Nike: General Characteristics And Organizational Culture

Nike is a multinational company that produces footwear products, apparel for sports activities for dance and yoga, sports equipment like baseball bats and weights as sports technology accessories including heart-rate monitors and altitude wrist compasses which attracts people. Bill Bowerman founded Nike in 1964 as a Blue Ribbon sports with his former student Phill Knight. In 1966 the first retail outlet was opened. In 1972, it was the first launch of the Nike brand shoe then it went public two years later. the “swoosh” is the logo for Nike which is a curved checkmark designed by a graphic student called Carolyn Davidson in 1971 and it became a registered trademark.

Nike is socially responsible .it is working on improving the condition for workers as it is also trying to reduce its environmental impact like water conservation by partnering with Dyecoo Textile Systems and took their carbon-based dyeing process. That dyes garments without using water. As a result this process has saved gallons of water that Nike consumes then Nike was considered this to be the first water-free dyeing . Moreover, Nike is trying to reduce the waste as much as possible by producing more environmentally products like the Nike’s Women’s Board Shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester in addition, Nike Zoom and Flywire technology use 100 percent green rubber. Furthermore, Nike has a great role in making special products for hejab women even if it is not the first company to create hijabs for athletes but it is the first large-scale global corporation to prioritize the needs of Muslim athletes. Also, it produced new boxes. This new box is not only made from recycled materials and is recyclable to reduce the waste of packing. In the beginning, Nike approached the light green then market approach for environmentally friendly products then stakeholder approach then dark green then it becomes greener by its achievements in industry and social responsibility then it became one of the world’s tops ten in the current SustainAbility Global Reporters Program ranking.

Nike’s organizational culture is spiritual, organizational, sustainable, and innovative to support business flexibility and power. The Organizational culture of Nike is a mix of traditions, habits, values, and the expected attitude among employees. The Innovation and Risk-Taking, Stability and Attention to Detail dimensions of Nike’s culture are achieved by c challenging the employees by giving them some instructions and rules and they try to achieve them and reach the target to be rewarded also, they are motivated by working conditions, company policies, pay, and benefits, etc.. This approach ensures that the company maintains its organizational culture, which partly contributes to the success of the business. This organizational culture encourages human resources to behave in ways that address business objectives. It is based on creativity and innovation to provide products that approve current consumer demands. The following main characteristics of Nike’s corporate culture sustain business and market competence:

1. Talented: Nike uses training programs to enhance employee talent which can reinforce in producing some of the world’s most popular athletic shoes, equipment, and apparel.
2. Diverse: Nike makes HR programs, such as the Speak Up! program, which is sharing of ideas among workers which can reinforce in creating new designs for its sports shoes, apparel, and equipment.(team orientation dimension)
3. Inclusive: Nike makes a team-based approach to management. Also, Nike employs a number of programs, such as Bias to Breakthrough (a program for removing barriers to creativity) and encourage (a set of employee networks for cultural awareness and community building) which can reinforce in production of athletic shoes, apparel, and equipment design.

Nike’s products are sold for more than 110 countries all over the world, for instance, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, etc…… Nike is a transnational organization because according to the management orientation it reflects an ethnocentric global attitude. by investing the HR professional to have the right people with the right skills in the right roles who are empowered in developing their business to achieve the law of Nike and the code leadership standards first establish ways to see how workers are engaged and also estimating supplier management strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities for investments. Nike went global .global sourcing by manufacturing low-cost shoes in Japan that can compete with the German shoe market. Then in the 1990s, it opened stores in England and Germany in addition U.S and start exporting and selling online via websites. Then foreign subsidiary .as in 2003 the international sales were greater than the U.S sales.