Assignment, Address the six questions associated with the chapter 11 Opening Case Application (Nike/CEO Mark Parker) 4 page paper (excluding title, abstract, and reference pages). Assignment should

Nike in the Era of CEO Mark Parker

Behind a great company are strong leaders. This is certainly true for Nike and Mark Parker. Since assuming the role of CEO of Nike in 2006, Parker and his team have overhauled the way Nike runs, shifting the brand away from the previous sub-brand and product-based structure to a customer-driven structure. He has structured Nike into six “customer-focused” categories, such as running, basketball, and women’s fitness. Parker has personally shaped Nike’s innovation processes. Nike’s mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Mark Parker took the helm of Nike at a time when the stakes in the U.S. athletic footwear market were particularly high, especially as Adidas was becoming more powerful with the acquisition of Reebok. Parker said at the time that he believed he was the right person to lead Nike through the challenges of the future. He said it was his job to help carry the torch into the future. He has always maintained that all Nike employees work for one boss—the consumer. Mark’s greatest strength lies in his ability to synthesize the input of disparate influences, from lab engineers to downtown artists.95 Nike’s commitment to diversity is unmatched. Its Web site proudly proclaims, “Most companies embrace diversity. Not Nike. We soak it up. We squeeze it out. We want it to drip over everything Nike does.” Nike’s mission is to harness diversity and inclusion to inspire ideas and ignite innovation. Commenting on his 30-year career at Nike, Mark Parker acknowledged that it has been a long time but quickly added that some things haven’t changed. As he put it, “I think our success has been based on our commitment to innovation and great design, which really in our case starts with our commitment to the athlete—and really understanding the athlete and the insights we get from that relationship.”96 Nike has what it calls “Nike Sustainable Business + Innovation” program. Nike believes it can use the power of its brand, the energy and passion of its people, and the scale of its business to create meaningful change. Nike believes the opportunity is greater than ever for sustainable principles and practices to deliver business returns and create a positive social and environmental impact in the world.97 Parker isn’t an attention-seeking sort of CEO, so until now it has been hard to get a sense of him. But the imprint he is making as CEO is turning out to be as meaningful as his design work. Parker has reorganized the company into units based on particular sports, “a conscious decision to sharpen each piece of the business so we’re not some big fat dumb company,” he says; he reshuffled its regions to put new emphasis on China and Japan; streamlined the reporting process and removed regional middle management, and handled a rare round of layoffs. Since his appointment in 2006, Nike has reached annual revenues of $24 billion, up 60 percent. “At Nike we run a complete offense, and it’s based on a core commitment to innovation. That’s how we stay opportunistic, serve the athlete, reward our shareholders, and continue to lead our industry,” said Mark Parker. These statements in particular and the case in general are the essence of strategic leadership and the strategic management process as presented in this chapter. GO tO the internet: (http://www.nike.com) Support your answers to the following questions with specific information from the case and text or with other information you get from the Web or other sources.

1. What external and internal pressures did Mark Parker face when he assumed the leadership of Nike, and how did he respond to these challenges? 2. Strategic management is about formulating strategies that align an organization’s internal capabilities with external opportunities while avoiding or minimizing threats. How effective has Mark Parker been as a strategist so far? 3. What is the evidence that Mark Parker and Nike understand the impact of environmental sustainability on Nike’s business practices? 4. An effective strategist develops strategies that (1) enhance value to its customers, (2) create synergistic opportunities, and (3) build on the company’s core competencies. What evidence shows that Mark Parker is pursuing this course or shares this viewpoint?

CuMulatiVe CaSe QueStiOnS

5. According to the Big Five Model of Personality, what traits would Mark Parker consider critical for his managers to possess (Chapter 2)?

Communication, coaching, and conflict management are said to be skills that have a direct and significant impact on a leader’s career success (Chapter 6). Given the weak market and financial position that Nike was in prior to Mark Parker’s appointment, how critical are these skills in his efforts to reposition the company and address its weaknesses?

CaSe eXerCiSe anD rOle-plaY Preparation: Assume you are part of the leadership of an organization or organizational unit whose objective is to train the management team of its foreign subsidiary to embrace and practice diversity at the highest levels. Assume your parent company’s diversity strategy is no different from Nike’s. Under Mark Parker, Nike is leading the way in diversity. Nike’s vision is for every team to be high performing, diverse, and inclusive. To achieve this vision, Nike’s strategy is to: • Cultivate diversity and inclusion to develop world-class, high-performing teams • Ignite change and inspire critical conversations around diversity, inclusion, and innovation • Create venues and environments for open dialogue, diverse opinions, and a multitude of perspectives A multinational corporation like Nike wants to ensure that all its subsidiaries around the world have high diversity standards (visit Nike’s Web site at www.nike.com for more information). Your task is to help your foreign subsidiary develop diversity standards for its respective units that are in congruence with the overall diversity standards of the parent corporation.

In-Class Groups: Break into groups of four to six members. Select a spokesperson to record the diversity statement.

Role-Play: One person from each group at a time presents the group’s crafted statement to the rest of the class. The statement is to be no more than 100 words. During and/or after the presentation, Nike representatives (played by other students) and/or committee members ask questions and make comments on each statement. Are the ideas in line with Nike’s diversity vision? After the presentations and