National Rifle Association, Essay Example

Social performance is characterized as “the viable interpretation of the establishment’s mission into practice in accordance with acknowledged social qualities.” As it were, social performance is about making an association’s social mission a reality. More importantly the aspect of social performance measures how well the organization has emphasized its social goals into their business strategy. It is measured through their actions, principles, and measured used in correcting any practices that don’t line up with their mission. Organizations are constantly in the spotlight because of their outside activities.  A more narrow focus on corporate social responsibility has been in the spotlight due to recent high profile scandals from organizations. Stakeholders and shareholders are usually affected the most when organizations do not take into consideration their decisions. As the world is continually linking together, and more individuals are having access to business information, the importance has been placed on external and internal factors of an organization. One of the most contentious organizations is the National Rifle Association in which has been under heated debate. Due to the many recent tragic events that have left many innocent lives dead including several children, there has been a call to gun control, with the National Rifle Association (NRA), in the forefront for the blame. In looking at the organization, this paper will also focus on analyzing the environmental impacts to the organization’s success, looking at the organization’s stakeholders, look at the corporate social responsibility concerns, and challenges that a potential stakeholder coalition would face within the organization.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) was founded by two form union soldiers in 1871, General George Wingate and Col. William C. Church. Their initial goal was to create an organization in which would encourage others to shoot their rifles, and promote rifles in regards to science. They received their bank loan In New York and was granted a charter the same year. However, they faced considerable political opposition in New York, so they moved to New Jersey, and they began to promote the club to recruit members. Throughout their history of establishing the organization, they went to social clubs, shooting clubs, colleges, and military compounds. As they years past they continued to grow and expand their offerings. (NRA, 2014)  The organization grew in popular during the early 20th century as more youth organizations took a fancy to the shooting competitions which included Boy Scouts of America, 4-H, and colleges.

The National Rifle Association further popularized their organization by building several gun ranges and shooting facilities in which they established education programs for hunting, launching a magazine, and offered their gun facilities to the government in order to be used for training and practicing.

However, the organization still faced several political opposition, which included being in violation of the Second Amendment in 1934, which forced the organization to create their own Legislative Affairs Division, and the Institution for Legislative Action in order to deal with the onslaught from the government. (NRA, 2014) As time progressed, the organization continued to promote rifles and guns by offering training and education promotions to discuss gun safety to young individuals. They also continued to open up their ranges during wartime for training and military practices. Provided the government with training materials, and establishing their hunter program. As the organization continued to set up plans for the future, they established the National Rifle Foundation in 1990, to secure their financial support, which helped in raising money to continue fund their education projects and gun safety programs for the public and their organization.

Looking at the National Rifle Association’s external environment, the two key factors which impact the organization’s success are the increasing importance placed on ethical decision making and reasoning, as well as the changing expectations of society. The increasingly changing expectations dictated by society can have unsurmountable impact on the success of their organization. The National Rifle Association has positively helped in education individuals on the importance of gun safety and encourages people to enjoy the sport of shooting. The swelling importance that has been placed on ethical decision making has also impacted the measure of success for the organization. In the wake of several recent gun massacres that include; James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado, Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, Elliot Rodger in California, and several other smaller shooting sprees around the United States. (DeGrazia, 20140) The prevalent occurrences have forced the government, more importantly the President to placed stringent restrictions on gun laws as there has been a momentous outcry for gun control laws. The public has been ardent about placing restrictions on individuals who choose to purchase firearms, and this includes more in-depth background checks and longer waiting periods. (Iltis, 2013) However a spokesperson for the NRA recently stated in opposition that if the government wants to quell the gun attacks, they need to get tougher on prosecuting criminals that intentionally misuse guns, and not on trying to punish law-abiding owners of guns. (Blades, 2013)

In focusing on the key stakeholder for the National Rifle Association, law enforcement has been provided with training, gun safety programs, educational programs, and places for their annual competition and gun training. The NRA has also established their own Law Enforcement Division in order to support the law enforcement community specifically, in order to certify firearm instructors and other certification programs. (NRA, 2014) The organization consistently aims to maintain ties with the 4-H, Boy Scouts of America, and other youth groups. Their constant involvement with the organizations includes providing funding, donations, instructors for programs, and equipment to several firearm ranges and competitions. The primary stakeholders have substantial interest in the performance and the actions of the organization, as it assesses its business activities. These stakeholders incorporate employees, customers, the board of directors, shareholders, suppliers, and gun owners. Primary stakeholders can have substantial effects on the failures and the success of the organization. As noted in research, “Building on the work of others, Clarkson (1995) defines primary stakeholders as those “without who’s continuing participation; the corporation cannot survive as a going concern,” suggesting that these relationships are characterized by mutual interdependence” (Alexander, Miesing, Parsons 2002). The essential stakeholders can help with the budgetary part of NRA is by giving cash or having pledge drives inside the diverse associations. Raising cash for NRA will help teach individuals on firearm wellbeing, self-preservation preparing and charging educational cost for the shooting foundation helps cops with preparing. The clients have influence in the NRA budgetary execution because the NRA supply and the clients request.Clients like the incredible worth.

The implications of corporate social responsibility incorporate that obligation implies that an organization ought to act in a manner that improves society and its occupants and be considered responsible for any of its activities that influence individuals, their groups, and nature’s domain (Lawrence,Weber, 2014 ). Smith & Wesson, the firearm producer, settled on a choice to anticipate gun mishaps, especially among kids. The organization decided to put wellbeing bolts on its firearms and create engineering that just permits weapons to shoot for their holders. In doing, thus, the organization incensed its firearm managers and the National Rifle Association, and its deals took a foreseeable huge hit. For this situation, the cost of corporate social responsibility is the company’s sales. Looking at the case of the Smith & Wesson organization, the NRA was disappointed with their activities to incorporate bolts on its handguns. The NRA felt that the organization was agreeing with governmental issues and were attempting to put a control on the weapon taking care of. In this circumstance, as the leader of the stakeholder’s coalition, they would have been a bargain or negotiation made with the organization. This organization is attempting to evade claims due the reality individuals were considering firearm makers in charge of fierce law violations. In this manner, Smith & Wesson included the security characteristic.

In the event that I was a persuasive stakeholder, I would audit all data that is occurring and base my choice from those actualities. I wouldn’t have made a major ordeal about the wellbeing gimmicks because it helps recovery lives from some insensible individuals who don’t work a weapon appropriately or for the correct reasons. Numerous children are discovering weapons that are owned by their parents, and accidently shooting themselves, with more secure means, most of these accidents would not have happened. I would exhort that firearm makes that the association buy from would advise the NRA of progressions. Along these lines, they would legitimately argue their case on whether these new peculiarities would influence the general offers and what effect will it have on their clients. The NRA can’t help contradicting lawmakers and their presumptions on authorizing firearm control and for an organization to favor the adversary causes interruption with the association.

In the event that I was to lead the coalition, the potential difficulties faced would be new firearm laws. There would be an attempt to discover ways that the legislature and NRA can go to a concurrence on a percentage of the firearm control confinements. I would keep an in profundity historical verification, and if an individual needs a buy a weapon, I will verify that they have received an instructional course. The instructional course would comprise of the wellbeing of taking care of a weapon, and I would head over their firearm rights as indicated by the state law, and I would guarantee that an individual can legitimately shoot a weapon. As far, as children for purposes of using weapons for hunting, there should be a system in place to verify that the firearms have the best possible security offers if there should be an occurrence of unintentional misusing. Additional challenges include would mean to handle instructing individuals on their firearm rights in their state. For example in Florida, individuals had contradictions on a bill being passed about having individuals who had mental wellbeing issues weapon rights (Dunkelberger, 2013). Inhabitants in this state were addressing their Second Amendment. NRA contended that if the individuals with mental wellbeing issues got their legitimate medicines and able to handle a weapon, then they are qualified to have a firearm.

In this occurrence, there would additional safety measures in place, which these patients won’t result in damage to themselves or others in the wake of taking a broad testing. More importantly try to handle people’s opinions of gun violence. The NRA has been bashed because of much firearm savagery in schools and with Newtown being the most recent occurrence it attracts negative thoughtfulness regarding the affiliation. I will advise individuals weapon brutality is something that is in ordinary life. In the event that there would have been somebody on the yard convey a weapon, and then there would have been fewer losses. For this situation, this will be a self-preservation circumstance. Schools ought to have no less than one officer or security staff with a weapon on the off chance that a circumstance like this emerges. The NRA could appropriately prepare this staff on self-preservation courses and antagonistic environment circumstances.

All in all, the NRA is an association that stands for the Second Amendment, which ensures the right of individual to keep and carry weapons. NRA confronts numerous difficulties with the legislature attempting to uphold a firearm control. On the off chance that individuals make the best possible strides in getting a firearm permit and pass a recorded verification, they ought to have the right to pick any weapon they would like. On the off chance that the legislature make the best possible strides in keeping the database upgraded so that past criminals and wrongdoers are hailed it wouldn’t be much of a bother on dismissing individuals. NRA helps numerous diverse associations it began as making a sportsmanship and wind up giving preparing and safeguarding laws on weapons. Stakeholders in this association need to manage the constructive and pessimistic impacts in NRA. Individuals listening to the administration can cut the deals down and the individuals who contradict the legislature activities are driving customers to buy more firearms under the watchful eye of the law is passed. The NRA has numerous corporate social obligations the extent that numerous weapon roughness have been affecting schools. The NRA continues to be a debatable organization, however continues to monitor their decisions and actions to preserve their mission for the future.

References

Alexander, Christopher S., Miesing, Paul, Parsons, Amy. (2002). How Important are Stakeholder Relationships? State University of New York at Albany. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/~pm157/research/stakeholders.pdf

DeGrazia, David. (2014). The Case of Moderate Gun Control. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. Vol. 24, No 1. Pp. 1-24. Retrieved from https://kiej.georgetown.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/24.1.degrazia.pdf

Dunkelberger, L. (2013) NRA faces a Florida challenge. Herald Tribune. Retrieved from www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130622/ARTICLE/130629878?p=3&tc+pg#gsc.tab=0

Lawrence, A.T, Weber, J. (2014). Business & Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy. (14th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Iltis, Robert S. (2014). Tragedy at Sandy Hook and the National Rifle Associations’ Propaganda Response. Oregon State. Retrieved from http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/49251/GundlachAndrewJ2014.pdf?sequence=1

NRA History. (2014). NRA. Retrieved from http://home.nra.org/history/list/history-feature