Social Responsibility Evaluation of Company Q

1133 Words5 Pages
TASKSTREAM 310.2.1 – Ethical Issues in Business At a time when many small, local, independently owned stores are being overtaken and overwhelmed by much larger retail entities, some of these smaller retail providers are striking back at the behemoths by increasing their social responsibility footprint, and participating in the revitalization of their communities. However, in Company Q’s case, their commitment to corporate citizenship could use a little help. After closing stores in less-than-desirable neighborhoods due to lost revenues, responding slowly to repeated customer requests for popular items, and finally refusing to participate with their community food banks due to concerns that employees might steal donations before they could be delivered, Company Q needs to take a closer look at their attitude towards social responsibility. Social responsibility can be divided into four interrelated areas, with each part providing a foundation for the ones that follow. At the base is economic responsibility, with its focus on providing wealth and value for stakeholders. Company Q has interpreted this to mean that if a store is consistently losing money, it should be closed to protect the company’s remaining assets, and thereby preventing loss to stakeholders. While lost revenues should definitely be a consideration, Company Q could have also investigated why the two stores were losing money. Did insurance costs rise because of the location of the stores in high-crime areas? Were payroll costs outpacing profits? Was there a rise in product theft due to shoplifting or vandalism? While all of these are causes for concern, Company Q only states that they closed the stores due to decreased revenues. In seeking to prevent lost monies, Company Q apparently forgot that those who could be considered stakeholders weren’t just Company Q’s owners or board of

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