Cultural Audit - Nike
Nike’s Cultural Audit Today a shoe is more than something to protect and keep one’s feet warm, it is a fashion statement, an athletic enhancer, rebellion, status, and the ins and outs of coolness. Shoes, mainly athletic shoes have changed drastically throughout the years. From weight, size, look, and comfort ability, Nike has been the leading footwear company to develop and lead such a growing industry. Peter Hitchcock, the author of Oscillate Wildly, wrote,
“The shoe is magical, within both the history of the commodity and the psychological compulsions of modern “man.” The shoe is the emblem of fetishism that links the commodity to desire. And the most magical shoe of all is the athletic shoe because it is simultaneously a symbol of cultural capital, physical prowess, self-esteem, economic and psychic overinvestment, and crass capital exploitation; in fact, it epitomizes late flexible capital accumulation and continuing masculinist regimes of disavowel” (Hitchcock).
Shoes mean something different to everyone, but one thing remains constant, they are a big part of everyone’s lives, whether they realize it or not. Nike is the world’s leading athletic shoe industry, founded in 1972; they have climbed their way to the top and will not be knocked down. Nikes sales are impressive and they are a company devoted to upholding standards and morals within their company and suppliers.
Overview of Nike
In 1972 Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created an athletic shoe and clothing empire, known as Nike. Bowerman was a track and field coach at the University of Oregon, while Knight was a middle distance runner on Bowerman’s track team at Oregon. These two track stars created a company that would change the way athletic footwear was made and the image associated along with it. Nike works to fulfill its mission statement, which states that their mission is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world” (About NIKE Inc.). Before Nike was
“The shoe is magical, within both the history of the commodity and the psychological compulsions of modern “man.” The shoe is the emblem of fetishism that links the commodity to desire. And the most magical shoe of all is the athletic shoe because it is simultaneously a symbol of cultural capital, physical prowess, self-esteem, economic and psychic overinvestment, and crass capital exploitation; in fact, it epitomizes late flexible capital accumulation and continuing masculinist regimes of disavowel” (Hitchcock).
Shoes mean something different to everyone, but one thing remains constant, they are a big part of everyone’s lives, whether they realize it or not. Nike is the world’s leading athletic shoe industry, founded in 1972; they have climbed their way to the top and will not be knocked down. Nikes sales are impressive and they are a company devoted to upholding standards and morals within their company and suppliers.
Overview of Nike
In 1972 Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created an athletic shoe and clothing empire, known as Nike. Bowerman was a track and field coach at the University of Oregon, while Knight was a middle distance runner on Bowerman’s track team at Oregon. These two track stars created a company that would change the way athletic footwear was made and the image associated along with it. Nike works to fulfill its mission statement, which states that their mission is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world” (About NIKE Inc.). Before Nike was
Cited: “About NIKE, Inc.” NIKE, Inc. – n.p., n.d. Web 3 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nikeinc.com/pages/about-nike-inc>. Dutton, Gail. “How Nike is Changing the World, One Factory at a Time” Ethisphera Institute. 26 March 2008. Web. 18 Sep. 2012. <http://ethisphere.com/how-nike-is-changing-the-world-one-factory-at-a-time/>. Dyson, Michael Eric. “Be like Mike?: Michael Jordan and the Pedagogy of Desire.” Cultural Studies 7.1 (1993): 64-72. Print. Egan, T. “The Swoon of the Swoosh.” New York Times Magazine (1998): 66-70. Print. Hitchcock, Peter. Oscillate Wildly: Space, Body, and Spirit of Millennial Materialism. Minnesota, 1999. 113. Print. Hoberman, John M. Darwin’s Athletes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print. Katz, D. “Triumph of the Swoosh.” Sports Illustrated 79.7 (1993): 54-73. Print. Lane, R. “You Are What You Wear.” Forbes 400 158.9 (1996): 42-45. Print.