Find out about Marks ans spencer and its competitors to write a review Essay

Find out about Marks ans spencer and its competitors to write a review of the company's environmental management - Essay Example The region is populated with an estimated 5.3 billion of populace based with 84% of them are located in urban centers (Index Mundi, 2013, p. 1). The presence of these diverse and multicultural consumers and its relative economic affluence compared to other emerging countries, are opportunities for business chain to undertake corporate operation. Mark and Spencer sell clothes, food, home needs, and other products, has it main center based in UK and has varied offshore operations including chains in advanced countries. The company relies on its core corporate values: quality, value, service, innovation and trust (M & S, 2012a, p. 2). Its subsidiary company at UK also contributed to the ? 9.9 bn group revenue in 2012, underlying group operating profit of ? 810.0 m. As a leading retailer, it sourced its products responsibly from 2,000 suppliers globally (M & S, 2012a, p. 2). Central to its business operation since 2007 is the drive to address ecological concerns and social inequities by upholding a healthier and sustainable lifestyle (M & S, 2012b, p. 1). The company prided of integrating sustainability in managing its business by providing such framework of governance that is focused on environmental management systems (M & S, 2012b, p. 1). What is environmental management system? The US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) defined Environmental Management System (EMS) as a quality control mechanism designed to enable an organization to practice set of rules and behaviors that will reduce and mitigate environmental destruction to scale up its operating efficiency (p. 1). Such framework encourages companies to attain environmental objectives by employing environmental plans, goals, and protectionism campaigns as part of its operational mandates in management, for customers, for human resources, including its suppliers (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This extols the assumption that employing environmental management control will likewise gain social acceptance and hence impr ove the corporate financial sustainability of the organization (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This is also presumed that the EMS is also aligned and is consistent to company’s goals and business practices (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). Experts likewise posit that this internal and external regulatory approach requires stringent compliance to reduce risks, hazards, and to ensure cost-efficient business operation (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). This is also to address the call of our times amid the devastating impact of climate change and the need to respond for ecological protection (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). It also provided remedies to unregulated issues like problems on energy conservation, quality operational control and the importance of corporate stewardship (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). Thus under this framework, the company develops its own environmental goals based on ecological and legal basis; form its own environmental objectives, increase employees competence. EPA encourages company to have an environmental p olicy as its foundational plan to attain targeted environmental performance and outcomes (USEPA, 2013, p. 1). These blue prints are implemented and became subject of an evaluation at the end of every cycle of to determine it has improve its corporate social relations, it is has positively impacted

THE BP OIL SPILL IN MEXICAN GULF 2010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

THE BP OIL SPILL IN MEXICAN GULF 2010 - Essay Example A crisis refers to an undesirable and unfortunate position that a business finds itself in, and which poses a great threat to the organization (Benoit, 1995). The value of communication in any company is very important, and this importance cannot be understated. The major concept of this work is crisis management, and will employ a special focus on the BP oil company, and the oil spillage crisis of 2010. It shall take keen interest on how well, or otherwise, the crisis was handled by the company. Two theories are important in this work. First is the structural function systems theory which provides an in depth insight in crisis management. It implies that those companies that have a very effective information and communication model are more likely to succeed in crisis management (Lightstone and Driscoll, 2008). The second theory, the diffusion innovation theory, which is a widely applied theory, helps to structure the framework of this work, theoretically. It shows how businesses co mmunicate and disseminate information through specified networks, or after a period of time which results to consistency (Hooghiemstra, 2000). Accounting theories lay great value in communication, and sets up assumptions, methodology and frameworks, to ensure timely, reliable, efficient and consistent information (Islam and Deegan, 2010). The crisis that BP found itself in was a great test to the company’s reputation, which has taken many years to build. The case The case study chosen, in this context is about BP oil spill in the Mexican Gulf in 2010. BP Ltd has operation sin over eighty companies. Statistics reveal that in 2012, it was the fifth largest company in terms of market share, and has over 87, 000 employees globally (BP, 2010). According to this report, on the morning of 20th April 2010, there was a huge explosion at the Macondo Prospect. A drilling rig had exploded, which resulted to the death of eleven people and seventeen others being injured. This was the worst marine accident in the oil industry, which put the reputation of the company at stake. The BP Company addressed the issue through several press releases, interviews, updates via new media including Facebook and Twitter and also through their annual financial report. The use of these means can be attributed to several accounting theories including the stakeholders and legitimacy theory, the systems oriented theory and the positive accounting theory, which will be discussed in the methodology section. Data After the accident, the company CEO, Tony Hayward, was interviewed by several media houses. In the interview, he consoled the family of the bereaved and the injured. The company also issued press releases regarding the accident. The press releases thereafter were released after a period of time, and each of it gave updates about the accident. For instance, between the day of the accident and the beginning of the year 2011, the company had released about thirty or more press release s on the same issue (Landau, 2001). New media has also boosted communication. The company therefore took its chances and continued to communicate via Facebook and twitter, updating all recent developments and photos of the progressing work. The other disclosure vehicle chosen was the annual report of 2010. In this, the chairman, Carl Henric Sanberg addressed the issue. In the same report, there is a summary of the accident, and a detailed explanation of what has been done, and what continues to be done (BP, 2010). The vehicles chosen for corporate analysis in this particular crisis were effective, though not fully. Methodology The