Shared Value Model

By using the Jim Collins (2001) levels of management and leadership capability model, I’ve managed to assess how far I have since come when I first started my studies to where I stand currently where I need to get to

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At stage two I believe I was at level three: “ a competent manager “ who effectively organises resources to enable my employer then (SAA) to effectively achieve its business goals. (Proof of this is at this stage I was tasked by the company when it was in a crucial process of formulating a long term turnaround strategy to lead the team for the group that was devising… strategic direction on brand communications which I successfully executed and delivered on with the cross functional team I was leading way ahead of our

I wanted to find ways that can assist argue CSI beyond the sublime PR speak; “cause related” marketing and reputation management jargon.

Through some of the research that I conducted for the MC report I discovered work that sparked further interest into the area of corporate social investment and the broader corporate social responsibility.

One of the readings was on the concept of Shared Value (Michael Porter and Kramer, 2011). Porter and Kramer highlight the creation of “shared value” by companies through linking their CSR and competitive advantage.

The concept is premised around the belief that the competitiveness of a company and health of the communities in which it operates are mutually dependent. Therefore it’s argued that capitalising on that symbiotic relationship has the potential to release greatest growth.

Which can be loosely translated to:

Increased functional value + increased social value + increased economic value = SHARED

In my quest to find ways to move CSI to the centre of business that could possibly be future research work that I would like to look at within the broader focus of corporate social responsibility.

Even go as further as extending the research into that mutual value relationship to other key markets of a business (based on the Six markets model (Christopher, Payne and Ballantyne (2002)) and evaluate the: o Value created throughout the value chain in the process, o The realignment of company budgets and agenda to align with new process of shared value creation and o Assess how that leads to profit maximisation for the company, while creating economic and societal value for the concerned stakeholders.

Such research would be in line with my values and career anchors and like the MC would add value to both my personal and professional life.

In all I believe I have achieved the objectives that I had set out at the beginning of my MBA studies.

The Management challenge bares testimony to my ability to use all the theory that I accumulated through the years of studying towards the MBA and applying the knowledge (while reinforcing a structured analytical way of thinking) to find solutions to a real life management