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.
For this reason supermarkets have to try and provide select products based on demographic information. For example in high end affluent markets Wegmans provides services that will not be found in their more urban demographic locations, such as; ready to eat gourmet meals, sushi, and premium coffee shops. The quality of the customer service that customers receive in the store also plays an important role. Customers will feel more comfortable shopping in a supermarket that provides consistent and quality customer service. Many customer service experts will argue that customers do not mind paying more for goods if they know they will always receive excellent customer service.
For example if a customer is unhappy with their purchase then they will come to the customer service department at Sainsbury’s to have a refund whereas Star café does not have a department for their customer services as they have not got a demand of many customers arriving at their shop. Another difference about this job role is that customer advisor in Sainsbury’s deal with more customers enquires on a daily basis. However this is not so true with star café as customers service will have less customers to deal
There are many people who shop at Wal-Mart because of their low prices and the convenience they provide. Most people do not realize the negative impact on American society from shopping at Wal-Mart. They use their popularity to influence situations which have a negative effect on the United States. For example, shopping at Wal-Mart promotes bad business tactics, which can cause American factories to shut down, hurt the working-class, and cause national economic consequences. The First reason people should not shop at Wal-Mart is because it helps promote bad business tactics, which can cause American factories to shut down.
Slow growth of organic food farmers, so the supply chain of organic foods is underdeveloped and cannot meet the needs of American food system. U.S. government provides support to non-organic food therefore other companies grow food faster and cheaper. Opportunities Whole Foods has to find a cost effective way to give back to regular customers (i.e. reward cards or discounts for customers to return). Educate consumers about the new product available.
After facing the problem, the CEO tried to think about a solution because first, he couldn’t convince the suppliers to make more effort because KHF was not considered as a large supplier for them and second, the company couldn’t deal with other suppliers because KHF’s customers were very exigent and can make the difference even if the products are similar. The region of KHF’s distribution area had been broken into six segments. Edenton which had a total sale of 18%, Elizabeth City with 21% of total sales, Williamston had 8%, Kitty Hawk 22%, Kill Devil Hills 15% and Nags Head 16% of total sales. KHF’s business was seasonal because the major restaurant activity of the Outer Banks catered to summer tourism. As we can see in the Income Statement, the company’s net sales increased from 2002 to 2003, the operating expenses were higher in 2003 but the net income was
Wal-Mart’s sales were growing, and that meant that Target’s sales would go down since consumers preferred Wal-Mart for Target. The inability of Target’s managers to identify a solution to the problem of dropping sales and develop a viable course of action also affected Target’s performance. Another micro environmental factor was the thriftiness of customers all over America, which endeared them to Wal-Mart. The impatience of Target’s shareholders and the pressure they exerted on the company’s board to deliver was also a major factor. The marketing strategies that were adopted by the management also failed to turn things around.
There are also workers and suppliers, who don’t think that Wal-Mart is good for America. Many local businesses are out of business because they cannot compete with Wal-Mart’s low prices. By striving for lower prices, Wal-Mart turned to outsourcing and now the majority of company’s suppliers come from China. Wal-Mart’s outsourcing has a dual effect: it provides low prices for products, more earnings for shareholders and on the other side it drives American suppliers out of business, which means people are losing their jobs. However, some argue that outsourcing unskilled labor will open up opportunities and will lead
The Screaming Table Restaurant’s pay system did not meet all the criteria for effectiveness identified in Compensation Notebook 1.1. It could not be seen as equitable since the “volunteer” staffs could not get what the other servers were getting, which was the minimum wage and other benefits. It did not comply with the law because by not paying employees minimum wage was violating the provincial employment standards legislation. The Screaming Table Restaurant’s pay system has helped them to reduce the labour cost and meanwhile has brought them more profit; however, this structure might be hard to attract and retain qualified individuals since candidates or current employees would consider the job this as a low pay one, and would not want to work for the company. Personally, I consider the restaurant’s pay structure as an effective one because it did helped the restaurant to save a lot and besides, if the volunteer staffs knew that their wage was from the tips, they would try their best to perform the quality service for customers to earn high tips.
Wal-Mart’s sales were growing, and that meant that Target’s sales would go down since consumers preferred Wal-Mart for Target. The inability of Target’s managers to identify a solution to the problem of dropping sales and develop a viable course of action also affected Target’s performance. Another micro environmental factor was the thriftiness of customers all over America, which endeared them to Wal-Mart. The impatience of Target’s shareholders and the pressure they exerted on the company’s board to deliver was also a major factor. The marketing strategies that were adopted by the management also failed to turn things around.