Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a concept in which firms or corporations apply strategies to carry out their business in a manner that is society friendly and ethical (Ismail, 2009). This means firms have to consider the society’s interest by taking responsibility for the impact of their actions on employees, communities, customers, shareholders, suppliers, and other stakeholders and their environment as well. In this regard, CSR entails a range of activities including developing relations with customers, employees, and their families; taking investments that are socially sensitive; taking up activities for sustainability and environmental conservation; doing charity work to the community among others initiatives. According to Ismail (2009), CSR is more of an obligation and not a necessity to an organization. As such, some companies manage it separately from other operations.
However, to maximize profit for shareholders, Kline (2018) asserts that companies should fully integrate CSR into their business operations and not to manage it separately as it is the case with other firms. This integration entails a company identifying social impact areas which fit with its operations, services or products, and its core strategy. Then, it makes a commitment by dedicating resources to these projects, then manages the project and measures the performance using main performance indicators. Then, the company engages and connects with stakeholders for a full outcome. In this case, Kline (2018) adds that CSR should be integrated as a sustainability program of a firm. Research indicates that corporations which Integrate CSR into their operations are well positioned for healthy returns of finances from their investment. This is because they are able to enhance sales and thus profits, and earn a reputation among other benefits.
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Ethical issue: McDonald’s Providing Food that is Dangerous for Consumer’s Health
McDonald’s is a global fast-food chain operating in several countries. The company involves itself in CSR through a variety of programs such as charity works like “Ronald McDonald house charities”. This makes them appear socially active and ethical in its dealings as it engages with their customers and communities at large (Smithson, 2017). The ethical issue that McDonald’s providing food that is not healthy to consumers has been documented in terms of the ingredients they use to make their products.
Major stakeholders responsible for addressing the issue of unhealthy food at McDonald’s include staff and employees, suppliers, and customers (Smithson, 2017). Employees are internal stakeholders and their role regarding this issue include being concerned about the products that they produce. Suppliers, on one hand, are internal stakeholders responsible for supplying essential products and various ingredients for McDonald’s stores. Their role in this issue entails supplying healthy ingredients and essential products. Customers, on the other hand, are external stakeholders. They are concerned with what McDonald’s offer them and as such plays a role to ensure that the company offers them quality and healthy products (Smithson, 2017).
If the company choose to address this issue via corporate policy, this will have a positive legal and financial impacts on its employees, the organization itself as well as other stakeholders. For instance, McDonald’s addressing this ethical issue through corporate policy will widen their demographic, growing the number of customers and in turn, sell more of its products to maximize their profits. The change will as well impact customers positively as they will be consuming meals that are much more improved and healthy from McDonald’s than before. Additionally, by choosing to address this issue through corporate policy, the company stands a chance of building its reputation worldwide, as people will now be viewing it as a company that is ethical and socially friendly.
References
Kline, M. (2018, July 24,). How to Drive Profits with Corporate Social Responsibility. Inc . retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/maureen-kline/how-to-drive-profits-with-corporate-social-responsibility.html
Ismail, M. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility and its role in community development: An international perspective. Journal of International Social Research , 2 (9).
Smithson, N. (2017, February 5). McDonald’s Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis. Panmore institute . Retrieved December 20, 2018, from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-stakeholders-csr-analysis
