A1-Reflective Summary

Context and background

Organisations increasingly communicate a commitment to social purpose. However, not all purpose claims translate into genuine strategic value or substantial social impact. This essay requires you to critically analyse how a chosen organisation defines, embeds, and leverages social purpose as part of its business strategy, while evaluating the authenticity of its claims and the extent of internal alignment between leadership intent, organisational culture, and operational execution.

Assessment Learning Outcomes

By completing this assessment, students will be able to:

• Critically assess whether organisational social purpose is strategically embedded or merely symbolic
• Apply theory to real organisations to evaluate social impact and competitive advantage
• Judge the authenticity and internal alignment of purpose claims
• Develop evidence-based, ethically grounded recommendations
• Strengthen strategic thinking, critical writing, and professional judgement

The Task

Select one organisation of your choice and write a research-based critical essay addressing the following dimensions:

About the organization

1. Organisation name, sector, and core business activities
2. Geographic scope (local/regional/global)
3. Ownership type (public, private, hybrid, etc.)
4. Key stakeholders affected by the organisations social purpose claims

Business Model Snapshot

1. How the organisation primarily creates and captures value
2. Key products or services
3. Primary customer segments

Defining Social Purpose

1. How is social purpose articulated in the organisations vision, mission, and strategy?
2. Is purpose central to the business model or peripheral?

The Business Case for Social Impact

1. How does social purpose contribute to competitive advantage, differentiation, or brand equity?
2. Use relevant theories (e.g., stakeholder theory, shared value).

Stakeholder Theory

1. Stakeholder Theory argues that a firms success depends on how well it creates and manages value for all stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders, rather than focusing solely on shareholder profit maximization.

Shared Value

1. Shared Value refers to business strategies that simultaneously generate economic value for the firm and social value for society by addressing social or environmental problems through the firms core activities and competitive positioning.
2. Critically evaluate whether social impact enhances long-term value creation rather than short-term reputational gains.

Authenticity and the Risk of Purpose-Washing

1. Critically evaluate whether the organisations social purpose is genuine or symbolic.
2. Identify gaps (if any) between communication and operational practice.

Recommednations

This section requires you to translate your critical analysis into strategic, evidence-based recommendations aimed at strengthening the organisations social purpose, authenticity, and internal alignment.

Recommendations should be realistic, clearly linked to identified weaknesses, and demonstrate strategic judgment rather than idealistic aspirations.

Research Expectations

• Peer-reviewed academic sources
• Corporate sustainability or impact reports
• Brand communications and campaigns
• Independent media, NGO, or third-party evaluations

Table of contents

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Organisation Overview
3. Business Model Overview
4. Social Purpose and Strategy
5. The Business Case for Social Purpose
6. Authenticity and Internal Alignment
7. Critical Analysis and Discussion
8. Recommendations
9. References

Important note

This assessment does not require direct access to an organisation. You are expected to rely on secondary data sources, including public corporate reports, brand communications, academic literature, and independent third-party sources. The objective is to critically analyse how social purpose is articulated and enacted, not to verify internal operational data.

REPORT STRUCTURE/REQUIREMENTS/ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

1. Total Word Count: 1,500 – 2,000 10% (main body text only; excludes executive summary, references, and appendices)
2. Referencing: APA style referencing is mandatory. All in-text citations must follow APA format, and a complete reference list must be included at the end of the report.
3. Academic Integrity: Students must adhere to Hult International Business Schools plagiarism and AI usage policy. All work must be original, properly cited, and demonstrate independent critical thinking. Improper use of AI tools, including the uncredited use of AI-generated content, will be treated as academic misconduct. If you used AI, please cite it.

PS: I have chosen Ben & Jerry’s. Please follow the exact guidelines and make sure it is very straight forward and simply written.