Koch Industries, Inc. (pronounced /ˈkoʊk/) is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hill Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company.

Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution[1] of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching,[2] finance, commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments.

In 2008, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill) with an annual revenue of about $98 billion,[3][4][5] down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2007, it would rank about sixteenth in the Fortune 500.[6]

Fred C. Koch, for whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.[7] His sons, Charles G. Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William for $1.1 billion in 1983.[8] Charles and David Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares "literally over my dead body"

The social system is the ‘fabric of ideas, attitudes and behaviour patterns that are involved in human relationships. In particular, businesses are influenced by consumer attitudes and behaviours that depend on such factors as the age structure of the population and the nature of work and leisure’ ( n.d.). In order to meet the changing lifestyles of their customers, Marks operates different store formats located where the customers are most convenient, have a central customer services team, commissions a monthly monitoring of opinions and starting in 2003 conducts extensive research into what the customers expect from them on corporate social responsibility. They have found out that their customers deem the following important: meeting customer needs, being a good employer, being fair to suppliers and their workforces, selling responsible products and operating in a considerate manner. The Marks & Spencer brand, and consumers' immense trust in it, had been built on offering value for money, ‘quality’, but not cheap prices, and the company had adopted a low-key approach to advertising, store interiors and the pursuit of the customer. Against this background and as a crisis-management strategy, M&S was almost doubling its ad budget for national TV campaign. This was one of their most daunting strategic challenges yet, to reach out to the other segments of the market when their brand have been built around quality coupled with high prices.

With respect to the environmental system, an environmental policy was formulated as a guide for the whole company to follow in the conduct of business that takes the natural environment in consideration. , head of Corporate Social Responsibility, was quoted as saying, ‘Climate change is still a relatively new issue in our sector. Our contention is that, for retailers, the footprint of stores and Lorries probably accounts for less than 10% of your actual carbon footprint. The true impact lies in your supply chain, and in the use and disposal of products. Although I am cautious about positioning Marks & Spencer as a ‘leader’ we are certainly taking the initiative in considering these wider implications’ (as cited in n.d.). The firm, as well as other English chains encoded a distinctive cultural repertoire into their shopping environments, which was organised around the themes of prettiness and neatness,
transparency, cleanliness and uniformity. This was a marketing discourse of
pleasurable but restrained consumption, which fed into and reshaped some of the existing routines of the petty bourgeoisie. It spoke most directly to women newly ‘enfranchised’ by their participation in the ‘clean’ and ‘efficient’ consumer
industries of the 1920s and 1930s, or who were empowered by the styles of modern household management promoted in contemporary women's magazines. The presentation of the body, the cultivation of aesthetic sensibilities,

The various departments within the organization are driven to perform their individual responsibilities in contribution to the overall growth of the company. Marks & Spencer works closely with various external partners to ensure that the environment within the confines of the organization is at the optimum level conducive to high performance and harmonious working relationships. ‘Each business unit develops its own corporate social responsibility strategy based around the brand value of trust. The issues tackled in the strategies are identified from a combination of customer research, understanding within the business and by talking with other key stakeholders, NGOs, government etc. For each issue an action plan is developed which balances customer and stakeholder expectations and other commercial pressures’ (2005). To this end, it is evident that the organization places high value on their corporate social responsibility and takes it seriously. The corporate culture of Marks revolves on how they respond to the environment, the customers and their own employees.

Implications of the HRM Strategies

With the strategic challenges that they are facing, the human resources of Marks & Spencer should have a hand in attempting to surmount the obstacles that the business environment hurls at them. With this in mind, the Marks & Spencer organization is dedicated to providing products in ways that help protect the environment, their employees and the people who use them. The competitive advantages, the external and internal environment in which they operate show evidence that the firm is striving to maintain their dedication. Granted that there are critics to the company, as there is always the presence of groups who are not very satisfied with the business’ performance, available figures and statements from business experts give evidence to Marks & Spencer’s continuing commitment in making sure that they are will be the standard against which others are measured, which is the company’s stated vision. One of their greatest competitive advantages lies in their ability to maintain a high performance staff that contributes to the overall development of the company. The company’s strategy in providing their employees with an internal environment favourable to maximizing the individual’s potential and growth is one of the key factors why they are able to keep the types of people who are willing to do most anything to help the organization grow. ‘Marks & Spencer placed ergonomics at the heart of a major design program for new retail equipment, resulting in an innovative design which not only ensures the safety and comfort of customers and staff but also meets exacting business requirements (‘ 2003). Overall, the company displayed a keen interest in getting the most out their human resources through designing a management system in which the employees could, as a result, give impetus to Marks & Spencer’s progress.

The major problem of human resource management in Marks, as (1986) claimed about human resource management in general, it has developed under assumptions of bureaucracy. With the developments and expansion that the organization has witnessed in the past few years that they have been operating, it is but inevitable that they develop a bureaucratic system within which to operate. The large number of M&S stores operating without the reach of the top management is such that the bureaucracy surfaced, much to the dissatisfaction of their employees. Without fully knowing the lines of authority to report to and to follow, employees, especially those in the trans-national branches, are having a hard time dealing with situations which need the direct supervision of those in the top. The assumptions, including the consistency of job roles and descriptions, the clarity of cause and effect relations concerning the actions employees take and their outcomes, and the centrality of individual performance as opposed to group performance, come
 
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jamescord

MP Guru
Koch Industries, Inc. (pronounced /ˈkoʊk/) is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hill Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company.

Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution[1] of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching,[2] finance, commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments.

In 2008, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill) with an annual revenue of about $98 billion,[3][4][5] down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2007, it would rank about sixteenth in the Fortune 500.[6]

Fred C. Koch, for whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.[7] His sons, Charles G. Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William for $1.1 billion in 1983.[8] Charles and David Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares "literally over my dead body"

The social system is the ‘fabric of ideas, attitudes and behaviour patterns that are involved in human relationships. In particular, businesses are influenced by consumer attitudes and behaviours that depend on such factors as the age structure of the population and the nature of work and leisure’ ( n.d.). In order to meet the changing lifestyles of their customers, Marks operates different store formats located where the customers are most convenient, have a central customer services team, commissions a monthly monitoring of opinions and starting in 2003 conducts extensive research into what the customers expect from them on corporate social responsibility. They have found out that their customers deem the following important: meeting customer needs, being a good employer, being fair to suppliers and their workforces, selling responsible products and operating in a considerate manner. The Marks & Spencer brand, and consumers' immense trust in it, had been built on offering value for money, ‘quality’, but not cheap prices, and the company had adopted a low-key approach to advertising, store interiors and the pursuit of the customer. Against this background and as a crisis-management strategy, M&S was almost doubling its ad budget for national TV campaign. This was one of their most daunting strategic challenges yet, to reach out to the other segments of the market when their brand have been built around quality coupled with high prices.

With respect to the environmental system, an environmental policy was formulated as a guide for the whole company to follow in the conduct of business that takes the natural environment in consideration. , head of Corporate Social Responsibility, was quoted as saying, ‘Climate change is still a relatively new issue in our sector. Our contention is that, for retailers, the footprint of stores and Lorries probably accounts for less than 10% of your actual carbon footprint. The true impact lies in your supply chain, and in the use and disposal of products. Although I am cautious about positioning Marks & Spencer as a ‘leader’ we are certainly taking the initiative in considering these wider implications’ (as cited in n.d.). The firm, as well as other English chains encoded a distinctive cultural repertoire into their shopping environments, which was organised around the themes of prettiness and neatness,
transparency, cleanliness and uniformity. This was a marketing discourse of
pleasurable but restrained consumption, which fed into and reshaped some of the existing routines of the petty bourgeoisie. It spoke most directly to women newly ‘enfranchised’ by their participation in the ‘clean’ and ‘efficient’ consumer
industries of the 1920s and 1930s, or who were empowered by the styles of modern household management promoted in contemporary women's magazines. The presentation of the body, the cultivation of aesthetic sensibilities,

The various departments within the organization are driven to perform their individual responsibilities in contribution to the overall growth of the company. Marks & Spencer works closely with various external partners to ensure that the environment within the confines of the organization is at the optimum level conducive to high performance and harmonious working relationships. ‘Each business unit develops its own corporate social responsibility strategy based around the brand value of trust. The issues tackled in the strategies are identified from a combination of customer research, understanding within the business and by talking with other key stakeholders, NGOs, government etc. For each issue an action plan is developed which balances customer and stakeholder expectations and other commercial pressures’ (2005). To this end, it is evident that the organization places high value on their corporate social responsibility and takes it seriously. The corporate culture of Marks revolves on how they respond to the environment, the customers and their own employees.

Implications of the HRM Strategies

With the strategic challenges that they are facing, the human resources of Marks & Spencer should have a hand in attempting to surmount the obstacles that the business environment hurls at them. With this in mind, the Marks & Spencer organization is dedicated to providing products in ways that help protect the environment, their employees and the people who use them. The competitive advantages, the external and internal environment in which they operate show evidence that the firm is striving to maintain their dedication. Granted that there are critics to the company, as there is always the presence of groups who are not very satisfied with the business’ performance, available figures and statements from business experts give evidence to Marks & Spencer’s continuing commitment in making sure that they are will be the standard against which others are measured, which is the company’s stated vision. One of their greatest competitive advantages lies in their ability to maintain a high performance staff that contributes to the overall development of the company. The company’s strategy in providing their employees with an internal environment favourable to maximizing the individual’s potential and growth is one of the key factors why they are able to keep the types of people who are willing to do most anything to help the organization grow. ‘Marks & Spencer placed ergonomics at the heart of a major design program for new retail equipment, resulting in an innovative design which not only ensures the safety and comfort of customers and staff but also meets exacting business requirements (‘ 2003). Overall, the company displayed a keen interest in getting the most out their human resources through designing a management system in which the employees could, as a result, give impetus to Marks & Spencer’s progress.

The major problem of human resource management in Marks, as (1986) claimed about human resource management in general, it has developed under assumptions of bureaucracy. With the developments and expansion that the organization has witnessed in the past few years that they have been operating, it is but inevitable that they develop a bureaucratic system within which to operate. The large number of M&S stores operating without the reach of the top management is such that the bureaucracy surfaced, much to the dissatisfaction of their employees. Without fully knowing the lines of authority to report to and to follow, employees, especially those in the trans-national branches, are having a hard time dealing with situations which need the direct supervision of those in the top. The assumptions, including the consistency of job roles and descriptions, the clarity of cause and effect relations concerning the actions employees take and their outcomes, and the centrality of individual performance as opposed to group performance, come

Hey Netra,

I also got some information on Overview of KOCH and would like to share it with you and other student's. So please download and check it.
 

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