1-4 Consulting Report: CSR Role Model
LaKisha R. Harris
Southern New Hampshire University
MBA 500: Building Business Leaders 24TW3
Instructor Stephen Molchan, MST, EA
March 2, 2024
2
Consulting Report
Apple Inc.: Organizational Structure, Management Style, and CSR Strategies
The aim of this report is to analyze the management philosophy of Apple Inc., including its CSR initiatives and organizational structure, with respect to helping ABC Beauty make adjustments to various functional areas believed to need improvement or restructuring.
The report examines Apple Inc. to understand how its numerous divisions and teams work seamlessly in achieving both its operational and strategic objectives. The analysis also covers Apple Inc.’s management strategies and assesses their impact on its overall growth and success. The report also assesses Apple Inc.’s CSR practices and contribution to the environmental sustainability drive. Apple Inc.’s initially indicated, the ultimate goal is to improve ABC Beauty’s CSR performance by applying lessons learned from examining Apple Inc.’s CSR initiatives.
Functional Areas
Apple’s matrix structure is divided into functional sections, each with its own distinct
role. The design team conceptualizes and implements the company’s vision by producing highquality, aesthetically appealing products, whilst the engineering team ensures that the device’s
hardware and software meet Apple’s stringent quality and reliability requirements. The
marketing section enhances brand image via a range of mediums. Apple uses cutting-edge
marketing techniques, such as the now-iconic “Think Different” campaign, to solidify its position
as an industry leader. Apple’s operations team oversees the whole manufacturing, supply chain,
and logistics process, ensuring that all of the company’s items are delivered to customers on
schedule and at a reasonable cost.
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Achieving Strategic and Operational Goals
Apple uses a functional structure involving experts leading in specific core functional
units. Rather than organizing functions into product-based business units as many companies do,
Apple Inc. runs semi-autonomous departments with decision-making authority within their
domains. Examples of departments undertaking core functions at the company that are structured
to operate independently include Hardware Engineering, Industrial Design, and Software
Engineering. Apple Inc. ensures collaboration and seamless task flow across its semiindependent departments through superior pipelines for shared data entrenched in regular
reporting and accountability for decisions made at the departmental level.
Apple’s competitive advantage is derived from a number of factors that work together to
provide the firm an edge in the marketplace. This technique separates the firm from its
competitors, who usually fail to create products that are both simple to use and visually
appealing. Apple has built an ecosystem of software, hardware, and services that work together
to deliver a rare user experience in line with the company’s design ethos. Given this ecosystem,
the company has a loyal customer base and a high entry barrier (Primavesi, 2022). Based on the
research, ABC Beauty has the ability to apply Apple’s ideal tactics, which involve a host of best
practices, including:
1. Establishing a high-quality and engaging customer experience across physical retail
locations and digital platforms.
2. When adopting CSR, it is encouraged to address societal and environmental problems,
such as reducing carbon emissions, campaigning for inclusion, and using sustainable
energy sources (Carson, 2020).
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Conclusion
In the end, by implementing the above best practices, our company strengthens its
structure of operations and the quality of its customer service, as well as has a beneficial
influence on the future. Businesses that stress social and environmental Responsibility increase
brand credibility and assure long-term success.
References
Carson, S. G. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as Social Legitimacy Management.
Handbook of Business Legitimacy, pp. 897–906. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-146221_60
Primavesi, C. (2022). Analyzing the sustainability of Apple’s competitive advantage (Doctoral
dissertation).
Yazid, A. S. (2020). The mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the relationship between
corporate social responsibility and customer loyalty. Journal of Advanced Research in
Dynamical and Control Systems, 24(4), 299–309.
https://doi.org/10.5373/jardcs/v12i4/20201444
Overview
As you get ready to review and analyze the financial performance of the
company you work for in Project Two, it would be helpful to analyze
another company and learn from their business model, especially related
to corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, and activism.
Therefore, you will review Patagonia’s activism and corporate social
responsibility initiatives and identify potential key financial performance
indicators (KPIs).
Because Patagonia is a privately held company, its financial records are
not available in the public domain. So, you are required to analyze the
mission, vision, values, CSR initiatives, and financial records of the
health and beauty company as well as the company you chose in
Module One. You will then deduce which financial key performance
indicators likely align with a company’s mission, vision, values, and CSR
initiatives.
Prompt
To complete this assignment:
1. Review the resources you will be using in Project Two: Assessing
Financial Performance.
• Marketing and sales executive summary
• Vision, mission, and values of your company
• Consolidated balance sheet of your company
• Consolidated cash flow statement of your company
• Consolidated income statement of your company
• Balance sheet of your chosen company
• Cash flow statement of your chosen company
Income statement of your chosen company
2. Review information related to Patagonia’s corporate social
responsibility and activism, as well as their mission, vision, and values.
Use the following resources to help guide your research:
• WileyPlus: Patagonia Case Analysis
• Patagonia’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Activism
• Patagonia—Our Footprint
• Patagonia—Mission, Vision, Values
3. Based on your review of the financial records of the health and beauty
company as well as the company you chose in Module One,
identify common financial KPIs and explain how these could also
align with Patagonia’s CSR initiatives and its mission, vision, and
values.
4. Based on your review of Patagonia’s information, describe how CSR
activism can lead to a better brand image and financial results.
5. Explain what the health and beauty company could do to incorporate
CSR activism strategies to meet its own KPIs.
•
What to Submit
In a Word document, use double-spacing, 12-point Times New Roman
font, and one-inch margins. This consulting report should be 2 pages in
length and include references cited in APA format. Consult the Shapiro
Library APA Style Guide for more information on citations.
When a business shifts its strategic focus, it often must address legal
and ethical concerns before it can operationalize its plan. This is
because organizations are mandated to operate within legal frameworks
and ethical considerations set by various authorities.
You are now in a similar situation.
While you completed the KPI analysis, the company’s legal team
reviewed the same set of documents to identify and address any legal or
ethical concerns.
The CEO has forwarded you a memo from the legal team that discusses
these legal and ethical concerns. Changes in the plan must be made to
address these issues. Without these changes, the legal team will not
approve the marketing and sales proposal.
Communication received from a legal department is not always easy for
someone outside the field to interpret. Therefore, you must review
legalese language carefully to isolate the key issues and concerns.
Prompt
Your task is to respond to legal and ethical concerns raised by your
company’s legal team. Include the following criteria:
1. Review the following resources you will be using in Project Three:
Applying Ethical and Legal Frameworks:
o Memo from Legal Department
2. Identify one legal and one ethical issue raised by the legal
team. Remember you need to isolate the issues from the legalese.
3. Develop a recommendation that addresses both the legal and
ethical issues you have identified.
o
What do you intend to recommend? Explain your reasoning. Please
use the links found in the Memo from Legal Department as research
sources for citations.
What to Submit
Using the Project Three Milestone Response Memo Template, draft a
memo that is 1- to 2-pages in length, and include references cited in
APA format. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more
information on citations.