Company Q's Negative Attitude Toward Social Responsibility

1. In order to implement an organizations commitment to social responsibility it is necessary to identify what social problem the organization intends to address, develop policies on what the organization plans to do to successfully fulfill its obligation and ensure stakeholder buy-in. The main obstacles an organization faces when implementing socially responsible policies is pressure from stockholders and business analysis who want steady increase in earnings. Without steady increase in profits, it becomes difficult to reinvest money in these areas. The following actions can be taken toward increased social responsibility:

Another challenge for companies when considering social responsibility is the possible negative perception of shareholders. Historically, publicly-owned companies had a primary focus of maximizing shareholder value. Now, they must balance the financial expectations of company owners with the social and environmental

Companies that are willing to contribute resources to various causes are preferred by customers and shareholders. Responsible businesses are able to attract more investors and customers will feel good utilising the services provided by companies that aid the community. This in turn increases profits gained by Qantas, which is the primary concern for any business. No organisation can exist alone, interaction with the community is unavoidable. Corporate social responsibilities help to strengthen the relationship between the company and the people through producing a positive impact on

Company Q is a corporation whose stakeholders have not placed a major emphasis on social responsibility, instead it appears that the primary focus is placed on profit. With their profits on the decline, they are shying away from opportunities to help their community. By placing a higher priority on social responsibility Company Q will have the opportunity to help the community through charitable donations, employee volunteer initiatives, and creating quality jobs for the persons who live in the community. At the same time, Company Q will can also improve their public image and potentially increase profit.

Participating in the food bank program would benefit Company Q in becoming a better corporate citizen. In areas of high poverty the food bank supplies a service to those unable to afford food. The food bank must rely on donations from local individuals and businesses to be able to serve the community. Company Q could provide food to the food bank that would normally go to waste. In an indirect way this could affect the crime-rates in certain parts of the city if theft was due to unaffordable goods such as food. The lack of trust in their employees reflects poorly on Company Q. With no prior evidence that this has or was happening these assumptions towards the workforce, a stakeholder, are unfounded. Company Q can easily rectify this situation by making a simple and easy to follow standard operating procedure that would make the food bank donations transparent and resolve any discrepancies that could arise between management and employees. Following this plan would benefit the community, workforce, and make Company Q a better corporate citizen.

Company Q is a small local grocery store chain that has a poor attitude toward social responsibility. After reviewing the given, I feel the chain is more committed to profit than social responsibility. Most companies are in a business to make a profit, however, the difference in what is considered reasonable and what is considered ridiculous comes into play. Most people start companies because it something they are interested in and to make a living. In today’s society the line between outright social responsibility

Company Q does not currently have a positive attitude toward social responsibility. They recently closed several stores in higher crime areas. This has eliminated job positions that were held by residents of the area and taken away revenue from the community itself. This is not being socially responsible. The company just started offering a limited selection of health and organic foods despite that the demand from customers has been there for years. They have also made the decision to not donate day old food to the local shelters, opting instead to waste the food by throwing it away. Company Q needs to make several changes in their company behavior in order to become more socially responsible.

The recommendations above will support Company Q in moving away from being a social responsible inept grocery chain with one that is admired and respected in the community and is an example of corporate citizenship. As a result, Company Q stakeholders that include the owners, managers, employees, customers, farmers and distributors will benefit from being a part of a strong and economically viable grocery

1. Company Q definately needs to have an all empoloyee staff meeting, and in that meeting some of things that management needs to bring to the attention of their employees is the current issues they are having in regards to employee theft, and how that problem was a big contributing factor in their decision to stores. Also, in this meeting i think it would be beneficial for Management to require all employees to attend a manditory presentation that will put into perspective the damage of dishonest employees, and how that problem alone can effect a business, that customers, consumers, or clients of that business, and also how it will effect other employees who aren't being dishonest.

There are four levels of social responsibility – economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic. Let us evaluate one by one for the given scenario.

Companies today are heavily influenced by the demands of customers and stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the social and environmental responsibility policies and practices developed by an organization to increase its positive influence and reduce its negative activity towards society (Parks, 2008). The business approach and corporate philosophy of an organization is easily altered due to economic pressures, technological improvement and stakeholder needs and demands. "Going green" or being eco-friendly is one such demand. Environmental and sustainability concerns originate most often from governments, consumer activists, and the general public (Schlosser, 2008). Thus, organizations must implement sustainability into daily practices. In addition, sustainability alters the nature of competition and drives companies to think differently about products, processes, and technologies (Parks, 2008).

The centre of the debate about the CSR is the nature and extent of corporate obligations that extend beyond the economic and legal responsibilities of the firm. “The idea of social responsibilities supposes that the corporation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities to society which extend beyond these obligations” (McGuire, 1963: 144). The issue is therefore critical for the firm as it is in the business’s long-term self-interest to be socially responsible. If Chiquita wants to have a healthy climate in which to function in the future, it must take actions now to ensure its long-term viability. Ultimately it will benefit the company by “winning the public” because the public believe firms should take on social responsibility.

I chose to look into General Electric for this project because they are an energy supplier and multi-national company. Energy providers have a reputation as a money hungry companies that care about the bottom line more than people and the planet. It is easy for a person to assume that a corporation of GE’s size, money would be its only concern. What I learned was that GE has a public image problem more than a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) problem. The company has been working to make the people of the planet more Earth friendly by creating technology that has higher efficiency with fewer emissions and lower resource demands. GE has a well-established strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility. As a result of CSR the company

Our consensus on the social responsibilities of a business include responsibilities to the environment, the community, customers, shareholders, and employees. Such responsibilities would include, creating new wealth, and new jobs according to Michael Novak. (Jennings) We all felt that although it may be possible for a business to abide by all of these responsibilities at the same time, it is highly unlikely due to conflicts between the social responsibilities. For example, in order to make profit and charge their customers less, the business may not always be able to ensure perfect performance in regards to environmental responsibility.

there were internal failures, more could have been done to ensure that the directors who were not acting ‘illegally’ acted with more consideration for their non-shareholders.