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Does Friedman's Argument Always Hold?

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Corporate Social Responsibility is about capacity building for sustainable livelihoods (Baker, 2015). Friedman considers tax proceeds are the responsible for government to do CSR. Does Friedman’s argument always hold?
According Godelnik (2013), Friedman has fiduciary duty in order to maximize profits. He debates that social responsibility of business is the only one to use its resources and capture in activities to increase its profits, engages in open and free competition, without deception or fraud. Corporate executive has responsibility towards the employers. This responsibility is due to different level of desires in accordance to business. Friedman, argues CSR is not socially desirable. Social matters should be resolved by unfettered workings …show more content…

Therefore, he disagrees with Friedman’s view. The purpose of an investor is to maximize profits. This is not the main point for other stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and the community. These stakeholders have their own needs and desires which are valid and legitimate (Mackey, 2005). Well, most of the successful business put customers ahead of investors. Regarding to Nam (2012, p.3), “The shareholder approach” focuses on responsibility over profitability. The satisfaction among stakeholders, not only shareholders, will determine the success of company. Service industry such as Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's prove this approach in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage and get better return in a long run version. For the Whole Food Company (WFC), “fresh product” is the product categories that is most challenging to manage due to the limited product shelf life and high cost of spoilage (Nam, 2012, p.84). Whole Foods tries to solve this problem by get the supply for the fresh product which is sourcing locally and focus on short and flexible supply chains. As a result, customers are willing to pay a premium due to the quality of their products. Whole Foods has now becoming a strong differentiator from other large grocery chains because of value added on customers. According to Kowitt (2010), one of the hottest retailers in U.S is Trader Joe’s. It owns 344 stores in 25 states and Washington, D.C, and strip-mall operators. The sales of the company are approximately $8 billion, same size as Whole Food’s. Its stores sell at double price of Whole Foods which around $1,750 in merchandise per square foot. The unique approach is they offers value and provides quality service to customers. Moreover, they provide the service which includes personal

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Trader Joe’s, a specialty store, and Whole Foods Market, an upscale grocery store, are in the running as well. Whole Foods focuses on natural and organic products, and Trader Joe’s provides unique product selection and other quality products, as well as a unique customer experience. Fortunately, H-E-B has maintained a strong position in the industry, but they must continue to prioritize their pricing, quality, and customer experience, ensuring they meet their consumer needs to stay afloat in the vastly changing industry. H-E-B’s current strategy consists of many aspects that focus on customers, innovation, and the community. These components have allowed H-E-B to remain in the competitive position it has in the market.

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Thank you for your post regarding your agreement and support of Milton Friedman’s thought process in which companies should focus on ethically maximizing profits for shareholders only. Reading through the discussion, there are different perspectives mentioned throughout the discussion. It is agreed that companies should be making profits for its shareholders, but they should also include other forms of corporate social responsibility. Milton Friedman’s assessment of how companies should do business was a thought of the past. The incorporation of corporate social responsibility other than simply maximizing shareholder profits has become mainstream and is an important topic for running a business (Kitzmueller & Shimshack, 2012).

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I cannot say that I go to Whole Foods Market or an grocery store a lot. I am not allowed to do that because my wife says that I do not buy what we need. Due to this forum and the imposed questions I did go to our local one that is relatively new because I could not find it as a location on the organization website. In addition, when I was here from 2009-2012 it was not here and I do wonder what their strategy is to drop a store that is surrounded by a host of other stores that do the same thing or in some cases more like a Super Walmart.

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