Discussion - Global Sustainability
Our topic this week is the debate on sustainability and for this course, we look at it from the role of a multinational and the role of the global marketing manager. The Multimedia page for this week includes links to two shorts videos, each with a different international take on sustainability or a subtopic. Please view each.
The first is a quite passionate (2006) video by Anita Roddick founder of The Body Shop and one of Britain's most successful global retailers) takes a hash view of the state of corporate responsibility - which is the underpinning justification for corporate sustainability.
The second is a 2009 view from Coca Cola which takes quite a different perspective than Ms. Roddick. Muhtar Kent argues it makes good business sense to take care of the environment. "Doing well by doing good." He also argues Coke is likely the most local of global companies and that local sustainability is critical. (Be sure and listen to segment 10 - though all the segments are interesting.)
Having reviewed these two perspectives, do some research on your own on this debate: Has global sustainability/responsibility been hijacked as a corporate message to make money, or rather, it is in the best of the company to back global sustainability regardless of the philanthropic aspect? Post the results of your research to the discussion board along with a citation to the source.
http://www.globalissues.org/video/733/anita-roddick-corporate-social-responsibility
http://fora.tv/2009/01/29/The_Global_Compact_Creating_Sustainable_Markets#chapter_10
MICROSOFT WORD, APA FORMAT, SCHOLARLY REVIEWED CITATIONS.