Assignment: Competency: Ethical Issues in Business
The graduate can determine ethical and socially responsible courses of action in a given business situation.??Objective 310.2.1-05: Evaluate a given situation to determine a company's attitude toward social responsibility.
Introduction:
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 also creating shareholder wealth.
Given:
Company Q is a small local grocery store chain located in a major metropolitan area. They have recently closed two stores in higher-crime-rate areas of the city because they were consistently losing money. After years of requests from customers, all of their stores have started offering a very limited amount of health-conscious and organic products-all of which are high-margin items. When asked by the area's food bank for donation of day-old products, management declined deciding instead to throw the food away, citing worries over lost revenues due to possible fraud and stealing by employees who may claim they are donating the food.
Task:
Write a brief essay responding to the given statement (suggested length of 2-3 pages) in which you:
A. Evaluate Company Q's current attitude toward social responsibility.
1. Determine whether Company Q's actions, as described in the scenario, are socially responsible or not.
a. Explain your reasoning as to whether Company Q's actions are socially responsible or not.
B. Recommend three actions that Company Q could take to improve the company's attitude toward social responsibility, based on the information described in the scenario.
C. When you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format.
Note: For definitions of terms commonly used in the rubric, see the attached Rubric Terms.
Note: When using sources to support ideas and elements in a paper or project, the submission MUST include APA formatted in-text citations with a corresponding reference list for any direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is not necessary to list sources that were consulted if they have not been quoted or paraphrased in the text of the paper or project.
Note: No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. For tips on using APA style, please refer to the APA Handout web link included in the General Instructions section.