Q’s Attitude Towards Social Responsibility, Essay Example

The Company is very profit conscious and does not really support deprived communities that have high crime rates ( evidence recent store closures ).  The Companies supply and demand statistics indicated a high need for nutritional organic health products. These essentially appeal to the more affluent members of society and as such yield high profit margins. The Company was quick to adopt this line of consumer goods adding additional profit to the bottom line. Most of these goods are perishables and have a limited shelf life.  Rather than offer these goods to local charities the Company decided to dispose of them. They cited concerns over potential fraud and staff pilferage.

The Company demonstrates that it has neither charity or social concern for the people within its community and only wishes to deal with the more affluent consumers because they are the ones that maximise profit and return on investment.  Equally the Company demonstrates a high contempt for its` employees clearly indicating that they are not to be trusted.  Most of the store attendants come from the poorer elements of the local community.

Areas for Improvement in Social Responsibility

The Company needs to develop a better level of trust with the staff and employees. If you treat staff with this sort of inner contempt, it will lead to high staff turnovers.  This equally leads to an attitude of   “us and them“ providing an atmosphere of distrust, lack of belonging and mutual contempt.  Productivity will slide and ultimately so will profit. This is really an example of the Company not seeing the big picture.  Happy motivated and respected workers ultimately produce more for the Company and reflect positive vibes that improve the Company image and ultimately sales potential.

The Company needs to reflect on its stance towards local charities ( food bank etc) and consider the messages that it is broadcasting to the public and its customers or consumers. A lack of social care, responsibility or concern to the public will ultimately result in other questions being asked.  If they would prefer to destroy short-shelf life food, as opposed to giving it to the needy : what does this say about the rest of the consumers.   An organisation solely concerned with profit and no social responsibility will quickly start to lose its customer base. An example of this is the Wal-Mart Group who revised its Marketing strategy in order to help local communities and their Children.  They contributed large sums into the development of playgrounds, community halls and other facilities for local communities. This demonstration of caring substantially increased consumer spending in their stores and customer loyalty ratings substantially increased.

The Company also needs to reflect on its self-image and consider how they are viewed externally by others.  Profitability can be transient and customer loyalty will become paramount, particular when economic conditions become tougher in recessionary times.  You will be remembered for how you view and treat others.  The media will also be looking at you and one powerful adverse article in a local press can cause the firm untold damage in loss of consumer confidence.  Consider.. “ Sometimes the discrepancy between a firm’s self-image and reality was almost surreal. Later on at the same session, Nike’s Kidd presented a video of a factory in Vietnam. The camera followed a Vietnamese inspector on his rounds, interviewing plucky, smiling workers, running his hands over gleaming production equipment, and visiting immaculate homes. Unfortunately for Nike, two days later—while the conference was still going on—a story appeared on the front page of the New York Times about conditions in Vietnamese Nike plants, where workers were being exposed to carcinogens at 177 times safe levels, and were being paid just $10 for a 65 hour workweek (far longer than local law allows).“ (Reed, 2009)

The above Nike example illustrates how a Company can become self promoting a particular image whilst masking the harsh realities from its customers.  Ultimately you will be unmasked and the truth will prevail.  It is important to recognize the power of the consumer and the drivers that make them buy specific goods or shop at specific stores.  “ A Roper-Cone poll found that 78% of Americans weigh a company’s social reputation when making buying decisions “ (Reed, 2009).  Hence if the media were to dissuade 78% of your customer base that you were unethical, irresponsible or showed contempt for your staff and customers, then, you run the risk of 78% of your customer base boycotting you and shopping elsewhere.  Equally the figure is probably higher once you factor in all of these adverse messages being shared with all their friends and potential new customers.  It rapidly becomes a downward spiral and re-establishing consumer confidence can be a logistics nightmare.

In conclusion, the firm needs to improve the following attitude responses:

1. The relationships with its staff and customers
2. Be seen to become a more caring, charitable and socially responsible member of the community
3. Develop the Company image, in line with 2 above

Works Cited

Reed, B. (2009). The Business of Social Responsibility. Retrieved 11 3, 2009, from Dollar & SEnse: http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/1998/0598reed.html