Posts Tagged ‘Definitions’
According to Horrigan (2010) there is no widespread definition of CSR due to the high levels of ambiguity and controversy associated with the topic. It has to be noted that “virtually all definitions of CSR include the notion that business firms (i.e., corporations) have obligations toward society beyond their economic obligations to shareholders” (Schwartz, 2011, p.19) Nevertheless, CSR definition that captures the main aspects of the term can be proposed as “corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on the environment and impact on social welfare” (Investopedia, 2013, online). Additionally, the following definitions of CSR have been proposed by different authors: “how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society” (Baker, 2004) “continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large” (World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hopkins, 2007) additional responsibilities of businesses to local and wider communities apart from its core responsibility of profit maximisation (Simpson and Taylor, 2013) References Baker, M. (2004) “Corporate Social Responsibility – What does it mean?” Available at: http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.php Corporate Social Responsibility (2013) Investopedia, Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp#axzz2A54oj5IY Horrigan., B. (2010) Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century: Debates, Models and Practices Across Government, Law and Business, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK Schwartz, M.S. (2011) “Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach” Broadview Press, USA Simpson, J. & Taylor, J.R. (2013) “Corporate Governance Ethics and CSR” Kogan Page
October 29, 2013
By John Dudovskiy
Category: Corporate Social Responsibility
Tags: Definitions, Ethics
The origin of the term of ‘communication’ is linked to the Latin word of ‘communis’ that means common. There are many definitions of communication. One of the most comprehensive definitions of communication can be proposed as “the process of creating meaning between two or more people through the expression and interpretation of messages” (Cleary, 2008, p.xii). In simple terms, communication can be defined as a process in which a message is encoded by a sender and passed to receiver through certain channels, or order for the message to be decoded. Adppted from: Anthony Wanis-St.John’s “Communication and Negotiation” References Cleary, S. (2008) “Communication: A Hands-on Approach” Juta
The term advertising can be defined as “communication of a message to the public, that message being designed to achieve an objective; the objective will vary, depending on whether the advertisement serves a business or a public purpose” (Firestone, 1968, p.1). References Firestone, O.J. (1968) “The Economic Implications of Advertising” Institute of Canadian Advertising
The structure of an organisation is a formal framework for making decision through which division; coordination and grouping of tasks are done. It defines the organization units and policies explicitly and states the procedures and objectives of the organization. A representation of the organisational structure can be done using a chart which shows relationship between different jobs, departments and leaders. The structure of an organization shows the hierarchy in responsibility and management of the organisation. It is essential for management during implementation of changes to an organization and acts as a guide to new recruits in the organization.
The term of brand can be defined as “a physical labelling of products, so that consumers are able to identify which firm produces which goods or services” (Soto, 2008, p.8). Alternatively, brand can be defined as “a seller’s promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits and services consistent to the buyers” (Kotler et al., 2001, p.188). References Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J. and Wong, V. (2001) “Principal of Marketing”, (3rd ed.) Harlow Pearson Education Limited. Soto, T.J. (2008) “Methods for Assessing Brand Value: A Comparison Between the Interbrand Model and the BBDO’s Brand Equity Evaluator Model” Diplomica Verlag
Marketing can be explained as a “set of instructions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (Boone and Kurtz, 2013, p.7). The following alternatives of marketing definition have been offered by various authors: “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably” (Shaw, 2007, p.1) “an organisational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders” (Ferrell and Hartline, 2010, p.8). References Boone, L.E. & Kurtz, D.L. (2013) “Contemporary Marketing” Cengage Learning Ferrell, O.C. & Hartline, M. (2010) “Marketing Strategy” Cengage Learning Shaw, S. (2007) “Airline Marketing and Management”, Ashgate Publishing
Web analytics can be defined as “the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from your website and the competition, to drive a continual improvement of the online experience that your customers, and potential customers have, which translates into your desired outcomes” (Kaushik, 2009, p.5). In simple terms, web analytics relates to assessment and analysis of internet data in order to understand the pattern of usage of a website. Starting from recently web analytics is also being referred to as data analytics to highlight the role of data and intelligence in analyses. Web analytics can be divided into two groups: onsite and offsite. Onsite web-analytics involve visitor and server data through page tagging, and other measures, whereas off-site web analytics relate to comments, site visibility, page view opportunities etc. References Kaushik, A. (2009) “Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability & Science of Customer Centricity” John Wiley & Sons
The majority of authors do acknowledge that “there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it” (Northouse, 2010, p.2). Nevertheless, one of the most popular definitions of leadership has been proposed as “the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organisational objectives through change” (Lussier and Achua, 2010, p.6). More straightforward definition of leadership can be worded as “the ability to guide others, whether they are colleagues, peers, clients, or patients, toward desired outcomes” (Marshall, 2011, p.2). Leaders have been explained as “people who have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and why” (Doyle and Smith, 2009, p.1). The term of leadership can also be defined as an activity or the ability of leading people towards the achievement of a common goal (Gold et al., 2010). Leadership definitions are divided by Northouse (2010) into two categories: trait and process. The following figure illustrates the nature of the impact of leaders on followers according these two alternative categories of definitions: Trait and Process definitions of leadership Source: Northouse (2010) The definition of strategic leadership read as “behaviour that depends on combining perceptions of threats opportunities, cognitions, analyses, and risk preferences” (Bass and Bass, 2008, p.43). A related term, ‘charisma’ has been defined by The Free Dictionary (2012) as a rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arose fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm. Additional alternatives of leadership definition “the ability to inspire confidence in and support among the people who are needed to achieve organisational goals” (DuBrin, 2012, p.28). “the discipline of deliberately exerting special influence within a group to move it toward goals of beneficial permanence that fulfil the group’s real needs” (Haggai, 2009, p.20) “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes…
Consumer buyer behaviour is considered to be an inseparable part of marketing and Kotler and Keller (2011) state that consumer buying behaviour is the study of the ways of buying and disposing of goods, services, ideas or experiences by the individuals, groups and organizations in order to satisfy their needs and wants. Buyer behaviour has been defined as “a process, which through inputs and their use though process and actions leads to satisfaction of needs and wants” (Enis, 1974, p.228). Consumer buying behaviour has numerous factors as a part of it which are believed to have some level of effect on the purchasing decisions of the customers. Alternatively, consumer buying behaviour “refers to the buying behaviour of final consumers, both individuals and households, who buy goods and services for personal consumption” (Kumar, 2010, p.218). From marketers’ point of view issues specific aspects of consumer behaviour that need to be studied include the reasons behind consumers making purchases, specific factors influencing the patterns of consumer purchases, analysis of changing factors within the society and others. Authors How to define consumer behaviour Findings Faison and Edmund (1977) “The assumption that people have series of needs which lead to drive state.” Needs Engel, et al. (1986) “Those acts of individuals directly involved in obtaining, using, and disposing of economic goods and services, including the decision processes that precede and determine these acts” Acts, individuals Kotler (1994) Consumer behaviour is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. Solomon et al. (1995) Consumer is the study “of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires” Process, needs, individuals, group Schiffman (2007) “the behaviour that consumers display in searching for,…
The term of ‘viral marketing’ has been coined by Steve Jurvetson in 1997 and it can be defined as “any marketing activity that accelerates and amplifies word of mouth in the digital domain” (Kirby, 2012, p.8). Alternatively, the following definitions of viral marketing have been proposed: “a marketing tactic relying upon the some aspects of the system to cause the promotion to propagate itself as initial targets pass the promotion onto others” (Investowords, 2013) “a process of encouraging honest communication among consumer networks” (Sickels, 2008, p.48) “any strategy that encourages subscribers to pass on marketing messages, thus creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence” (Frith and Mueller, 2010, p.237) “an idea that spreads, and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause” (Godin, 2008, online). The rationale behind the wording of the term ‘viral marketing’ has been explained in a way that “the effects of this form of marketing is like a virus – one person does it, then another and another until the word has spread across entire communities” (Frith and Mueller, 2010, p.237). Practical advantages offered by viral marketing have been found to include lower expenses compared to many other marketing initiatives, possibility of reaching large numbers of customers during a short period of time, effectiveness because of the trust among members of a social group, and durability of viral marketing campaigns. Viral marketing campaigns often attempt to make an appeal to emotional aspects of consumers. This appeal can be based on a set of themes such as humour, compassion, motivation, achievement, sex and others. References Frith, K.T. & Mueller, B. (2010) “Advertising and Societies: Global Issues” Peter Lang Godin, S. (2008) “What is viral marketing?” Available at: www.sethgodin.typepad.com Kirby, J. (2012) “Viral…