Business Management - Corporate Social Responsibility at IKEA Essay

Business Management - Corporate Social Responsibility at IKEA - Essay Example This is the great social welfare of the society.As one of Ikea’s executive says about Kamprad â€Å"He focuses on the human. What motivates Ingvar Kamprad is not profit alone but improving the quality of life of people†. The company has demonstrated this through a supply of products which have global acceptance as they fit the diverse socio-cultural aspects of any market segment in the various countries of operation. Kamprad who is the founder of the firm takes personal initiative to meet employees and clients face to face before holding a participatory decision meeting with the management. This Ikea’s customer-focused products requires the complete involvement of the staff, suppliers, and other stakeholders and this explains its centralized management and a well-coordinated international marketing and franchised entities under its name. The interest of the society is taken into consideration by the company from its evident global appeal and its founder’s less bureaucracy style of leadership for efficiency and quality. The increasing call for social responsibility of Ikea in terms of environmental care has seen it reorganize its management strategy and overall objective. There are several complaints brought against the global operation of Ikea and of central concern is the child labor which some of its subsidiaries in India are involved in. The international trade regulations and the general expectation of the society are to keep children out of labor. It is therefore evident that the child labor case in India which is an associate of Ikea significantly tainted its reputation and overall sales revenue. This is an act perceived as exploitation and its effect on the company’s image has considerable drawbacks in its market performance (Coombs & Holladay, 2012, pg63).