...In initially evaluating Company Q's actions it is relatively easy to identify that social responsibility and therefor ethical behavior, are secondary to fiscal directives. Company Q has survived as a small player in a large market because it is exactly that, a small player with an identifiable brand with community roots. These circumstances could provide Company Q with an advantage over its 'big box' competitors. But what Q has not done is seized upon its ability to relate to its local consumers. Instead it has chosen to be socially irresponsible and to fail in its ability to understand customer demand. It's failure to act with a responsibility towards these consumers has left Q with a public relations concern and a fiscal uncertainty. It is my opinion that with some simple adjustments and a business acumen that includes a social responsibility ethic, Company Q can adjust its current trend of store closures. Currently Q seems to be heavily focused on supplying bottom line profitability without any sense of responsibility to two of its major stakeholders: its employees and its local consumers. By doing so they creating damage, not only to the stakeholders mentioned, but also to all other stakeholders. To its employees Q is failing to create any kind of moral buy in by its employees. By demonstrating a lack of responsibility I believe that it is possible that its employees may well be left feeling alienated from the corporation goal and subsequently, as front line employees,...
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...Western Governors University EST1: Task 310.2.1-05 Corporate social responsibility is when a company takes responsibility for the effects the company has on society and the environment. Company Q's current attitude toward social responsibility is pretty negative. They will have to work hard to create a higher level of social responsibility, which is not only beneficial for society but for them as well. Some of the irresponsible social decisions they have made are as follows. The company closed two of their stores that happened to be located in higher-crime-rate areas in the city. They closed the stores because they were losing money on a consistent basis. It does not seem like the company thought out the closing of the stores thoroughly. With some changes they could have kept themselves from losing money while still serving that area and employing workers from that area. Company Q decided to throw their day-old products away instead of donating them to a local food bank. They decided to throw the food out even after the food bank had inquired about the company donating the food. The company's reason for not donating the food was due to the worry of losing money from possible theft of the food by employees saying they were donating the food when they were actually were not. This was a concern even though they had never actually donated food previously and had this theft situation actually occur. Another socially irresponsible decision that Company Q has made is in...
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...Ethical issues in Business EST 310.2.1-05 In today’s business realm stakeholders should be mindful of the impact of social responsibility within organizations. Company’s need to look for opportunities to maximize positive images and reduce negative images within society regardless of the size of the company. The benefits of being socially responsible can create shareholder capital as well as other opportunities for stakeholders. Company Q’s concern for social responsibility has been steadily declining for years. Their behavior lacks concern towards the primary stakeholders’ expectation of profit with tangible and intangible resources. This is seen in the way the company treats the customers, investors and suppliers. For example, the company has been passively dealing with the criminal activity within their community, causing the loss of products through theft and decreased revenue. They are experiencing a declining number of paying customers as a result of not being able to have a safe shopping experience. The company self-reports this fact by closing two stores due to constantly losing money in these high-crime areas, essentially enforcing their lack of concern for the job loss to their employees and suppliers. Their harsh attitude towards the primary stakeholders is evident in the lack of trust toward the employees and the blatant disregard to the customer’s request for certain quality/specialty products over the past few years. Furthermore, their poor management...
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...EST 1 310.2.1-05 Being a small, local grocery store chain in a major metropolitan area does not come without its challenges. In the recent past, national chains have been forcing smaller stores to close their doors. This coupled with local companies’ need to ensure that they are conducting their business having positive effects on social responsibility places a lot of focus on proper management. When making business decisions companies need to look at the broad spectrum of impacts that their decisions will have on the community, its employees, investors and its shareholders. (P.30, Business Ethics 2009 Update: Ethical Decision Making and Cases) Companies need to ensure that they understand the needs of their customers, quickly react to requests and maintain a positive reputation in order to be successful. Company Q has some improvements to make in order to thrive in the community and be able to compete with the emerging national chains. Recently Company Q chose to close two stores in areas where crime rates were higher within the city. The store closures are a result of consistent financial losses the stores experienced over several years. If the stores have consistently lost money over the years, we need to understand the reasons as to why. Company Q should have been able to understand the demographic of its customers in order to ensure that they had the correct product mix that would yield high returns. If Company Q was offering product not in demand it should...
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