Overwaitea Case Solution

Key Issue 2: Is $1b appropriate to enhance UST’s firm value and ultimately shareholder value?

Barbara Printup has done an adequate job creating data related to price models and demand scenarios in order to provide thoughtful analysis for

This essay will analyse the strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practice. The purpose of this essay is to identify the advantages and limitations of following business ethics and act socially responsible in business operations. In order to help me analyse those further I will use the case study from food industry - McDonald’s corporation.

Social responsibility in business can be defined as the obligation an organization has to minimize its negative social impact on stakeholders and to maximize its positive impact. In this case study we are introduced to a small local grocery chain referred to as Company Q. Located in a major metropolis, Company Q has recently closed some stores in areas of the city with higher crime-rates. They have started to stock a very limited amount of organic and health-conscience products after years of requests from their customers. Management has declined participating in a program to send expired food to a local food bank based on fears of employee theft by means of taking advantage of the situation. Based on the

Company Q is a small local grocery store chain that has a poor attitude toward social responsibility. After reviewing the given, I feel the chain is more committed to profit than social responsibility. Most companies are in a business to make a profit, however, the difference in what is considered reasonable and what is considered ridiculous comes into play. Most people start companies because it something they are interested in and to make a living. In today’s society the line between outright social responsibility

The final area that could be improved regarding the company’s attitude toward social responsibility is to offer a larger selection of health-conscience and organic products. Though these products come at a higher margin, the requests made by consumers show a demand for products of this type. By offering a better selection, Company Q demonstrates concern for the health and well-being of the community attracting new business and increasing profitability which by definition is socially responsible.

Company Q’s attitude towards social responsibility appears to be nonexistent, possibly through ignorance or disconcert. Either way the lack of social responsibility affects their business and community’s perception of their business. It appears that the company management has never developed and ethics program that clearly defines the corporate culture including provisions for social responsibility. Profits, or at least a lack of losses appears to be a primary motivating factor for company Q's management’s decisions. Company Q has been attempting to cut losses by closing stores that were losing money instead of finding innovative ways to

Most businesses start with the primary thought of making money. As a small grocery store chain, it is hard to compete with the larger national grocery stores, which often force the smaller local stores out of business. It is this dynamic, with the help of consumers, which is forcing both small and large businesses to reconsider their organizational goals and outcomes to include social responsibility. A successful business understands their customers, learns what their customers presently need, and foresees what their customers will need in the future.

Because Company Q is a small, local grocery store in a major metropolitan area it can at times be very over whelming. Big chain stores are putting family owned stores out of business on a constant basis. This reason, along with social responsibility taking hold of companies, brought on by consumers demanding that companies adjust their thinking from a profit-seeking standpoint to being socially and ethically understanding to all consumers in their business ventures.

Utilizing this knowledge, we can determine whether the actions of Chipotle qualify it as a socially responsible organization. In studying Chipotle, one would can acknowledge multiple practices that qualify as abiding by the standards of a socially responsible business. Chipotle has made a commitment to provide healthy food ingredients, purchased from local farms that practice humane husbandry, and seeks to execute business in the most environment-friendly means possible (Chipotle). Chipotle has gone beyond industrial norms, and

Lastly, Company Q decides to throw away food products, instead of donating it to the local food bank. Sadly, this behavior demonstrates a concern for profits before people attitude, which is socially irresponsible. Businesses can no longer ignore social issues because a business is a part of our society. For Company Q to become more socially responsible its sole objective must not only be to make a profit. But include concerns and responsibilities to the general welfare of the communities and societies in which they operate.

In the world today, companies are working hard to change the way that they run their businesses. Out of various different companies and business, one company that seemed to have a great deal of consideration towards social responsibility was Aldi. The purpose of this paper is to describe what corporate social responsibility is, the history of Aldi, and the approach Aldi takes towards sustainability and how they are a sustainable business. Also, what their future goals are, achievements they have made, and how they plan to invest in new technology to further their corporate social responsibility.

One of the leading companies that adopted CSR as a pioneer of ethic is The Body Shop. The company has used CSR as a competitive strategy in order to succeed in business. The shop owner knows what she does best. So, products are developed based on a specific group of customers in order to create a strong brand preferences and unique way with a perception of enormous customer groups, called sustainability ideals. The source of The Body Shop success is to utilize the benefits of CSR by selling products based on natural ingredients, paying a fair price and no testing on animal. According to porter (1985), he claimed that sustainability of differentiation depends on two things: "it is continued perceived value to buyers and the lack of competitor ability to imitate it" (Porter 1985 cited in Mallin 2009, p.71). It requires a transparency of work process with stakeholders. From this example, it explains why CSR is important to modern businesses like The Body Shop (Mallin 2009, pp.59-78),(Kwapong 2005, p.89).

Starbucks is renowned for its morality due to their innovative sustainability and environmental policies and operations. They strive to go beyond mandated regulations by implementing ethics as part of their core practices. However, no matter how flawless their code of ethics is; they, too, face ethical issues and commit unethical acts. First, they are responsible for putting small, local coffee shops out of business which creates a uniform retail culture throughout cities. Second, they advertise to provide 100% fair trade coffee when it is not truly 100% fairly traded. Third, they use hormone added milk that is detrimental to the human body as well as the environment. Fourth, they set unrealistic, unattainable recycling goals, so they were unachievable; in turn, their trustworthiness is hindered and their reputation is tarnished. Lastly, it was revealed that Starbucks discovered ways to avoid paying taxes in the UK. To this day, Starbucks continues to be recognized as an ethical company. Although sometimes controversial, they are innovatively striving to positively change the ways of society and business operations.

When using ethics to judge what the corporations should be doing the first lens that can be used to analyze what is good and bad is the responsibilities lens. This lens avidly believes that each person has the right to choose how best to live their own life. It also allows others to discover their duties and obligations, whereas the food corporations could benefit from analyzing part of their decisions through this lens. But, each lens has a unique perspective on situations that need a decision to be made. The other lenses like reputation will tend to sustaining good character, the results lens is for creating the greatest good, and the relationship lens which attends to the integrity of the community and the environment.