Organizational Issues

Organizational Issues

Ken Thomas

ETH/316

July 2nd, 2014

Mr. Miguel Lopez

Organizational Issues

What can chocolate brownies teach us about organizational issues? In terms of ethical business decisions, we can learn plenty. “In 2006, Liberty Mutual created a television commercial about people doing things for strangers. The response was so overwhelming, they created a website called The Responsibility Project as an exploration of what it means to do the right thing” (Satterlee, 2012). The site includes articles and films about social issues and responsibility. One such film titled “Greyston Bakery,” highlights how profits from a small bakery go into the community, funding programs such as after-school care, low income housing and other social causes. In the following paragraphs, I will explore organizational issues with the film and the role external pressures have in influencing organizational ethics within Greyston Bakery. Also, I will describe the relevance these issues have on organizational and personal decisions. Finally, I will discuss the relationship between legal and ethical issues as depicted in the film.

Issues in the Film

The issues in the film are directly related to the entrepreneurial aspects of running a for-profit business for the sole purpose of giving back to non-profit social causes. Greyston Bakery is a social enterprise which happens to make world-class chocolate brownies. “Greyston’s President & CEO, Mr. Julius Walls Jr., describes a social enterprise as one having a double bottom line with both a social mission and a profit mission” (The Responsibility Project, 2013). Greyston Bakery’s social mission is to hire disadvantaged workers from the local community while giving them an opportunity to make a living for both themselves and their families. As the sole producer of chocolate brownies for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Greyston maximizes their profits which in turn, are donated back to local charities. The...