Est Task 1

EST 310.2.1-05 Task 1

Erik Olson

Eolson7, Student ID: 000378658

03/14/2015

Ethical Situations in Business (EST1)

Company Q’s Current Attitude Toward Social Responsibility:

Company Q is currently operating neglectfully with respect to social responsibility in business. Their attitude signifies that they don’t really care about the end consumer of their products, or the impact their social responsibility has on the people living in the areas where their businesses are operated. Examples of this include the closure of stores in areas deemed “high crime” locales. This negatively affects the local community’s economy by eliminating local jobs, but these densely populated areas need the jobs more than suburban and rural areas. Also, Company Q’s customer base had for years been requesting healthier choices in their stores. Company Q eventually brought in some healthy, organic food choices for their consumers, but too little-too late; And they brought in such a small selection of choices, and placed such a high mark-up on these choices that the customers’ couldn’t afford these newer, healthier choices. This again had a negative impact on the customers, but also the profit the company was able to draw in. Also, Company Q has made the bad decision of wasting ‘day-old’ products rather than donating them to the local food bank where the food could be used to benefit others. Company Q seems to not even care about their social responsibility and there are several changes I will layout below that will help them straighten their bearings and the perception in the community as it relates to social responsibility.

Suggested Changes for Company Q to Improve their Attitude Regarding Social Responsibility:

First, Company Q closed several of their stores due to the claimed fact that they were in high crime areas. It is possible that these stores could have remained open if the company had done some research to show why these stores weren’t operating more profitably....