Attn Vice President of International Operations at Nike,

Nike is currently in a situation that every company would like to avoid. The name Nike is now associated with an ongoing list of labor issues. Nike has had over three decades of corporate success, but this success is slowing and could continue to slow if changes are not made.

Nike’s strategy has always been to outsource all manufacturing to cut costs and allow for a higher marketing budget. While this strategy is successful in keeping costs low, it fails to address human rights. Nike has been publicly scrutinized for having poor working conditions and unfair wages in their manufacturing facilities in Indonesia and Taiwan. Jeff Ballinger has continually criticized Nike’s practices and once his publication’s gained traction; the issue had quickly become one of national concern. Changes have to be made in order for Nike to reestablish themselves as a company that concerns itself with all stakeholders.

Nike currently has a matrix approach to organizational design. This configuration combines the positive attributes from other organizational structures. In a matrix structure there are both divisional and structural managers that employees report to. This structure allows for better communication and coordination between divisions. This structure allowed for the creation of a team of employees whose sole focus is corporate responsibility.

Even though Nike has attempted to take responsibility for their actions by addressing their mistakes, their involvement with the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP), and their hiring of external monitors, they are not doing enough to quiet the critics for good.

A situational analysis has made it clear that the time has come to end Nike’s shareholder strategy and aggressively transform into a stakeholder strategy. Below I have included a SWOT analysis for Nike.