Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development

Part A 

Question 1: Matters of Ethical Behavior that MKD as a Company might do towards their Employees 

MKD has a moral responsibility to care for the welfare of its employees 

Good working conditions and fair pay alone are not enough. In addition to fair pay and good working conditions, MKD should have an enduring concern focused on the well-being of its employees. MKD should be loyal to its workers. Terminations, layoffs and other events of this nature ought to be handled with extraordinary care and sensitivity due to the financial and psychological impacts they have on employees (Rupp, 2011). MKD should make considerations on when they choose to announce and implement such policies and also have provisions in place aimed at assisting the employees who are set to lose their jobs. MKD also has an ethical obligation of ensuring that its employees are treated respectfully and fairly. The firm should have a strategy in place to ensure that managers do not maltreat their subordinates or abuse their positions of power (Rupp, 2011).

Ensuring Safety of Employees 

MKD has an ethical responsibility of ensuring that the workplace is safe to all its employees. The firm should also ensure that all the machinery and equipment in its portfolio are safe to operate (Rupp, 2011). In addition, MKD has another ethical responsibility of ensuring that all their machinery, ships, and tankers are well maintained, have emergency plans in place, and also design safe working practices and ensure that they are followed (Rupp, 2011).

MKD should take care of the Health of its Employees 

Health is another matter of ethical behavior that MKD must have towards its employees. The firms should provide health care covers to its employees, and ensure that facilities within the corporation meet the health requirements (Rupp, 2011). MKD should also provide its employees with information regarding any potential hazards and risks associated with what they do. Finally, it is an ethical responsibility of MKD to conduct health supervision on its employees, and also avail first aid facilities to all its employees (Rupp, 2011).

Question 2: What might the general public begin to think about MKD’s responsibilities towards the environment? 

The general public might begin perceiving MKD as a corporation that is environmentally irresponsible. This is because the company does not operate in a way that is in the best interest of the environment by having a ship that leaks an oily substance into the ocean waters. Such an action may have only happened once, or could have even been accidental. However it is a moral responsibility of MKD to protect the environment, and therefore, the firm should have measures in place to ensure that such accidents do not happen in the first place. Oil spillage into the ocean waters poses a significant threat to aquatic life. Coral reefs could be consequently destroyed, and sea plants and animals killed.

Question 3: MKD’s response to the Report if the Firm adopts an Obstructionist Stance 

In case MDK transportation adopts an obstructionist stance to the report regarding one of their ships leaking an oily substance off the coast of Belize, the firm will not try to solve the environmental problems caused by the leakage. MDK transportation will also in this case, not concern itself with ethical conduct and may even proceed to deny any wrongdoings or even try to cover them up. Wolczek (2014) described an obstructionist approach to social responsibility as a strategy recruited by corporations to prevent a report about a shortcoming gaining more media attention.

Question 4: MKD’s response to the Report if the Firm adopts a Defensive Stance 

If in case MKD transportation were to adopt a defensive stance to the report, the corporation will try and accomplish all the legal requirements. MKD in this case will admit to the mistake (oily substance leakage into the ocean by one of their ships), and even go ahead and take responsibility for their shortcoming. However, MKD transportation will do nothing past admitting to the report and taking responsibility for the action. A defensive approach to social responsibility implies that companies only do what is required of them by the law and not anything else that the law does not require of them (Wolczek, 2014).

Question 5: MKD’s response to the Report if the Firm adopts an Accommodative Stance 

In case MKD were to adopt an accommodative stance to the media report and the demands of the government of Belize and environmental groups, the firm will do more than admitting to the wrongdoing and shouldering the responsibility for their actions. In this case therefore, MKD will go past the legal minimums in its commitment to environmental conservation. MKD will therefore pursue operations aimed at cleaning up the oily substance leaked by one of their ships off the coast of Belize. This would be a gesture by the corporation to show their efforts in environmental conservation. An accommodative stance to social responsibility is manifested when a company exceeds the legal modicums in its commitment to individuals and groups in the social environment it operates (Wolczek, 2014).

Question 6: How might this situation have been different in the event that MKD had initially adopted a proactive stance to social responsibility? 

Had MKD transportation adopted a proactive approach to social responsibility, then there could have not been any oil leakage off the coast of Belize. Consequently, there could not have been any media reports concerning the same. In addition, there could have not been any push from the government of Belize and environmental groups asking MKD to clean up the oil off the coast of Belize. Corporations adopt a proactive approach to social responsibility by initiating strategies to ensure that shortcomings do not exist instead of waiting for events to occur then try and respond to the events (Wolczek, 2014). In this case therefore, MKD should have ensured the all the containers loaded with the oily substance were packed to their precise capacities, and also that none of the containers was leaking prior to loading into the ship. MKD maintenance crew should have also ensured that all their ship are leak-proof prior to allowing them to ferry goods across the sea waters. Had all these requirements been assessed prior to letting the ship take to the sea, then the leakage problem could not have occurred

Part B: Describe an example of a situation in which a company might adopt a pricing objective other than profit maximization. 

An example of a situation where a company might consider a pricing objective other than profit maximization is when a company aspires to exert its presence in a new market (market penetration). In this case, profit maximization might not be the best strategy to consider and other pricing objectives are more viable options (Nagle & Müller, 2018). Examples of pricing objectives to consider when considering entering new markets is price stabilization to match that of competitors already extant in the market. Sometimes, a company may consider lowering the price tag on its products to a level even less than that of the competitors to enable it establish its existence in the new market. A company may also consider product line promotion in an effort to establish itself in a new market (Nagle & Müller, 2018). Product promotion may entail in-store promotions, event hosting, social media contests, offering gifts, and email marketing. Promotions are meant to help build the appeal of products and also make the products more popular among customers (Nagle & Müller, 2018)

References

Nagle, T.T., & Müller, G. (2018). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitability. London: Routledge.

Rupp, D.E. (2011). An employee-centered model of organizational justice and social responsibility. Organizational Psychology Review, 1 (1), 72-94. Doi: doi.org/10.1177/2041386610376255

Wolczek, P. (2014). The concept of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Problemy Ekorozwoju-Problems of Sustainable Development, 9 (1), 157-166. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2387387