Nestle and the Global Issue of Water Supply Case Study

Nestle and the Global Issue of Water Supply - Case Study Example This paper will identify the feasibility of social responsibility programs and the ethical elements to be considered while entering a new market segment. 1. The case study indicates that the Nestle faces a series of challenges associated with corporate responsibility while planning its international business expansion. Nowadays, a number of international organizations are working toward the protection of various human rights and environmental sustainability. As part of their global operational strategies, some organizations strongly argue that access to water is not a matter of choice; on the other hand, it is a basic human right which insists that water should not be bought and sold. Hence, Nestle considers water supply as one of the most serious issues to be resolved in relation to its position in the global bottled market. In order to overcome such issues, the company has recently planned several social responsibility programs in its marketing strategy. By practicing social respon sibility programs as part of marketing strategy, a company can attain a number of potential advantages. Today, a company cannot continue its sustainably profitable operations unless it practices some sorts of corporate responsibility policies. In the opinion of DuBrin (2008), the most potential advantage of social responsibility is that it aids organizations to achieve a good market stature which sets them apart in the competitive business world (pp.100-101). In addition, such strategies may assist companies to comply with government regulations as well as the norms of other non-governmental public welfare organizations. Finally, the concept of corporate social responsibility would be helpful for a company to convince its clients that it has taken all initiatives to protect the environment and thereby to ensure public welfare. 2. Variances in ethical views among people are found to be a potential threat to multinational companies like Nestle as they need to serve a large number of d ifferent customer segments. In the view of Briscoe, Schuler, and Claus (2008), the extent of this ethical variance may be determined by a range of elements including family background, education level, economic status, and other cultural variables (pp.137-138). In countries like China and India, orthodox families would not be willing to change their conventional ideologies and hence they may not easily adapt to a â€Å"disposable culture†. It would be a cumbersome task for the Nestle to attract such customer segments because their consumerist perceptions have evolved over a long period of time. In addition, people’s education level may also be a crucial factor in defining their ethical views. The people who have attained a high level of education would be more concerned about health as well as environmental safety.