Current Event Critical Analysis

Current Event Critical Analysis

HRM 1101 Leadership and Organizational Management Professor Margaret A. Nolan

Andrew Mascieri

11-22-2015

Summary of Current Even Article In the article, Has Corporate Social Responsibility Become the Modern Gold Rush?, companies have discovered that being socially responsible is beneficial not only to their organization but to the world in which they operate. The article specifically points out Chipotle, Dove, and Patagonia as being examples of companies that are ahead of the game and surpass their competitors. As seen in the past, the way to get ahead was by releasing a better product, pointing out the flaws of competitors to get consumers on their side. It has been a trend in the

The way in which Chipotle has become more responsible is by incorporating foods into the menu that are free of additives and preservatives. This might have been the result of consumers urging the company to do so since “people care what companies do, and they care a lot. Individuals far removed from businesses can and do weigh in with opinions and demands” (McKee, 552). There are three pillars of sustainability as pointed out by the United Nations, environmental, social, and economic sustainability (McKee, 553). Chipotle is an example of social responsibility as is Dove. Social sustainability aims to improve the daily life for the greatest number of people, much like Dove with their “Real Beauty” campaign. A corporation’s core values is also a relevant topic to sustainability: “values are ideas that a person or a group believes to be right or wrong, good or bad, attractive or undesirable” (McKee, 30). Companies that decide to act responsibly are also more likely to attract consumers since they know the business is doing something positive for the greater good. These values stem into “a company’s beliefs, values, and practices about how employees, customers, and the environment are

Other companies such as McDonalds have tried to make similar changes, but have fallen short. This chain has attempted to source meats from more responsible suppliers, as well as introducing more real fruits and vegetables into their menus. McDonald’s effort seems to be lacking just that, and consumers can sense it. At the other end of spectrum, Monsanto achieves the exact opposite of Chipotle by “supporting and developing genetically modified crops” (article 2). Monsanto is known to be the creator and distributer or Agent Orange that has left 1 million people with health problems (article 2). Today, their use of GMO’s have “been linked with breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer in humans” (Article 2), facts that consumers with consider when choosing which company’s organizational ethics they support the most. Another factor to a business’s CSR is how they deal with important social issues. A leading example would be Dove, as pointed out in the article by Moodie. Their ability to empower women through their campaign is an admirable example of social sustainability which other companies such as Walmart fail to achieve. Walmart “has been accused of discrimination [and] human rights violations” (article 2, 4) and their ignorance gained a lot of press