Amway Essay 9

Amway summary Introduction Amway is one of the world’s largest direct sales companies. It was founded in 1959 and is still owned by the families that founded it. It employs 14,000 people worldwide and markets over 450 product lines. A key part of its success is its three million ABOs (Amway Business Owners) spread round 80 countries. Amway enables these people to have a business of their own. Amway recognises that it has other responsibilities, for example, to the communities in which it works. Its global vision is to help people lead better lives. Stakeholders Stakeholders are groups or individuals who have an interest in the decisions of the company and its business. Stakeholders can be external, like suppliers, customers or the public or internal, such as employees, or shareholders. Different types of stakeholders may have different priorities or interests. Amway has to balance out the different priorities. The families that own Amway are its only shareholders. Amway communicates regularly with stakeholders through websites, email, events, publications and membership of trade bodies. How stakeholders affect Amway Amway is a direct selling company, cutting out retail outlets and selling straight to consumers. It has its own supply chain through ABOs. Amway needs feedback from ABOs and customers to know how well it is doing and to improve service. ABOs are independent small businesses, but rely on Amway suppliers to produce quality goods. How Amway affects stakeholders Amway’s vision to ‘help people lead better lives’ explains how it works with communities. It promotes corporate social responsibility (CSR) around the globe. This means that it meets its wider duties to the communities in which it works. This involves supporting good causes and acting in an ethical way. Amway supports its stakeholders in a number of ways. These include making good products and giving support to social programmes. It has a partnership with the children’s charity UNICEF. It helps provide vaccinations to combat the world’s six most deadly diseases. It has chosen this charity because its ABOs were most concerned about families. Ethical business Ethical businesses act to improve the communities where they work. Amway’s business ethics give it a clear framework in which to work. Acting in an ethical way, however, also gives it a positive business advantage. Its ‘One by One’ programme is good for the environment and also good for business. This programme supports organic farming, aims to reduce waste and packaging and aims to switch to renewable energy sources. These actions carry a cost, but this can be balanced against the benefits to both the business and the community. Conclusion Amway has to balance the needs of its many different stakeholders. It sets high standards of ethical behaviour and codes of conduct to make sure these are upheld. Its CSR programme helps the environment, its own employees and disadvantaged children all around the world.