Note: the basic factors of production in the Nike Corporation, are the employees, any decision that affects their wellbeing affects the general productivity of the firm. However, culture has been established to be one major determinant of the type of decisions people make, this mind map, therefore, seeks to find out how the diversity of cultures globally has led to the rise of labor problems within the Nike corporation.
Introduction
Nike Corporation is an American public company. It is a manufacturer of clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment among others. Its products are traded in major markets worldwide and it is reputed for the high quality of the products it manufactures. The firm is headquartered in Oregon, Washington County in the United States of America. The fact that is has international presence implies that it produces and sells its products in bulk and to achieve this, the firm has millions of employees both in the United States of America and in other countries within which it has branches.
Just like any other firm with employees, Nike is, compelled to handle its employees as per the employee regulations policies in the countries within which it operates. Given differing demographic, social, political, and economic factors within these countries, the firm has had several labor problems with employees of the firm opting for industrial actions in some of the Asian countries within which the branches of the firm are situated. The discourse below analyzes some of the forces of the business environment that lead to the rise of such diverse labor problems.
Cause of labor problems relationship
- Code of conduct: this is basically how employees are required to carry themselves out while at the workplace (Ollapally, A & Bhatnagar J, 2009). It becomes a source of conflict should employees feel oppressed by the very codes.
- Remuneration: Money is the biggest incentive and motivator to employees, underpaid employees are slow at work and are normally not very productive, this is brought about by lack of appreciation that they feel.
- Social security, an employer that secures the future of her employees will always have the highest levels of productivity. This is normally used by employers as an incentive too.
- Terms of employment: these are the basics upon which one is hired. They encompass all the above and are normally provided by the management. A firm with humane terms offers better working environments and this results in more productivity of the employees.
Alexandria, S. (2008) defines culture as to how people live their lives encompassing such fundamental aspects of life as education, how people dress, worship, and even eat. Culture is, therefore, a very important factor that affects the operations of the Nike Corporation and the source of all the labor-related strives in the firm.
Political factors form the basis within which a country’s economic viability is measured. A politically stable country has peace and sound-minded leaders who would formulate policies that enhance growth and foreign investment. Nike is a foreign investor in several countries; in selecting the countries within which to operate, the firm analyzes the policies of the region and political stability. Instability leads to strife and employees would not work peacefully in such a country. Furthermore, the frequent political riots would lead to complete loss of the investments in case of vandalism. This explains why the Nike Corporation is only found in South Africa in the entire African continent.
Effects of labor problems relationship
The effects of labor problems are severe and depending on how the management responds to them, they can cause a complete stall to the firm’s operations. some of these effects include:
- Low productivity, is brought about by the fact that lots of productive time are wasted as employees take industrial actions.
- Low revenue, with a reduced level of production, the sale of the firm’s products is hampered with.
- Low rates of remuneration, the low revenue for the firm would translate into the employees earn less than they had previously earned.
- The slower pace of development, the entire society within which the firm exists depends on the company for survival. When the company performs poorly, the entire community’s economy feels the pinch.
The production of sports apparel and other wares is greatly influenced by culture, certain sports are not appreciated by certain people and this affects the sale of their products. The amount of customers that the firm gets influences its revenue. With more customers, the firm would collect more revenue and with increased revenue collection, the pay that the firm gives its employees would also be increased. Thomas, H, David, and Michael, C. (2001) offers that remuneration is always the cause of either satisfaction or dissatisfaction at workplaces, with satisfying salaries, instances of strife and industrial actions would not occur and the firm would stay productive for longer (O’Leary, B. & Weathington, B. 2006).
Conclusion
In retrospect, culture forms the backbone of the society and the survival of every business are consequently pegged on the type of culture that society embraces. Sound cultures result in sound political systems (Bernard, 2007). With peace and tranquility businesses thrive, the businesses directly sustain themselves and the cycle of existence continues.
References
Alexandria, S. (2008). Nike profit up but shares tumble on US concerns. Reuters. Web.
Bernard, K. (2007). Structural Fighting: Strategies and Tactics. New York: Springer.
Ollapally, A &Bhatnagar, J. (2009). The Holistic Approach to Diversity Management: HR Implications, The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, January, 44(3), 454-472.
O’Leary, B. & Weathington, B. (2006). Beyond the Business Case for Diversity in Organisations, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 18(4), 1-10.
Thomas, H, D. and Michael, C. (2001). Successful Management Projects. Oxford: OUP.