Nike Case Study

Nike is the market leader in the sports shoes and apparel. Since its founding in 1964, the company grew at a remarkable rate, remaining profitable the entire way. While it began as a shoe company, Nike diversified and bought several brands which it used to strengthen its hold on the market. The company is very much loved by its customers and investors; the customers enable the company to post profit year after year, while the investors have driven Nike’s stock price up past $90.00, which is a high price for any stock.

To streamline its business, Nike outsourced its manufacturing and decided to focus instead on its strengths, design and marketing. While this strategy worked, it wasn’t long before human rights activists sounded the alarm on how Nike’s contract employees were badly mistreated. A review of how the various shareholders, namely the employees, customers and shareholders.

A review of the company’s practices is done from an ethics perspective. It was found that the theory of justice is a sound method of solving Nike’s problems. However, to implement the theory of justice would require constant monitoring on Nike’s part on its contract manufacturers. This is not always possible to do effectively.

To overcome that problem, it is proposed that Nike come up with a holistic strategy that would create a sustainable business model that practices lean manufacturing. This way, ethical behaviour is built right into the business model itself. If the employees are not fairly treated, then the business would not be sustainable. Also, lean manufacturing allows Nike to fulfil its ethical obligations while maintaining the quality of its products, and operating at profit levels it is used to.

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