Company Q\'s Attitude Toward Social

Company Q's attitude toward social

Corporate Social Responsibility

Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while creating shareholder wealth. According to Sharma, Sharma and Devi (2009), business houses and organizations since the inception of the human race have been regarded as constructive partners in the communities in which they operate. Though instrumental in creating employment, wealth, products and services, they still face pressure to play a role in social issues that affect their employees, stakeholders, society, their environment, government among other organizations. In response to questions arising from the society due to scandals and scams that arise from other business entities, the organizations around the world are forced to wake up to the need for being committed towards corporate social responsibility (Sharma, Sharma and Devi, 2009).

Company Q. currently has an economic model of social responsibility. This model basically holds that the society will benefit more if the business is left alone to produce and market profitable products which the society requires (Hardcastle, 2006). This is whereby a manager may view social responsibility as someone else's job since due to the investments that the business stakeholders have made are expected to grow. It is for this reason that Company Q. is reluctant to partake in social responsibility as they view giving away the food will not earn them the returns they require as opposed to selling it. The food is very limited, health-conscience and organic and also high margin which makes giving it away a loss. Company Q. also sees that corporate time, money and talent should be used to enable maximum profits and not in solving society's problems. That is why they chose to bring in health conscience and organic food products as per the request of their customers, but sell it at a higher price and in limited amount.

Schepers (2006) came up with three perspectives to tackle the two major issues that arose from the responsibilities that a business faces. These issues are the number of parties considered in relation to the business and the scope of ethical responsibility that the business firm faces. The three areas that could be improved with regards to Company Q's attitude towards social responsibility include the attitude towards their staff, the investors and the communities. A study by Fleishman-Hilliard in 1999 found that 87% of European employees would increase their loyalty to a company if the company was seen to be involved in activities that were aimed at improving the society (smekey.org, 2001). By partaking in social responsibility, Company Q. is bound to be seen as being responsible and that they are aware of their impact on the society which goes beyond profit and will in turn attract good staff. Staff are usually concerned about their company's impact on the society and by donating their resources, in this case, the day old produce to the food bank, they are bound to be more dedicated and will in turn offer high standards of customer service. By involving their employees in community programs, Company Q's employees will be able to add to their development which will increase their motivation and their commitment to the company and therefore cutting down on staff turnover.

Another reason for Company Q. To change its attitude towards corporate social responsibility is that by actively participating in community activities, they will be able to attract members of the local community with good skills as their potential employees. They will also be able to extend the usefulness of their product, which in this case is the health-conscious food (Kotler & Lee, 2005). The food will benefit the poor who need it as opposed to just throwing it away instead. By doing this, they will be able to benefit from the strong relation that they will have with the community. They will also be demonstrating a clear understanding of the broad role that they play in the wider society which will build trust with the community at large. In order to ensure that employees do not partake in fraud activities with the food that would be donated to the food bank, Company Q. should pay their staff fairly, providing a good work environment and encourage open communication channels so as to ensure the company's overall well being and prosperity. By doing this, the company will win the staff's trust and also increase their innovativeness and efficiency (Werther & Chandler, 2006).