Company Q as a small company in a large metropolis seems at this point focused more on attempting to regain profit and sustainability versus social responsibility. This seems more apparent in that they closed stores in high crime areas because of financial loss versus evaluating the local demand and perhaps changing their business model to be a more conducive fit for the local area. They also have issue with believing that their employee base would be more inclined to deceive the company and steal its product than trust that with proper training and support, that they could as well be a contributing portion of the community. Finally they make a small attempt at trying to appeal to the community by providing a very limited amount of specialized food products at the request of the customer base, however it seems likely that this was only made viable as there is a large margin of return on the organic, healthy choice food items. This request was fulfilled after years of requests. The choice for Company Q to close up stores in high crime areas due to loss of income or profit becomes a social liability due to fact it give the appearance that the company does not concern itself about the community that they had hoped to profit from. To begin with, high crime areas are typically also low income or no income areas. Creating opportunity for individuals to earn a legitimate income as well as create a chance for community pride to develop. By focusing recruiting the workforce from the local area and offering a competitive wage and benefit package allows for individuals to make choices that will potentially cause change to the environment. Giving people a chance to earn enough income to support their family as well as provide medical coverage and opportunities to go to college and advance themselves could set the precedent for other local businesses to follow suit. It only takes a pebble to cause a larger ripple in a pond. Taking actions like hosting job fairs that not only include positions within Company Q, but also including other businesses in the area could facilitate the much needed change that the community needs. Creating opportunities for community and career pride to grow, would give hard working people the chance to prove that if given the option that they would make decisions that coincide with the overall goals of the company. Choices like this would create the window for Company Q to consider possible activities such as donating day old food to local food banks and shelters. The fact that they are concerned that the employees would consider committing fraud by being deceptive about their intentions only shows that they are likely not supporting their employees with competitive wages, advancement opportunities, or trust. Actions such as this taken by Company Q would benefit the community in two ways. First it shows that they are a charitable group that is not solely focused on profit, but also looking to better the local area by ensuring that food is available to people who are truly in need of assistance. By being a company that provides assistance to the needy, they will have a high probability of gaining a large amount of free press from local media that equates to free advertising for the grocery. As with any business, the best press is free press. This tends to be especially true when the company gaining such recognition is doing so by having a largely positive impact on the local community. Second, it also shows that the company trusts its employees. This type of positive feedback may create an even further reach to people in the community that may have not considered working for Company Q because of a former level of distrust. This will obviously have a large impact on the community perception, because in all honesty who really wants to work for a company that has a reputation for not trusting its key asset' its employees. Finally, by offering only a limited amount of specialized healthy and organic food items after many requests by the consumer the company creates even further separation between themselves and the social community. Where this may seem to be an effort to improve the company's overall social appearance, it really can potentially cause more damage. As the only items being offered are limited and high margin items, the company is showing that it is again primarily focused on profit versus what the people of the community are really requesting. By reaching out to local farmers and suppliers, the company not only potentially can reach an agreement that allows for the needed profit, but also allows for consumers to attain product that is locally grown, as well as at a reasonable cost. This also shows the community that the company is again focused and concerned supporting those who they hope to serve. In summary, I do feel that Company Q is in a precarious situation of completely losing the support of their customer base by making profit their obvious motive. I realize that profit is a key to sustainability for any business, however the consumer must also feel that they are more than just a cash cow. Ways that Company Q can improve their social standing would be by first finding ways to help improve the immediate community versus simply abandoning it. They could work harder to recruit local people to staff their stores, offer job fairs that not only support their business, but help others in the area, and even have events where they allow employees the opportunity to give back and assist the community with neighborhood clean up operations and similar activities. They could also find ways to implement programs that would allow them to develop legitimate means of donating food that is still safe and healthy, but beyond shelf life to local shelters and food banks. This would allow them to show that they care for the community and trust that their employees are not simply stealing food or profits. Finally, by finding ways to support local suppliers and farmers, they can both support the local economy and community, as well as offer healthy and organic food choices. As the consumer base has been requesting this for years and the only way that Company Q has responded is by offer a limited selection of high margin items, a simple action like this will begin to repair the trust that has been damaged. I believe that Company Q has a great possibility of regaining the support of the community as well as improving profits, but to do so they are going to have to create and implement programs that make direct impacts to their social standing.