Why Do Company Q's Actions Are Not Socially Responsible

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:

Social responsibility makes a company more competitive and reduces the risk of sudden damage to the company’s reputation and sales.

1) Qantas Airways Limited is the national airline of Australia, it is also the largest airline in Australia. The Qantas Group’s principal business is providing domestic and international air transport services for passengers. Additionally, Qantas owns several subsidiary companies such as Jetstar and QantasLink that also operates flights to domestic and international locations, and Q Catering, a premium full service flight caterer.

Because corporations are established to profit and shareholders invest money with expectations of a greater return, managers cannot be given a directive to be “socially responsible” without providing specific criteria of checks and balances to which needs to adhere. Therefore, it is imperative to the success of a corporation for managers to not act solely but rather to act within the policies of the shareholders.

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.

Social responsibility in business can be defined as the obligation an organization has to minimize its negative social impact on stakeholders and to maximize its positive impact. In this case study we are introduced to a small local grocery chain referred to as Company Q. Located in a major metropolis, Company Q has recently closed some stores in areas of the city with higher crime-rates. They have started to stock a very limited amount of organic and health-conscience products after years of requests from their customers. Management has declined participating in a program to send expired food to a local food bank based on fears of employee theft by means of taking advantage of the situation. Based on the

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.

Keeping this definition in mind while evaluating Company Q’s attitude toward social responsibility, it is apparent they have developed a reputation for not caring about the community by closing stores in higher crime rate areas, only offering a limited supply of healthconscience and organic products, and

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

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.

After many years of customer requests, Company Q began selling a very limited amount of health-conscience and organic products. When local food banks asked for donations of day-old products, management declined due to worries over employee theft and fraud. If Company Q had looked at this request through the eyes of a socially responsible business, they could have donated the left over products to those in need, which in turn, would have given the perception that Company Q is concerned about the people in the neighborhood. When the residents of a neighborhood see or feel that a company is giving back to the community, they are more willing to patron the business. “The actions of a company color the perceptions, behavior, and well-being of its customers, prospects, and the community at large, affecting its own health as well as that of the world around it.” (McKee, 2012) Employees who work in the grocery store would also feel a sense of pride that their employer is giving back to the people who spend their hard earned money at their store. Employees who are happy and proud of where they work have less

The expectation that businesses behave responsibly and positively contribute to society all while pursuing their economic goals is one that holds firm through all generations. Stakeholders, both market and nonmarket, expect businesses to be socially responsible. Many companies have responded to this by including this growing expectation as part of their overall business operations. There are companies in existence today whose sole purpose is to socially benefit society alongside businesses who simply combine social benefits with their economic goals as their company mission. These changes in societal expectations and thus company purpose we’ve seen in the business community over time often blurs the line of what it means to be socially

Social responsibility is a moral principle that an organization or individual act towards betterment of society at large. It is a duty that every firm and individual should perform to maintain the balance between the environment and economy. Their actions should lead towards sustainable development and safeguard the interests of the coming generations and at the same time fulfilling the needs of present population. The responsibility can be active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals, or passive, by avoiding any engagement in socially harmful act. Walmart being one of the nations largest retailers, corporations, and largest private employer with over a million employees is often targeted for many issues. These issues

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).