spartas mission is to deliver highest quality sport equipment and apparel. We want to
bring inspiration and motivation to every person that might be interested in our products.
Our biggest priority is to produce our equipment according to highest standards and
with the lowest possible production of CO2, usage of carbon and production of waste.
5

Chapter 2:
Stakeholders Analysis

Table 1. Characteristics of stakeholders with regards to other significant criteria affecting the project/strategy/action
Implications for the strategy
Monitoring

Interests and expectations

Stakeholders

Characteristics of
stakeholders with regards to
significant criteria affecting
the strategy

Interests and goals of

individual stakeholders
Expectations with regards to
the strategy
The nature of impact on the
strategy (positive / negative)

1.
1.1
Shareholders

1.2
Executives

Interested
in
companys
performance because they
gain profits out of it. They
have the biggest power and
the authority within the
company.

They are the most important

inside the company and they
make the majority of
decisions. Sometimes their
earnings are related to
companys
results.
The
executive team affects whole
activity of the company. They
set goals for managers.

Available resources
Knowledge and experience
Potential input to the project

Means of cooperating with these

who are positively inclined
towards the strategy.
Means of dealing with these who
have a negative impact on the
strategy.

What was the real

stakeholder presence in
the strategy (to be
completed during the
implementation of the
strategy)

Major stakeholders

Interested in performance
that bring profits and their
expectations are that the
profits are big.
Positive

Interested in achieving goals

in order to satisfy executives
and their expectations are
that everything is done as
good as possible.
Positive

Strengths and weaknesses

Actions planned with regards

to stakeholders

They have the biggest power

in the company while they
do not control everything on
their own because they are
not on site all the time

As far as they have the biggest

power
they
decide
how
everything should look like and
everybody applies to their vision
or can leave the company.

Just
checks
if
everything is going in
a proper direction

Their strength is that they

make the most important
decisions. Their weakness is
that they carry the biggest
responsibility.

They have to adjust to the

shareholders
opinions
concerning implications for the
strategy and then explain it to the
rest of employees that will be
responsible for implementation.

All the time have to

control the progress of
implementation of the
strategy.

1.3
Management

1.4
Project team

1.5
Employees

They are responsible for

results achieved by the
company. Organize work and
assign projects to the rest of
the employees.

One of the most important

groups within the company
because they have direct
impact
on
companys
performance. If they develop
successful
product
they
receive bonuses so their
interest is to work well. Their
responsibility is to develop
new products and etc. If they
come up with more unique
products company gains
better competitive advantage.

Important group within the

company. Their attitude has
direct influence on how the
company is working.

Management is interested in
obtaining the best results.
Positive

Their expectations are that

they get interesting projects
to fulfil so they can show
their creativity.
Positive

Interested in stability of the

company. They want to be
sure that the company is
operating well to pay them
salaries on time as well as
high bonuses.
Positive

Their strength is that they

have impact on majority
processes.

Management Is dealing with the

most difficult task at this stage
because they can face negative
impact and they have to
overcome it so that they can
successfully implement the
strategy.

Is directly responsible
for the progress in
implementation, has to
how
are
their
subordinates dealing
with the tasks that they
have been assigned

The strength of the project

team is their important
position in the company and
their weakness is that they
can be easily replaced if they
do not perform well.

They are assigned to execute

management orders in the
process of implementing the
strategy.

May be supposed to
fulfil
some
tasks
related
to
implementation of new
strategy.

They are assigned to perform

management and project teams
orders.

They are responsible

for performing all nonmanagerial
duties
within the company.

Loyal, well-trained and

ambitious employees are
huge advantage for the
company.
Not effective employees
may
negatively
affect
performance.

Monitoring

Interests and expectations

Stakeholders

Characteristics of
stakeholders with regards to
significant criteria affecting
the strategy

Interests and goals of

individual stakeholders
Expectations with regards to
the strategy
The nature of impact on the
strategy (positive / negative)

Strengths and weaknesses

Available resources
Knowledge and experience
Potential input to the project

Implications for the strategy

Actions planned with regards
to stakeholders
Means of cooperating with these
who are positively inclined
towards the strategy.
Means of dealing with these who
have a negative impact on the
strategy.

What was the real

stakeholder presence in
the strategy (to be
completed during the
implementation of the
strategy)

Sparta will cooperate with

suppliers in order to guarantee
continuous supplies on better
terms.

They are responsible

for bringing needed
materials
and
resources.

Tightening cooperation in order

to maintain better quality of
designs.

They are responsible

for providing Sparta
with new designs for
our products.

Better financial analysis

every companys activities.

They are creditors of

majority
of
our
investment.

2. Secondary stakeholders:
2.1
Suppliers

2.2
External design companies

They are very important

stakeholders as they are
responsible for providing
materials needed for our
company to operate.

They are responsible for the

design process of our
products.

Their goal is to sell as much

as they can. But they also
want to have such a big
receiver.
Positive/Negative

Their goal is to gain more

and more orders. They
expect company to growth
simultaneously.
Positive

2.3
Financial institutions

They are creditors of Sparta

as well as partners during
financial transactions.

Their goal is to gain as

money
as
possible.
However, they want to keep
Sparta in good condition as
they prefer companies to pay
their interest on time.

Reliable suppliers are a great

addition to the company but
if we cant be sure of their
behaviour they might have
to be replaced.
They are very task oriented;
we do not have any
additional costs.
Quality of designs might be
insufficient
to
meet
management expectations.

They are very powerful with

great financial abilities.

for

Positive/Negative

2.4
Distributors

2.5
Retailers

They are responsible for the

allocation of goods and will
profit from the sale of these
products to retailers.

Retailers profit from the sale

of the products sold to them
by the distributors, therefore,
they want the company to
grow and expand.

It is in their best interest that

the company prospers so that
they can profit from the sale
of their products to retailers.
This is both their goal and
expectation.
Positive

Retailers are in the same

position as distributors,
however, they rely more on
the distributors than they
rely on Sparta.
They want to sell as many
products as possible in order
to generate a profit and
promote these goods.
Positive

They have contacts with

possible retailers which will
sell the products made by
Sparta
They
have
previous
knowledge and experience
connected with this type of
companies.
They can choose the right
type of retailers which will
promote the products and all
will prosper

Sparta will cooperate with the

distributors in order to expand
their business.

They are high on

list since they
responsible for
wellbeing
of
company

the
are
the
the

Retailers will sell Spartas

products to customers both
individual and corporate (gyms)
and will be responsible for most
of the profit generated.

Very high, therefore

Sparta needs to make
sure that retailers are
promoting, and selling
the products.

Retailers have both contacts

with advertising companies,
sport events, and can capture
the
attention
of
the
customers.
They
have
previous
knowledge and experience
which will allow them to
promote these products in
such a way that it will be
beneficial to all.
They may have many
contracts signed with rival
companies and may not want
to promote our products.

10

2.6
Sports entertainment
industry/ facilities

This whole industry is

affected by the products the
company produces. They
need for the innovation of
current sports equipment is
constantly growing and this
industry relies heavily on the
companys growth or decline

They rely on both the

retailers and distributors.
It is in their best interest to
buy
Spartas
products
because they are considered
fashionable and they will
profit from them.

They own all the gyms,

sporting events, etc. and will
have the most power over
customers.

This industry will majorly

influence customers in order to
buy Spartas products; therefore,
they need to be given a lot of
demonstration products in order
to be able to endorse our
products.

High position, Sparta

will need to spend
most of its assets on
these stakeholders.

We already have signed

contracts
with
several
manufacturers but SPARTA is
still searching for another ones
representing missing parts of our
sports equipment.

They have high level

of
importance
so
SPARTA has to pay
big
attention
in
selection process.

Positive

2.7
Manufacturers

They are responsible partly

for our entire outcome as they
are producing items that we
are about to sell.

Manufacturers goal is to be
our fixed product provider
and they keep in their
expectation that we will
increase our orders towards
them.
Positive

They use their knowledge

and technology to provide us
with their items. Then we
are expected to present the
product to the client and sell
it so the input in our project
is on high level.

11

Interests and expectations

Stakeholders

Characteristics of
stakeholders with
regards to
significant criteria
affecting the
strategy

Interests and goals of individual

stakeholders
Expectations with regards to the
strategy
The nature of impact on the strategy
(positive / negative)

Strengths and weaknesses

Available resources
Knowledge and experience
Potential input to the project

Implications for the strategy

Actions planned with
regards to stakeholders
Means of cooperating with
these who are positively
inclined towards the strategy.
Means of dealing with these
who have a negative impact
on the strategy.

Monitoring
What was the real
stakeholder presence
in the strategy (to be
completed during the
implementation of
the strategy)

3. Other stakeholders:

3.1
NGOs

3.2
Trade unions

3.3
Environmentalists

They are the response

for the initiatives
stated by companys
employees.

They are
taking
responsibility
for
defending The rights
of employees in their
workplace.

They are defending

the
environment
against possible bad
influence
of
the
company actions.

Their goal is answering to

initiatives stated by employees in
various areas of our business and
life.
Positive
In their interest is to defend
employees
against
company
Actions which are against stated
law regulations. Trade unions main
expectation is that the organization
will run all its actions according to
the applicable law.
Positive
Environmentalists will use various
resources, sometimes unexpected
and even shocking to achieve
their/nature rights. So if the
company is abiding environmental
regulations, they will be quickly
reported.
Negative/positive

NGOs
will
educate
SPARTAs employees in
various areas of interest (of
their choice).

Near the bottom of

the importance list of
stakeholders. They
do not possess any
legal
power
in
company.

With help of various actions

they are able to improve
Companys work atmosphere
and spread higher motivation
level because of assured well
treatment by the employer.

SPARTA will learn in practice

if any case of abiding
employee law will Take place.

Near the bottom of

the importance list of
stakeholders. They
do not possess any
legal
power
in
company.

As resources they use mostly

legal
and
governmental
institutions
in
case
of
knowledge and reaction. They
are able to decrease our sales
i.e. by creating strong campaign
against our organization if we
abide the environmental law.

SPARTA
is
going
to
implement save-the-trees plan
in which every year we want
to plant planned number of
trees in chosen region. Such
actions will keep good
relations between us and
environmentalists.

Near the bottom of

the importance list of
stakeholders. They
do not possess any
legal
power
in
company.

They contact and use various

resources depending on specific
goal that they are created for.

12

Table 2. Enterprise and its stakeholders mutual influences.

Internal stakeholders (insiders)
1.

Executives

2.

Management

3.

Project team

4.

Employees
External stakeholders (outsiders)
but connected with business

Stakeholders influence on enterprise

Make important decisions and set goals
They are the core of the company and are
responsible for its day to day activities
By developing products they create the image of
the company.
They are responsible for manufacture and all nonmanagerial work.
Stakeholders influence on enterprise
They are the owners so they influence everything
that happens within the company
They provide Sparta with materials and resources
needed for operating activity.
They provide Sparta with new designs of product
produced by Sparta.
They are creditors of Sparta as well as helping
them with other financial activities.
They might be stimulating power if company is
operating well and a problem when company faces
long-term financial problems.

Enterprises influence on
stakeholders
They have to commit a lot of their time
to control everything within company
They learn by tackling the obstacles.
They have to stick to companys
general trends and fashions.
They pay them salaries and provide
environment for work.
Enterprises influence on
stakeholders
Company earns money for its
shareholders.
They are the receiver of suppliers
products, greatly influencing their sales.
They are their customer, influencing
their revenue.

1.

Shareholders

2.

Suppliers

3.

External design companies

4.

Financial institutions

5.

Distributors

They sell the goods produced by the company to

retailers.

The products made by Sparta sold to

the distributors allow them make profits
by selling them to retailers.

6.

Retailers

They sell the products to the sport entertainment

industry/ facilities and customers which promote
the company and establish a reputation for Sparta.

Spartas sale of products to the

distributor then to the retailer allows the
retailer to make a profit and promote it.

Sparta by being their debtor pays the

interest.

13

They promote the goods made by Sparta.

They are able to expand with the

introduction of new products made by
the enterprise.

Customers

By choosing Sparta they advertise their products

and generate profit for the company.

Customers can enjoy high quality

products.

Manufacturers

They are responsible partly for our entire outcome

as they are producing items that we are about to
sell.

As their goal is to posses efficient client

(our company) SPARTA is negotiating
the best terms possible in contract.

External stakeholders (outsiders)

Stakeholders influence on enterprise

Enterprises influence on
stakeholders

NGOs

Their goal is answering to initiatives stated by

employees in various areas of our business and life.

SPARTA is able to negotiate possible

area of employees interest.

Trade unions

In their interest is to defend employees against

company actions which are against stated law
regulations. Trade unions main expectation is that
the organization will run all its actions according to
the applicable law.

Environmentalists

They are able to decrease our sales i.e. by creating

strong campaign against our organization if we
abide the environmental law.

7.

Sports entertainment industry/

facilities

8.

9.

1.

2.

3.

14

Table 3. Analysis of stakeholders and their interest

Source: the layout of the table has been based on: Brooks L.J., Dunn P., Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & accountants, South-Western CENSAGE
Learning, USA 2010, p. 211.

No.

1.

2.

Stakeholder

Legitimacy / Legal
influence
(Yes/No + comment)

Shareholders

Interested
in
companys
performance because they
gain profits out of it.

Yes
Formally they are the
owners.

Executives

They are the most important

inside the company and they
make
the
majority
of
decisions. Sometimes their
earnings are related to
companys results.

Yes
They are responsible for
everything that concerns
legal activities. If they
commit a crime in which
the whole company is
involved they take full
responsibility.

Management
3.

Interest

They are responsible for

results achieved by the
company. Organize work and
assign projects to the rest of
the employees.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Power to affect co.

(Yes/No + comment)
Yes
They have impact on every
crucial decision.

Yes
The executive team affects
whole activity of the
company. They set goals for
managers.

Yes
Managers execute orders of
the executive board and
coordinate the work of their
subordinates.

Urgency of claim
(Low/Medium/High +
comment)

Primary or
secondary

Rank of
importance:

High
They seek the best companies
that provide biggest profits so it
is important for them that the
company performs well.

Primary

High
If company is successful they
become famous because they
are responsible for almost
everything in that certain
business entity.

Primary

Primary

High
Want to perform well to achieve
outstanding results and make
the best careers.

15

4.

6.

7.

8.

Project teams

One of the most important

groups within the company
because they have direct
impact
on
companys
performance. If they develop
successful
product
they
receive bonuses so their
interest is to work well.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Yes
Their responsibility is to
develop new products and
etc. If they come up with
more
unique
products
company
gains
better
competitive advantage.

Employees

Interested
in
companys
performance and existence as
it is source of their salary.

No
They do not have eligible
power for legal influence
in the company.

Yes
Their productivity, loyalty
and commitment directly
affect results of the company.

Suppliers

They are business partners that

are partly dependant on our
actions.

No
They do not have legal
influence
on
the
companys action.

External design
companies

They are business partners that

are partly dependant on our
actions.

No
They do not have legal
influence
on
the
companys action.

Yes
Lack in supply or changes in
prices
may
disrupt
companys performance.
Yes
Majority of design project
come from external design
companies. Lack of good
projects affect process of
creation of new items.

Financial
institutions

They are interested in our

performance as they usually
are our creditors or are
directly
involved
in
transactions made by our
company.

No
They do not have legal
influence.

Yes
Every
company
need
financing, our is not an
exception

Medium
Working on projects and
developing new products or
processes can be satisfying but
they still try to perform as good
as they can.

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Medium
They are partly dependant
however they can also have
other clients.

Secondary

High
As the creditors they have high
urgency of claim.

Secondary

Medium
They are committed to the
company and want to perform
as good as possible but it
depends on the position in
hierarchy and perspectives for
promotion.
Medium
They are partly dependant
however they can also have
other receivers.

16

No
No

9.

Distributors

They are responsible for the

allocation of goods and will
profit from the sale of these
products to retailers.

They may have a contract

signed with the company;
however, they do not have
power
over
the
corporation.

No

10.

11.

Retailers

Retailers profit from the sale

of the products sold to them
by the distributors, therefore,
they want the company to
grow and expand.

They are in a similar

situation
as
the
distributors. They dont
have any influence over
the company.

No

Sports
entertainment
industry/facilities

This whole industry is affected

by the products the company
produces. They need for the
innovation of current sports
equipment
is
constantly
growing and this industry
relies
heavily
on
the
companys growth or decline

They rely on the companys

products and therefore cannot
influence them to change
them. They may inform them
which products are most
profitable but overall they
cannot change anything.

Distributors rely on business

with the company; however,
they have the ability to work
with other corporations.

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Medium
No
They can guide the company
in the production process by
giving information of the
most profitable products but
that information usually
travels to the distributors.

Retailers may choose to work

with other companies, however,
it is in their best interest that the
company does well because
they will profit from the sales of
their products.

Low
Yes

The whole industry has

very little impact on the
company; however, they
desire to be the major
stakeholders
of
the
company.

Medium

As the company produces

goods for this industry they
rely on their input and
demand.

The urgency of claim depends

on the sector of the industry (the
need for cooperation), however,
overall they have the ability to
choose all companies which
provide products and services
for this sector

17

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Customers

Customers interest in the

company depends on how
known the goods they produce
are. Unfortunately, usually
they are neutral.

Yes
Customers do not have
the power to influence the
company; however, they
are legally bound once
they
purchase
their
product and sign a
warranty card.

NGO's

They are the response for the

initiatives
stated
by
companys employees.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Trade unions

They are taking responsibility

for defending the rights of
employees in their workplace.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Environmentalists

They are defending the

environment against possible
bad influence of the company
actions.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Manufacturers

They are quite highly

responsible for our outcome as
they are producing items that
we are about to sell.

No
They do not have direct
impact on legal decisions
taken by the company.

Yes
In terms of the production of
goods, they are the target
group of Sparta.

No
They can only support i.e.
development of company
structure or employees selfdevelopment.
No
They cannot force their
decision directly but are able
to gather sources that have
such
power
(i.e.
governmental)
No
They cannot force their
decision directly but are able
to gather sources that have
such
power
(i.e.
governmental)
Yes/No
Most likely, we are able to
change our manufacturers if
we are not satisfied with their
imposed conditions. If not
we can say that the company
is partly dependent on the
manufacturer.

Low
They also have the ability to
choose all other brands, thus
they do not need to be
acknowledge as a stakeholder.

Secondary

Low

Secondary

Low

Secondary

Low

Secondary

Medium

Secondary

18

Chapter 3:
Risks of unethical behaviors and social problems linked with
companys activities

19

Risks of unethical behaviors

Top management:
In area of top management we can face i.e. problems connected with communication. This
issue can cause a lot of losses that would be effect of misunderstandings between departments,
managers, employees etc. Furthermore, higher postholders can take advantages of resources and
information they possess to achieve their own goals with no respect to the company or law regulations.
As this part is highly important, we have to implement such work structure that will minimize ability
of law violations and increase communicativeness between employees and among all departments in
the company.

Research and development:

In the area of research and development and laboratories, our company may face certain
unethical behaviors such as the researchers finding out that the substances used in the products are
harmful and keeping it from us. This can have a strong negative impact on the well being of our
company. When it comes out, we as a company will have a terrible reputation, environmentalists will
protest, and we will lose a lot of our revenues.

Finance:
In the field of finance we can face unethical behaviors like frauds or cheating in accounting
books. These actions are especially dangerous and may lead the company to serious problems and later
attention in medias and penal consequences. The impact of such actions is huge and hard but also it is
hard to measure as it depends on range of possible abuses.

Production:
Unethical behaviors connected with production may be stealing products by employees as well
as too high pollution of air, water or ground. It is very important to be aware of how the production
lines are operating and monitor their environmental conformance with newest standards. The impact
of not monitoring the production lines may be significant and may lead a company to serious
problems.

20

Legal regulations:
In area of legal regulation, which has medium/high importance, situation where employees are being
treated with no respect to binding labor law is the most common one. Such worker may be wrongly
punished, work for long hours with no extra pay, have incorrect working conditions etc. To discourage
such behavior we would not only implement system that would monitor violations in this area but also
educate managers and higher staff about bad outcomes will appear from such treatment towards
employees.

Transportation:
As far as we are using our own transportation system we can face many types of unethical behavior.
One of the biggest and also the simplest problems might be the situation when our employees would
be using the company's cars for their own purposes. It is very difficult and expensive to control every
car and every driver. We should install a tracking device which is not cheap. However, we estimated
that the impact of this situation is not bringing us losses on the level of costs which we would have to
incur in order to place GPS tracking system in each car.

Marketing:
We are using an external agency, which works with our marketing department, to create and execute
marketing campaigns for us. They might want to use such relationship for their own benefit or they
might come up with advertisements that will be found as offensive or unethical. All in all, the public
will blame us for releasing such campaign. So we have to be very careful and absolutely control what
that other company does.

Human resources:
When dealing with Human Resource Management, the company may deal with classical issues such
as sexual harassment, mobbing, gender discrimination, and so on. This has a medium/high influence
on the company as it will definitely cause problems in the workplace, but when such a conflict may
occur the victim may allow the media to interfere and the reputation of our company will once again
be tarnished.

21

PR:
Image of the company has great importance, and that is why PR section is being used often to lie away
companys reputation. Rivals or employees which left their workplace can create fake, false image of
the company and spread it all over the media, especially in the internet. In this case we can only
constantly monitor rumors and develop our own PR department which will reach mostly respected
media.

Storage:
Considering storage of our goods (low/medium importance), we would focus on the high warehousing
quality to keep the finest excellence of goods. In that way, we will spend some extra cash but save a
lot of it when it comes to possible fines imposed, company image rebuilding process, receiving
products back on client guarantee conditions etc.

Safety of information:
In terms of safety of information, possible unethical behaviors may be employees that steals important
and confidential data. There might be also external data leaks performed by hackers. The impact might
be very significant. Confidential information about e.g. production processes may lead to losing
competitive advantage over our competitors.

Contact with customers:

In our company people responsible for contacts with clients play a very significant role and any kind
of unethical behavior from their side will affect the image of the whole enterprise. For example when
one of our sales people will try to sell old and unfashionable stock of products or someone will
deliberately delude a customer; such situation can be discovered by the media and they will write an
unfavorable article about our practices.

Health and safety:

As we are a company which believes in saving the environment, we should definitely stay away from
potential threats to that idea. In the area of health and safety/environmental protection we may fail and
our products may contain harmful substances and our wastes may end up being dumped into local
bodies of water. This has to be controlled by choosing the right companies who deal with such things.
If we do not do that we will surely face strikes and protests by environmentalists or employees and this
will probably cause a halt in the production of our goods and definitely the sale of them.

22

Social problems linked with companys activities

Social problems which are most likely to occur in our company are environmental conflicts as
well as problems in hierarchy. If we choose to ignore unethical behaviors that deal with the pollution
or deterioration of the environment we will be attacked by not only NGOs and environmentalists but
also by the public.
Also, if we do not address issues that may arise in the organization, e.g. racism, sexual
harassment, gender discrimination, etc., we may be sued which will lead to the loss of clients and
investors and in the most dramatic scenario, the depletion of our assets and bankruptcy. This is why
we pay so much attention to interpersonal relationships within our company, thus staying away from
the creation of a hostile environment; also we focus on creating the best products and services for our
clientele.

Conclusions from the analysis

Summing up all the areas covered by the analysis, we are able to distinguish several key
ethical and social problems.
One of them can be need for working system that will minimize ability of managers to use
resources and information given by the company to achieve their own goals and by doing so, expose
company to losses.
Second would be issue that is mix of two areas top management and human resources.
Organization needs to educate all its employees to identify situation in which sexual harassment,
mobbing, gender discrimination etc. appears, acknowledge where it can be reported and what are the
legal consequences of such behavior.
Third crucial area is also finance. Without proper accounting standards we may encounter not
only problems with operating the company but also legal issues. Without problems in the financial
areas we may then gently proceed to other areas.

23

Chapter 4:
CSR Strategy

24

Problem:
Recently, we have developed an almost perfect shoe. It had attractive design, it was very
comfortable and the sales were absolutely terrific. However, not a long time after the launch customers
started to complain that the shoes are giving them a nasty rash. We are afraid of losing clients,
companys image and the money.

Goal:
To solve the problem of the shoes giving customers a rash by recalling the products, fixing the
production line and showing the public that we care. We have to act before the image of our company
will be completely ruined. First step, calling the press conference, should be taken within 10 days.

Objectives:
As a company we want to show that we care about our customers and that we want to fix this
unfortunate situation by taking the necessary steps to ensure the public that such a problem will never
occur again. Because of this situation, we also want to establish a plan to implement additional tests to
the future production of our goods.

Actions:
The plan of Sparta is to find the entity responsible for the problem and hold a press
conference, not to slander, but to inform the public about the problem. This will cause an immediate
recall on the shoes and we will work on adjusting the shoes. Once we double check that the shoes do
not have any toxic materials, we will send them to our clients with an apology note.

Steps:
The first thing that our company has to do is research the entity responsible and what
substance is the cause of the problem. We will then implement immediate adjustments while shutting
down the production of smaller products. Next we will inform the public about the problem and that
we have already started to work on a solution. This will lead us to the creation of exchange points in
our retailers stores and hiring a special team which will take care of the returns and provide our
clients with a new pair of shoes once the problem is fixed. We will then plan a testing system for
future production to ensure that such a problem will never happen again, and we will also create a
survey on our website where clients will be able to give their feedback. In order to measure the success
of our actions, we will also plan an evaluation strategy.

25

Gantt chart:

26

Budget:

PRODUCTION COSTS
planned
WITH
REACTION
WITHOUT
REACTION

35 000 000,00
EUR
35 000 000,00
EUR

before-case
predicitons

after-case
adjustments

tv
commercials

10 000 000,00
EUR

2 000 000,00
EUR
2 000 000,00
EUR

MARKETING COSTS
sporting
billboard
facilities indoor
commercials
promotion
750 000,00
500 000,00
EUR
EUR
750 000,00
500 000,00
EUR
EUR

PREDICTED SALES
predicted
guarantee
sales
returns
decrease

after-case
extra
expenditures
500 000,00
EUR
-

IN COURT CASES
adjustments
caused by sales
decrease

Reserve held

WITH
REACTION

100 000 000,00

EUR

8 000 000,00
EUR

20%

20 000 000,00
EUR

10 000 000,00
EUR

WITHOUT
REACTION

100 000 000,00

EUR

8 000 000,00
EUR

60%

60 000 000,00
EUR

INCOME
total
WITH
REACTION
WITHOUT
REACTION

23 250 000,00
EUR
-6 250 000,00
EUR

27