In today’s society a business not only has the mandate to be profitable for the stakeholders, but also to present a positive image of social responsibility. Company Q has not demonstrated the behavior of care and concern for the community. Although Company Q has been successful in building a small grocery store chain in a large metropolitan city, if their position regarding social responsibility does not change it could prove to be detrimental to their business. The business practices that worked for Company Q in the beginning obviously did not factor in social responsibility and therefore will not sustain the company’s future growth.

Company Q recently decided to close two stores in higher-crime areas of the city, reportedly because these stores were consistently losing money. Although loss revenue is certainly an area of concern, this decision did not take into consideration the negative impact the store closing would have in the community. More specifically, many residents of the community chose to shop at Company Q because the store was conveniently located in the community and these stores employ many of the local residents. The closing of these stores coupled with Company Q’s recent decision to start offering health-conscience and organic products in all of their remaining stores could raise an ethical question. Did Company Q overlook the need in the community for the purpose of a profit? Company Q has also exhibited poor judgment when asked by the local food bank for a donation of day old products. Company Q’s reasoning was concern over lost reviews due to possible fraud among employees and employees stealing under the pretense that they were donating the food. These are just a few of the situations where Company Q has made decisions that were contrary to the support of social responsibility.

Company Q must overcome this negative image