Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Do you agree or disagree that Businesses can solve social problems? Justify your answer.
How can the concepts discussed by Michael Porter help with the decision-making process for managers at the three different managerial levels?
Week 1 Discussion 2: Managerial Levels of Business
In the provided social problems being solved by the business, I feel that one can agree and disagree with the same. In detail, the business is all about the money or the value of what the business can gain, and correctly so. This is why some may agree or disagree with this question because it’s based on whether can it be a value to the business. It can be said that if a business notices value in a social problem, then it allows them to possibly try to make a profit for the better of the business. This in turn can be seen as a business trying to get over by using a social issue to gain income. For example, some social problems that have caused businesses to help solve the social problems are the following: Colin Kaepernick taking a knee against unjust violence against unprotected black and brown people. In this issue, Nike has joined in to help this social problem but also gained in the process. I agree with this only if the business has the heart of the social issue on the top of its checklist and not just looking at how to profit off of a problem that may be plaguing others (Rupčić, 2019, p.5). Accordingly, I can say that businesses can only solve the social problem if only the proper measures are to be taken to solve the issue properly. Businesses need to operate in such a way that they can able to solve the social problem properly without any issues. The social problem can only be solved if the business opens in such a position and tries to work on the social situation that takes place in the organization. Business can able to solve the problem if it wants to operate and solve the social issue which is taking place in the organization and it can be of any such things as well.
The concepts that were discussed by Michael Porter will help managers at the three different managerial levels by ensuring that the social problem or issue is understood and taken into consideration on each level. Yes, a business can help a social problem because it puts it on the forefront, but I don’t agree with the shared value that Michael Porter spoke of in the video due to it feeling like now we are just selling a problem for money/time. However, the decision-making process can be eased by the three different managers if there is a true understanding and acceptance of the issue itself. If the proper understanding is there in the organization, then it can be said that the problem can be solved without much issue (Mair & Seelos, 2021, p.5). The concepts of Michael Porter help in the decision-making process through proper communication within the organization. It can be said that if proper communication can be done then the chances of resolving the issues or the problem can be increased as well. Selling the problem or just delaying the work is not the way to solve the issues in the organization.
References
Mair, J., & Seelos, C. (2021). Organizations, social problems, and system change: Invigorating the third mandate of organizational research. Organization Theory, 2(4), 26317877211054858.
Rupčić, N. (2019). Learning organization–organization emerging from presence. The Learning Organization.
