Question

Ch 4

Discuss the “The Bottom of the Pyramid” concept as used in this chapter. Demonstrate the rationale driving this concept and whether or not it is a threat or an opportunity to society. How must the relevant stakeholders deal with it in the from the utilitarian stand point? Understand this concept well first before you respond to the discussion requirement.

Book is Business and Society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. 15^th ed. (2017) By Anne T. Lawrence and James Weber

Answer 1

The bottom of the pyramid, bottom of the wealth pyramid or the bottom of the income pyramid is the largest, but poorest socio-economic group. In global terms, this is the 2.7 billion people who live on less than $2.50 a day.( Malik, Khalid,2014) .the rational driving this concept is to describe the large group of consumers living at the bottom of the global economic or wealth pyramid. It is the concept which tells us about the wealth and economic structure of population in our country.

I think this concept is like an opportunity because this concept helps to find ways that how current economic situation of people is and how we and government can remove such poverty from the country.It depends on us as people think like positive that if there is poverty in country then we need to remove that by generating employment opportunity, increase education level of people, create business opportunities in our country , lead innovation and creativity etc.

I think utilitarian stand point is the one in which best decision is which brings happiness to greatest number of people and if stakeholders like customers, suppliers, business investors, government make decision to improve the wealth and living of people in the country under bottom of pyramid then it would bring happiness to all those millions of people in poverty.

Companies and government should try to create products and services which are low cost and budgeted and afforded by such low class people in the pyramid and give them employment opportunities to improve their standard of living.

ref-

Malik, Khalid (2014), "Chapter 1: Vulnerability and human development" (PDF), Human Development Report: Sustaining Human Progress, New York: United Nations Development Programme, p. 19,

http://www.eighty20.co.za/bottom-of-the-pyramid/