...value is through the implementation of a social responsibility platform within common business practices and operations. The definition of social responsibility is for a company to maximize positive benefits and minimize negative effects to their stakeholders. Company Q’s lack of concern towards their primary and secondary stakeholder’s interests highlights their disregard, intentional or not, of social responsibility and the resulting negative effects it creates. Company Q demonstrated this social responsibility neglect to their primary shareholders by delaying their customers’ desire for organic, healthier options and by implying mistrust of their employees. Social responsibility advises regular attunement to stakeholders concerns as a means of keeping in touch with them, a form of open communication. It took three years of customer requests to implement the addition of organic food to Company Q’s inventory. A modest turn-around time is understandable as not all stakeholder desires are achievable. This request, was obviously achievable based on the eventual presence of organic goods, however it was ignored for a lengthy time; this does not demonstrate an attitude of social responsibility from Company Q. A company’s social responsibility also pertains to another primary stakeholder, their employees. Employees are considered stakeholders due to their concern over their employer’s wellbeing: it’s a symbiotic relationship. Company Q’s distrust of their employees, citing internal...
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...000348292 rmoelic@wgu.edu EST Task 1 Company Q’s current attitude towards social responsibility. Company Q is a small grocery store chain located in a major metropolitan area. They have recently closed stores in higher-crime-rate areas of the city. Also, after years of requests from consumers, they have started offering a very limited amount of health-conscience and organic products, which have very high profit margins. A local food bank asked company Q for donations of day-old products and company Q’s management declined deciding instead to throw the food away. The management team cited worries that they may lose revenue due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who might say they are donating the food. It is clear by company Q’s actions that their current attitude towards social responsibility is basically non-existent. Company Q is highly concerned with profit margins and not concerned about having a positive affect within the community they are serving. This type of attitude creates a negative perception of the company by both the customer and the employees within the company. This could be causing both loss of business and low employee satisfaction, which can lead to multiple problems. Recommendations. Closing stores in high-crime-rate areas shows that company Q has overlooked the potential value of those areas. Instead of closing the stores, company Q could establish a crime watch organization. Company Q could hold weekend events that include...
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...I am tasked is to evaluate Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility and recommend three actions that Company Q could take to improve their attitude toward social responsibility. In evaluating Company Q’s attitude towards social responsibility there are a couple of examples that displays the company’s lack of social responsibility awareness. Company Q closed a couple of stores in higher-crime-rate areas with a claim that the stores are consistently losing money. The issue here is that closing these stores can create the perception that Company Q does not care about customers in these areas. In addition, after years of their customers requesting they start offering health-conscience and organic products, the company went ahead and stocked their shelves with the requested products but only a very limited amount. This can be seen as a half hearty attempt to please their customers, and a disregard for supplying healthy and possibly environmentally friendly products. Company Q also failed at another social responsibility initiative by declining to donate day-old products to a food bank, and further degrading their employees by projecting the possible loss revenue may result due to employee fraud and theft. The steps to make Company Q a more social responsibility aware entity can be achieved by putting immediate processes in place for the key points stated above. Company Q has the advantage of being a small local grocery chain and can follow examples...
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...In evaluating the current social responsibility attitude of the small local grocery store chain, Company Q, it is apparent that they have taken the stance of a shareholder model of corporate governance, as opposed to the stakeholder model. This evaluation is based on their focus of maximizing capital for its investors/owners. This type of orientation drives their decisions toward the best interests of the investors, not of the community or focus of social responsibility. Being socially responsible means that people and organizations behave ethically and with sensitivity toward social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues. Striving for social responsibility helps people, organizations, and governments have a positive impact on development, business, and society with a positive contribution to bottom-line results.("What Is Social Responsibility," n.d., para. 1) Company Q's actions of closing two stores in higher-crime-rate areas because they consistently lost money, as well as denying the request from the local food bank to donate their day-old products to help feed needy families, citing the concern of lost revenue from possible fraud and potential stealing from employees, support the evaluation of Company Q as being socially irresponsible. Closing two stores in the higher-crime areas could possibly have a more dramatic and negative effect on the community by appearing that Company Q has abandoned that section of the community for a safer, more profitable location...
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...within the community. When a business forgets it ethical duty to be socially responsible, it can lead to negative effects not only within the company, but also within the community it participates in. We will look at Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility and how it can make an immediate and resolute improvement. Evaluation of Company Q’s Social Responsibility – Task A Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility is bleak. It does not seem to have any trust in the community nor its employees. The book defines social responsibility as “an organization’s obligation to maximize its positive impact on stakeholders and to minimize its negative impact” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, 2010, p. 12). I would expand further to say it includes the ethical duty to the community and everyone the company comes in contact to. Their errors and lapse of judgment are not difficult to assess. The company must make a more conscious effort to revive its attitude toward social responsibility. 3 Areas for Company Q to Improve its Social Responsibility – Task B Many restaurants and food service related business find it not only rewarding, but also beneficial to donate unused food at the end of business. Company Q is currently destroying all day old food for reasons that seem less than honorable. Panera Bread is a perfect company to model this effort after. After the close of business, all the fresh bread that was not sold that day is donated to local shelters. Staff...
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...Part A Company Q’s current attitude towards social responsibility is based on the financial bottom line without regard to the communities that they serve. Company Q’s decision to dispose of food rather than donate for use in the community shows that the bottom line is more important than the customers they serve. The reason given for this business decision is the possible fraud and theft by employees, which hasn’t actually happened, leaving one with the impression that they do not value their employees any more than they value the community. Company Q responded to requests from their customers on a very limited basis after years of requests, showing that they do not value their customers very highly. Company Q’s decision to close stores in the high crime areas, completely ignoring the needs of the stakeholders in the neighborhood, shows that they are out of touch with current standards and expectations. High crime neighborhoods are often low income neighborhoods; the same neighborhoods that most need a grocery store. The decision to close the stores in these neighborhoods show very poor corporate citizenship by Company Q and could cause further decline in sales in other stores as community citizens will likely make another choice when having to travel for their shopping. Overall Company Q seems to lack a current policy of corporate social responsibility and behaves thoughtlessly in respect to the people that need them most. Part B Company Q could easily improve their...
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...Situations in Business September 18, 2013 Part A: Evaluate Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility. Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility seems to be obsolete. Company Q appears to be one of a company which is implementing decision making out of frustration based on a series of events experience by the company which has impacted the company profit making ability. However, social responsibility calls for Company Q to act on the benefit of society or in this case the community at large. As a small grocery store the company depends on the business of locals in their surrounding areas in order to generate revenue. However, the fact that some of their stores are in higher crime areas this deters consumers from shopping in their stores which leads to a low profits and high expense for the inventory they carry in their stores. The passage mentioned that Company Q has had to close a couple of stores because of the higher crime rate in the areas of these locations. Therefore, it is likely that the company would not be thinking about social responsibility when asked by area food bank for donation of day old products. Frustration would be a logical justification for why Company Q would cite loss of revenue due to possible fraud and stealing by employees because the donations should actually have a positive effect by improving company, employee and community relations. If Company Q proceeded with actually donating their health conscience...
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...Company Q Evaluation: According to College of Business of Guidelines Western Governors University Abstract This is paper is evaluation of Company Q’s current attitude towards social responsibility. Three detailed recommended actions are given that can improve Company Q’s action toward social responsibility. Evaluation According to the International Organization for Standardization, “Business and organizations do not operate in a vacuum. Their relationship to the society and environment in which they operate is a critical factor in their ability to continue to operate effectively.” (Online Browsing Platform (OBP), 2014) Closing stores in a higher crime rate areas is only counter-productive for the company and the community it serves. In order for these hard hit areas to once again flourished, businesses and organizations need to hold firm and weather the storm. Effectively responding to consumer requests is very minimal at best. When Company Q does choose to respond supply is never matched with demand. Ineffective management practices have led to a disconnect within the communities they serve. Selling high margin requested items eventually leads to poor customer satisfaction. Company Q has no loyalty or trust with its own employees. This self-defeating behavior will only lead to more underperforming stores. Recommendations Senior management should develop a sound code of ethics. The code of ethics needs to be unique to your business. Find out what approaches similar...
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...Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility terrible. When approached by the area’s food bank requesting donations of day-old products, management brazenly declined. The reasons they cited were worries over lost revenues due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who might say they are donating food. Company Q’s actions and cited worries convey that the company’s chief priority is making money. To further bolster this philosophy, Company Q’s answer was to close a few stores in higher-crime-rate areas that were losing money. The company also verbally conveys that they do not trust their employees. This suggests they do not value their employees and they might not be practicing fair employment standards and providing reasonable wages and benefits. The company has fostered animosity from customers due to not promptly filling requests of making health-conscience and organic product options available on the shelves. It appears that Company Q practices absolutely no social responsibility. Company Q needs to realize their employees are valued assets to their overall success. There are problems within the company if trust is questioned at any level. Since the company is worried about employee theft, a break-down in the employer-employee relationship has already occurred. Company Q needs to build strong trusting relationships with their employees by creating a positive work environment, providing incentives, paying good wages, and promoting transparency...
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...EST1 Task 1 Kara Kinikini Student ID: 265037 Business Management Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth. Company Q is a small local grocery store chain located in a major metropolitan area. They have recently closed a couple of stores in higher-crime-rate areas of the city, reportedly because these two stores were consistently losing money. After years of requests from customers, all of their stores have started offering a very limited amount of health-conscience and organic products—all of which were high margin items. When asked by the area’s food bank for donation of day-old products, management declined deciding instead to throw the food away, citing worries over lost revenues due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who might say they are donating the food. Company Q's current decision to close stores in "Higher-crime-rate" areas of the city, was not a good exapmle of the social responsibility. The concept of social responsiility encompasses the actions, activities and attitudes of business and the impact a business has on its community. Closing those stores did not leave a possibive impact on the community, and other actions should have been taken to miminize negative impacts the community may have...
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...Social Responsibility of Company Q Vincent Shank WGU University Social Responsibility of Company Q Company Q has a history of discounting the opinions of the communities in which they do business in favor of profits. While in the short term this seems to work for Company Q, eventually, there will be a tipping a point in which they have so alienated the community that they will not have a customer base in order to continue growing. Company Q’s current attitude toward its community is at least indifferent if not completely dismissive. In order to restore the communities faith in their business Company Q must find a way to operate, while still being profitable, in the lower income areas. Company Q must also find a way to offer the health conscious products the community craves and find a way to give back to the community. An extensive loss prevention program partnered with a training program about loss prevention and implementing an inventory control system would be able solve all the issues that Company Q currently sights for reasons that it does not give the community what it asks for and in turn help to change attitudes not only with in the company but with in the community. In order to operate stores in lower income areas, Company Q will need to offer products that consumers want and that they will be able to purchase a lower prices while still leaving a profit margin for Company Q. Implementing a loss prevention program to cut down on unnecessary losses. In order...
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...Social responsibility is an essential aspect at the heart of businesses and, in the case of small businesses especially, it can make or break them. Company Q, being a local grocery store chain with locations in different parts of town, has to evaluate each store differently given the economic situation of each neighborhood, the demographics and so forth. In order for them to be socially responsible, they must be aware of what is happening around them and adapt to it. Currently, Company Q seems to have a very passive attitude towards their social responsibility to the community in which they do business. The closure of stores due to loss of money, instead of working to change policy, re-staff, and implement new procedures to fit the high crime rate area shows a laziness and lack of initiative. The recent addition of health-conscience products is a great step in the right direction, but years of requests from customers should not have been necessary to get the ball rolling. Lastly, the denial of the local food banks request for day old food donations seems, from the outside, to be quite distasteful. Company Q stands to make some changes in their stance towards social responsibility in order to act more ethically. The stores in high crime rate areas that were closed resulted in a substantial loss of jobs for those neighborhoods. While this is not necessarily a problem related to Company Q’s business practices, they could absorb it and attempt to make some changes for...
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...achieve its objective” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell 2009). Company Q’s social responsibility is on a downward trend. Because Company Q took a gamble operating two stores in higher-crime-rate areas and lost, their current attitude toward social responsibility is comparable to stock trading: cut your losses and move on to more profitable ventures. This may seem logical from a profit-making perspective, however it is quite damaging to their reputation, which is something that should not be taken lightly due to them being a small, local chain. Word travels fast. I find that Company Q’s biggest fault in their social responsibility is that they would rather throw away non-profitable items than single-handedly offer it to those in need. This decision in itself is damaging to their ethical reputation to do the right thing. The fact that it took Company Q years to respond to their customers’ requests to finally offer groceries that were healthier, shows that they do not value the input of their stakeholders. Customers will go elsewhere to find the items they requested, further diminishing whatever customer-based loyalty Company Q held. What Company Q lacked in their social responsibility is the trust, respect, and value of their stakeholders. In turn, this negatively impacts their ability to turn profits, whether or not they do operate in questionable surroundings. Task 1, Part B One of the actions that Company Q could consider is building their level of employee interest...
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...EST1 – Overview of Task Instructions I. Task 1 - Social responsibility of Company Q a. Part A - Evaluate Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility. i. Are Q’s actions (as described in the given statement) socially responsible? Why or why not? ii. Why is it important for Q to be socially responsible? b. Part B - Recommend three actions that Company Q could take to improve the company’s attitude toward social responsibility. i. Based on the information described in the given statement, what does Q need to change moving forward? c. Task Tips i. Focus on the information given to you in the task instructions. ii. Try not to over-think this task II. Task 2 – Imagine you are the ethics officer for a new business, Company X. Develop an ethics program that will be a part of the new employee handbook. a. Part A - Standards & Procedures i. This section should clearly describe specific actions, conduct, and/or behaviors that would be acceptable (or unacceptable) for your employees. 1. Example = dress code policy ii. This section must include a minimum of 4 elements to receive a passing score. b. Part B - Training i. This section should describe the type of training program that you will provide for your organization. ...
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...After taking the time to evaluate Company Q’s current attitude towards social responsibility, it has been established that Company Q has begun to make changes that are needed in order to meet the criteria for its social ethical duty. Unfortunately, just because changes are being made, does not necessarily mean they are the appropriate changes. Looking in closer detail at the specific changes being made, I have come up with three areas that could use improvement regarding the company’s attitude towards social responsibility. The first area of improvement that needs to be made is to change the amount of very limited health conscious and organic products to a lot more. When there is not an adequate amount of organic items to sell, customers will go elsewhere in order to fulfill their needs. Company Q is not demonstrating correct social responsibility by selling their limited organic items at a high margin cost. They’re not meeting their personal obligation to benefit society at a large. Company Q is also hurting their chances of profiting by selling their limited products at such a high cost. Word will eventually spread about how expensive they are and they will be looked upon in a negative way. Company Q is not making a wise ethical decision by refusing to donate money to the food bank, their excuse for not doing it is selfish. Instead of being paranoid that their employees are stealing food using “donating” as heir excuse, they should look at the bigger picture and take the initiative...
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