Group Written Submission

CASE STUDIES ON REAL-WORLD MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES By (Your name) Class Number/Title/Name Professor’s Name School City and State where the school is located Date of Submission Case Study 1: Divine Chocolate’s Company Organizational Style 1 Describe Divine Chocolate’s social enterprise model. How does this differ from conventional business models?  This paper explores how Divine Chocolate embodies a concept of social enterprise due to its incorporation of social and economic justice into the company's functional model. Unlike any formal entrepreneurial venture aiming to achieve higher revenues for shareholders, Divine perfectly embeds cocoa farmers as partners in the company. Moreover, Divine Chocolate is owned 45% by Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of cocoa farmers from Ghana (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). This functional model enables farmers to be involved in management decisions, gives them a slice of the cake, and undermines the strategic direction the company should take. Furthermore, Divine Chocolate also makes a Fairtrade payment for all cocoa bought, where farmers can decide how the extra money is spent on issues affecting communities, such as schools, water, and health. Specifically, this model is very different from practice approaches in traditional businesses, where most supply chain workers are regarded as having less or no value. While traditional organizations' strategy is to increase shareholder value, Divine Chocolate retrialises cash and authority to farmers to encourage community development. Thus, through fair partnerships, Divine changes cocoa cultivation from a dangerous activity that sells the oppressed people into a profitable and healthy occupation. 2 Given that the chocolate industry is dominated by corporate giants, which can look daunting for a small competitor like Divine, what driving forces have enabled Divine Chocolate to survive and thrive? What additional challenges beyond the ones mentioned by Sophi are the company likely to face in the future? Driving Forces for Divine Chocolate The emerging Divine Chocolate has distinguished itself in an industry heavily influenced by transnational actors by adopting a unique business model supported by competitive strengths. One of the main factors that explain its high popularity is the ethical business identity, which meets the needs of emerging buyers who pay attention to socially relevant issues. Through the accentuation of the principles of Fairtrade and the direct participation of farmers, Divine offers a competitive advantage over counterparts who follow cost-leadership strategies. This has also seen Divine Benefit from partnerships as among the key growth strategies that have boosted the company's growth. This type of finance was made possible by early support from the UK Department for International Development, which offered a loan guarantee to the company. Furthermore, joint ventures with cooperatives in the UK strengthened Divine's manufacturing and outlet capabilities. Additionally, consumer involvement boosts its success even more by raising awareness of fair trade practices; Divine makes consumers part of value-based consumption (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). Next, flexibility has remained another element with much relevance as a foundation of innovation. Culturally, Divine Chocolate adapts its message to appeal to different markets – while claiming farmer ownership as the only way out of poverty back in the USA, where this sounds more like “The American Dream.” Divine Chocolate has followed the growth rates through flexibility and consumer-oriented activities even as the industry remains fragmented and concentrated (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). Additional Challenges Faced by Divine Chocolate Although Divine has faced numerous difficulties, it continues to face difficulties today. The fact that the chocolate industry has long been consolidating with big players controlling both the stores that offer chocolates and the suppliers who provide materials for these products has become a significant danger. In this context, it becomes challenging to acquire and sustain access to various retail premises (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). Other concerns include the need for more climate change initiatives. Agriculture, in particular, and cocoa production, in particular, is susceptible to changes in climate that could harm the food chain and the farmers. Avoiding the above risks affecting Divine Chocolate requires further investments in sustainabl...