A. Company Q recently closed two stores that were located in higher-crime-rate areas of the city due to consistently losing money. Company Q has experienced loss of business because of the community that it served in and because of that, its attitude toward social responsibility is more on the cautious side. Some may say because Company Q closed two stores down, that it is not being socially responsible because of the jobs that were loss, however, Company Q also has an economic responsibility to be profitable and its responsibility to the safety of its employees. Hypothetically, if Company Q continued to keep its stores open in the higher-crime-rate area, then they risk losing more money through damages and loss of profit. Is it worth it to keep the two stores open? Is it economically feasible? Company Q recently fulfilled the demands of its consumers by offering health-conscious and organic products, however, they were marked very pricey. Local food banks asked for donation of day-old products and management declined; worried over lost revenues due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who may claim they are donating the food. Company Q is not being socially responsible instead they have taken a cynical approach. Being socially responsible is defined as an organization increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects (O. C. Ferrell, Fraedrich, L. Ferrell, 2008, pp. 12). By declining to donate its day-old food to the local food bank because of the fear of lost revenues by its own employees made Company Q see the worst aspects of things. Food banks help its local community by providing food and non-perishable items to people in need, free of charge. To decline to donate day-old food to the food bank, just to throw out the perishable items, is ridiculous. Why not donate it to someone in need? This action of Company Q defines the lack of social responsibility because it is not “giving” back to society.
B. Company Q could improve the company’s attitude toward social responsibility through economic, ethical and philanthropic steps. The more positive actions Company Q displays in the community the more the employees and consumers will give back to them. Being socially responsible is a two-way street.
The first action that Company Q should take is understand which item they should have in stock. Finding out what items are in demand by consumers and ordering just enough of those items to be sold out. That way, instead of ordering so many of one item and only two were sold, Company Q will not be losing any profit. It is better to sell out than to under sell. This will help keep cost down for the consumers and keep the profit up for Company Q.
The second action is commitment and loyalty. Company Q could commit to their employees by implementing an employee program where they could donate the day-old food to the employees who are in need. This could be done once a week or maybe even twice a week. This can also help boost the morale in the workplace. In addition to implementing an employee program, Company Q could also donate to the food bank. The food bank could stop by the store to pick up the donation, this will eliminate the suspicions of stealing from employees.
Being socially responsible don’t have to be about people, Company Q could be socially responsible by going green or improving the environment. With the day-old food, Company Q could start its own small garden by using the day old food as nutrient for its soil to help grow its own fruits and vegetables. This could also help cut the cost down from purchasing organic produce from its supplier, which also helps reduce the emission of gasoline into the air since the use of transporting the goods can be eliminated.
By following all three of these actions, Company Q will soon have a positive reputation within society.

Reference

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.