BESU207 BA Stage 3 Business Management Assignment (Research Paper Sample)

Dissertation Submitted By:
Sarah McCosker
4581682
Under Supervision of:
Uche Ogwude
BESU207 BA Stage 3 Business Management
(Part-Time)
May 2017
Declaration
This project is all my own work and has not been copied in part or in whole from any other source except where duly acknowledged. As such, all use of previously published work (from books, journals, magazines, internet sites etc.) has been cited within the main report and fully referenced as an item in the reference section.
Acknowledgements
To my Mum and my Husband, for always believing I could and for all their love and support. They helped me to believe this was possible. Special thanks to my supervisor, Uche Ogwude, for all his patience, help and advice.
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to fully explore the phenomenon of image branding, examine the connection between brand image and corporate social responsibility and study the attendant situations that occur when a company’s CSR is in full alignment with its brand image.
Key words in this research:
CSR, brand image, strategic decisions, and Volkswagen emission issues, Carroll, Elkington, impact
Table of ContentsCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………….7Background of the study………...………………………………………………….7Corporate social responsibility in automotive companies …..…………….....8Brand image in automotive companies ………………………..……………...9Strategic decisions in automotive companies ………………..………………10Objectives of the research…………………………………………………………12Research questions………………………………………………………………...13Significance of the research……………………………………………………….13Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………14Limitations of the study…………………………………………………………..14CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.…….…………………………………16Introduction……………………………………………………………………….16Theoretical Review………………………………………………………………..16CSR theory of Carroll’s pyramid…………………………………………… 16Theory of triple bottom line…………………………………………………..18Corporate social responsibility………………………………...…………………20Brand image……………………………………………………………………….24Strategic decisions…………………………………………………………………28CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………..…....29Introduction………………………………………………………………………..29Research design…..………………………………………………………………..29Research strategy …………………………………………………………………30Sample and sampling...……………………………………..……………………..30Data collection………..……………………………………………………………30Validity and reliability of research instrument………………………………….31Data analysis…………..…………………………………………………………...31Ethical considerations……………………………………………………………..32CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS………………………………………………………...33Findings ……………..……………………………………………………………..33Results from research questions……………………………………………….....33CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION………………………………...……………………36CHAPER 6: CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………38Introduction………………………………………………………………………..38Recommendations………………………………………………………………....38
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the field of research and will detail why the subject was chosen, why it is important, its significance and its relation to my course of study. It will also provide the reader with a brief explanation of how businesses have recently been forced to change their branding strategy with regards to being responsible due to social media.
1 Background of the study
The reason as to why I wish to carry out this research study is because I have worked in automotive for over 18 years. I have also seen the industry’s growth and expansion with regards to the marketing sector. The automotive industry is composed of organizations and companies dealing with the processes of developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling automobiles. These companies are also referred to as automakers. This industry is the most important by revenue.
The automotive industry is believed in the late nineteenth century. It began with manufacturing pioneers of the horseless carriages. For many years, the United States of America was the leading country in automobile production. This was until 1980 when it was overtaken by Japan. Japan was however passed by China in 2009. Most automobile companies prioritize safety in their automobiles. This implies that they manufacture automobiles free from risk, danger or harmCITATION Gie15 \p 37 \l 1033 (Franzen, 2015, p. 37). This basically means that there is no risk of damage. Safety is important especially since there are certain regulations and norms that need be followed during automobile production. One good example of these regulations is the ISO 26262. In case of risk of damage, the company returns some or all the automobiles produced. This is referred to as product recall. To avoid such situations, inspections and tests should be carried out at all value chain stages to ensure safety and security.
The concepts of brand image, strategic decisions and corporate social responsibility are all important to any kind of business. This includes b...