Company Q. appears to have allowed the fear of corruption, particularly fraud and theft, on behalf of their employees to get in the way of their contributing to the greater good. It would appear that if management has concerns regarding employee theft then this issue should be addressed through theft prevention programs rather than an avoidance of engagement in activities that may or may not result in theft by employees. The donation process could be structured in such a way to safeguard against fraud and would provide assistance to many community members who cannot afford food. While trying to listen to their consumers, Company Q. decided to bring in health conscious and organic products, yet the products that they have chosen are high end and therefore not affordable to many of their customers. On the one hand Company Q. attempted to be attentive to the needs of their customers yet they did not take into account that their customer base is quite diverse and while their more affluent members will benefit from these healthy and organic options their customers of lower socioeconomic status will not. It is important again to remember that...

In exploring these options Company Q. will be accepting responsibility for the overall health and well-being of all members of their community not just the ones who can afford to be healthy.
Pava (2008) points out that in most cases actions that are socially responsible also benefit the company itself by increases in revenue and profits. Therefore while engaging in socially responsible behaviors helps to shape the community it also helps the companies improve business and increase profits. Therefore it would appear that the two issues can go hand in hand. A company can prioritize both social responsibility and community contribution while focusing on their economic sustainability.

References

Curtin, L.L. (1996). The caux roundtable principles for business. Nursing Management, 27(2),

54-57.

Pava, M.L. (2008) Why Corporations Should Not Abandon Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 83(4), 805-812.