My business leader that I wrote a paper on is Phil Knight, the former CEO and Co-founder of world the world famous company, Nike. I have been wearing his products all my life and he created his business in my hometown. He was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and went to Cleveland high school. After high school, he attended the University of Oregon for undergraduate school, where he was a collegiate track runner. Then went to the Business school at Stanford. After college, he had a desire to get into the athletic apparel business. “The idea for the athletic apparel giant came from running track at Hayward in Oregon and out of the classroom at Stanford business school.” (Golden) He was inspired by how his coach “tinkered with athletes shoes” and how it impacted their performance (Golden). Phil Knight envisioned an athletic apparel company that focused on the athletes, and their shoes. He wanted to focus his “company around the needs of the athletes” and make products that athletes would want to wear and represent (Van Dyke). …show more content…
He wanted to provide the best products and to have the leading apparel and shoe company. He was “passionate about business” and his relationships with his co workers, and athletes (Clarke). He possessed a drive that compelled him to desire perfection, which aspired him to take on difficult challenges. Phil Knight “loved meeting with athletes, not getting to know about them competitively, but also as people.”(Clarke) His priorities were set on the athlete and the product instead of the profit, this priority is a building block to why his company is prospering as it
In the history of business, there has been a clear record of industry heads finding something or someone as a mainstay and bedrock for their respective companies or corporations; there is often a chief product that keeps many businesses afloat, even in the rough times. Apple found it's own in 2001 with the iPod. McDonald's has had the Big Mac since the late 1960s. Nike, however, found their goldmine in a person with Michael Jordan. Walter LaFeber's Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism tells the paints the picture of the rise of young Michael Jordan from his middle-class family in racist North Carolina up through college and into the NBA where he becomes an international sports icon. It tells the story of how Jordan catches the eye of Nike's ambitious co-founder and CEO, Phil Knight, and how he was transformed from a young, rebellious black hoopster into the face of a multi-billion dollar transnational corporation while stretching its touch all of the way to the far reaches of Asia. LeFeber's book also delves into the darker issues and topics addressing Jordan and Nike, such as race and sports and how they played a part during scandals that surrounded MJ off of the court along with the growth of Nike abroad and their dealing with technological changes in manufacturing while facing criticism for their labor practices.
Who do you think of when you hear Wall Street? Does one think of a random stockbroker or the infamous Jordan Belfort? Ultimately, one thinks of Belfort and his notorious crimes on Wall Street. Jordan Belfort has had a major impact on today's society because he changed the way we see Wall Street, showed how easy it is to go from the top to the bottom, and showed how a successful life isn't always perfect.
Newton knight was a farmer in mississippi who fought for freedom and secession of Jones county. Knight and the people of jones county put their lives so they could be free from the grip from the confederacy. The confederacy took many of non-slave farmers and put their lives on the front line to fight for what they didn’t even believe in. Knight opposed the state seceding from the United States, saying that white farmers like himself did not support slavery. He was a man of individual rights and equality, which was what the united states did not have at the time.
Phil Knight was born in Portland in 1938 to Oregon's only billionaire, where he became interested in track in part because it "Allowed the people that trained the hardest to succeed." So in college, he studied shoe design while being coached by Bowerman. Knight was convinced that he could market the innovations developed by Bowerman. Knight successfully convinced star athletes to endorse his product, including Steve Prefontaine, a middle distance star racer, and four of the top seven American track Olympic qualifiers. This convinced other athletes to wear Nikes and it eventually trickled down to the ranks of Joe Jogger, who had just become part of the first running boom. Knight helped developed advertisements such as the famous Just Do It, and promoting the first ever cross-training shoe by getting famous two sport athlete Bo Jackson to endorse with the campaign “Bo Knows”. These slogans helped convince Americans to run and do other fitness activities.
Not only did Sonny Vaccaro have an eye for basketball talent, he also knew people and how to talk to them. He had created a network so tightly knit that Nike was getting almost every single top prospect in the country out of college. They did this by sponsoring the top schools with Nike gear and sponsoring the coaches for them nudge their players towards Nike. However, Sonny’s relationship with Nike didn’t last forever. The main issue with Vaccaro and Nike’s relationship was the communication of what and how he was getting all these top clients to sign with him. With the NCAA becoming stricter as to players and coaches getting paid while playing collegiately, Nike wanted to cut and run with Sonny before things got too deep. Essentially, they turned their most valuable asset in the basketball world into a scapegoat. From Vaccaro’s point of view he thought he deserved more control of the basketball operations at Nike. These two points contributed to his departure from Nike. Sonny was not going to settle down however he immediately searched for another brand that could compete with
Steve grew up playing tons of sports. He was an all-star in soccer, was tremendous at lacrosse, and grew up playing hockey, because he was Canadian. He also played rugby in high school. Most people believe he only has a passion for sports but in 2007, Steve Nash opened an environmental safe gym in Vancouver. The gym was made out of many environmental safe products, such as bamboo floors and lockers, and rubber flooring from car tires, and other things. The gym partnered with Steve’s foundation to help children get fitness into their life. A year later Steve and Nike made a custom shoe that was made out of recycled materials. The shoes were called “Trash Talk”. They were created from using waste material from other Nike shoes. Steve also created a youth basketball program for underserved children, to improve basketball skills, sportsmanship for underserved children, and children altogether. This program was funded by Steve’s foundation, which was made to improve, and develop the lives of underserved children by giving them basic needs. Although Steve’s passion was a huge trait that people remembered him for, his generosity solidified his legacy as one of the most inspiring
This is meaningful because the people who were around him ended up making vital impacts on Nike. Knight was a strong believer in teamwork and even stated, “Two people of good talent working together will always beat two people of good talent who are not working together” (p.269). For instance, if it weren’t for Johnson, Nike never would have gotten its name. “Johnson had pointed out that seemingly all iconic brands...have short names. Two syllables or less. And they always have a strong sound in the name, a letter like “K” or “X,” that sticks in the mind. That all made sense. And that all described Nike” (p.230). Knight’s team was honest with him, and shared his passion with either shoes, running, or just business, which was very significant to me. This meant that if Knight were to lose his company, they would have something to lose as well, which make them work
In 1965 two men by the names of Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight started Blue Ribbon Sports, now known as Nike, the business almost instantly became a top competitor. In 2012 Nike was said to have a net worth of 67 billion dollars, and co-founder Phil Knight a net worth of 18.7 billion dollars. The amount of profit Nike has attained is eye- opening, which made individuals that much more infuriated when they discovered Nike was accused of having sweatshops internationally. The accusations began in 1991 when activist Jeff Ballinger published a report, documenting the harsh conditions workers were forced to work in. Acknowledging the fact that Nike’s business plan was more about making profit than treating employees with any dignity. Nike’s strategy seemed to be to enter into poor nations where individuals were desperate for work. In 1996 it has been ...
Nike has always been a company that's been questioned ethically. People have heard about the stories of the sweatshops in Southeast Asia exploiting adolescent employees for unreasonably small amounts of money. This had blemished Nike’s reputation several years ago, but since then, it has strived to become a truly respectable company. Located on Nike's website you can find Phil Knight's credo about ethics. It is as follows:
Phil Knight started his shoe company by selling shoes from the back of his car. As he became more successful in 1972 he branded the name Nike. In the 1980’s Nike Corporation quickly grew and established itself as a world leader in manufacturing and distributing athletic footwear and sports' attire. The Nike manufacturing model has followed is to outsource its manufacturing to developing nations in the Asia Pacific, Africa, South and Latin Americas; where labor is inexpensive. It quickly became known for its iconic “swoosh” and “Just do it” advertisements and products. Its highly successful advertising campaigns and brand developed its strong market share and consumer base. But, the road has not always been easy for Nike; in the late 1990’s they went through some challenging times when their brand become synonymous with slave wages and child labor abuses. During this period, Nike learned that it paramount that the company understands its stakeholders’ opinions and ensures their values are congruent with their stakeholders. Nike learned that their stakeholders were concerned with more than buying low cost products; their customers were also concerned with ethical and fair treatment of their workers. Because Nike was unwilling to face the ethical treatment of its employees, the company lost its loyal customers and damaged its reputation. Nike has bounced back since the late 1990’s and revived its reputation by focusing on its internal shortfalls and attacking its issues head on. Nike nearly collapsed from its missteps in the late 1990’s. They have learned from their mistakes and taken steps to quickly identify ethical issues before they become a crisis through ethics audits. This paper is based on the case study of Nike: From Sweatsh...
In Oregon, the legendary Bill Bowerman, who joined forces with him in 1964 to become the number one company selling athletic shoes, coached Knight. It was Knight’s idea to sell a low cost shoe with a very high quality.
Nike Inc. was founded in 1962 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as a partnership under the name, Blue Ribbon Sports. Our modest goal then was to distribute low-cost, high-quality Japanese athletic shoes to American consumers in an attempt to break Germany's domination of the domestic industry. In 2000 Nike Inc. not only manufactured and distributed athletic shoes at every marketable price point to a global market, but over 40% of our sales came from athletic apparel, sports equipment, and subsidiary ventures. Nike maintains traditional and non-traditional distribution channels in more than 100 countries targeting its primary market regions: United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas (not including the United States).
Michael Jordan not only changed the game of basketball, but more importantly, he changed the sports industry. Because of his American values of motivation, dedication, and a hard work ethic, he has helped define the way society views the sports industry. When people think of Michael Jordan, the thoughts that come to mind are most likely something to do with his Jordan Brand. Jordan had endorsements ranging from food products, store products, and his own brand “Jordan.”
Executive Summary Introduction Kimi Ford, a portfolio manager at NorthPoint Group, a mutual-fund management firm, was considering buying shares in the fund she manages, the NorthPoint Large-Cap Fund, with an emphasis on value investing. Ford held an analysts’ meeting to disclose its fiscal-year 2001 results and, most importantly, to communicate a strategy for revitalizing the company. Nike has maintained revenue of about $9 billion since 1997. However, its net income had fallen from almost $800 million to $580 million. Moreover, Nike’s market share in U.S. athletic shoes has fallen from 48% in 1997 to 42% in 2000.
Let’s use Bill Gates, one of the great worldwide leaders, for this instance. As we all acknowledge, Bill Gates is always considered, without doubt, a successful man and one of the top ranking leaders. We as well know that Bill Gates, of course, was not a leader by birth, nor did any creator intentionally or accidentally bestow him the knowledge he possesses today, but rather by his acquirement of experience throughout his lifetime.