“Goodbye, Indiana --- Hello, Mexico: the Whirlpool Plant Closing*”

The United Oil Company of California (Unocal) made the decision in the 1990’s to invest in energy projects outside of the United States and chose to invest in the “Yadana field” pipeline. There are many stakeholders involved in the international “Yadana Field” natural gas project. Unocal, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Co., Total S.A., and the Burmese government (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise) along with the employees of these companies are all major stakeholders in the project. These were the main participants that would directly benefit as a result of the project. The people who were living in the area that the pipeline was to be

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

The ethical issues presented in this case are the different views that each individual has on how the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This dispute is between Mr. Milton Friedman, John Mackey, and T.J. Rodgers; all of which has a different outlook on CSR. The definition of CSR refers to the responsibilities that business has to the society in which it operates and to those actions that a business can be held accountable. Most philosophers have come up with three different types of responsibilities that corporations can be held accountable for. The first and most important of the three is a corporation’s duty to not cause harm. If a corporation can

Company Q does not currently have a positive attitude toward social responsibility. They recently closed several stores in higher crime areas. This has eliminated job positions that were held by residents of the area and taken away revenue from the community itself. This is not being socially responsible. The company just started offering a limited selection of health and organic foods despite that the demand from customers has been there for years. They have also made the decision to not donate day old food to the local shelters, opting instead to waste the food by throwing it away. Company Q needs to make several changes in their company behavior in order to become more socially responsible.

Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth.

This essay is a critical analysis of the behaviors that Company Q has demonstrated with regard to social responsibility. In essence, Company Q’s behaviors, while reasonable reactions to maintain financial viability and avoid contribution to employee malfeasance, actually demonstrate a profound solicitude that results in a negative public image that will end up costing it more in the long term. I will offer solutions that will provide a cost savings while keeping Company Q from making further embarrassing errors.

The corporate world has an unfavorable view of itself by being selfish, evil, and against the average American. Companies market themselves and their products in certain ways that makes them and their products appealing to everyone and if not everyone then a certain group of people. Every company has a mission to follow and values to go by, but some companies lack ethics and morals. In this paper I am going to talk about one company that engages in ethical behavior and another that doesn’t.

The Whirlpool Europe case provides an opportunity to look at different ways to evaluate a major IT investment the company is considering. To undertake this analysis we have to make a few assumptions because the case does not have all the details needed to estimate benefits and investment cost. However, if you were in a company faced with this situation, these numbers would be available.

We will look at the Enron Corporation and discuss its application of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or in actuality its irresponsible behavior as related to social responsibility. We will revisit what CSR is and discuss Enron’s philosophy regarding its use and function within the corporation. We will discuss the consequences of Enron’s irresponsible behavior and the far reaching effects it had on society.

All consumers should make every effort to make ethical purchases. This involves evaluating their morals and values in order to make sound decisions on their purchases. This also includes setting priorities and examining what is really important to the consumer. If a consumer cares about the wrongdoings of employees and expresses their concerns through purchases, then companies who do the right things would gain a large share of the market. However, consumers cannot change the world or fix social injustices totally through their purchases, some things are never seen by the consumer because companies have become great at hiding the unethical parts of business. Sometimes consumers have to make tough decisions because a sustainable brand may be too expensive and be a lower quality than other less sustainable brands.

Although there are specific complications associated with each issue addressed by an ethical consumer, none of it can be done without some cost to the individual. Therefore, a consumer must balance their behavior with their own needs and desires against that of the other and come to an action that is bearable in its restrictions. Some ethical consumers are not fully capable of dealing with complex issues or large amounts of information, but still have the desire to attempt to do their part. There are many ways consumers can utilize their money to influence change in today’s world. One example is to support local farmer’s markets. The numerous food scares of the last decade have indirectly encouraged the environmental side of the ethical consumer to shop locally. Another example is to shop at small business instead of large corporations. Privately owned companies operate without the overhead of a large company. A manager at a large corporation must answer to shareholders, but a small business owner can make the decision to “diminish profit in order to enhance social welfare.” (Karnani 4). While writing to companies, speaking to managers, or attending conferences can attribute change in the world, some consumers are willing to commit to more extravagant acts, such as boycotts and public protests. There are several nonprofit organizations that can assist with large protests or consumer boycotts. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) are just a few of the groups that can make effective changes to unethical behaviors in large corporations. Whether an act is small or extravagant, a consumer can influence companies to do the right thing when producing a

In today’s fast paced world, there are lots of corporations that are competing in the global marketplace for your business. While many of them rake in massive profits year after year, not all of these corporations have ethics or give back to their communities. Best Buy is one of the large corporations that does in fact care and give back to their communities, in an effort to promote growth in the tech sector and also prosperity for those in the country. They have many initiatives that positively affect everyone from employees to customers and the environment as well. This paper is designed to highlight the many things Best Buy does to ensure they are socially responsible.

Whirlpool thought they were ready to go live with SAP until September 18, 1999. Whirlpool seemed to be making all the right moves, like dispatcher assignment, having centralized pricing, and vendor interfacing. Even the best laid plans don’t always work. Everything seemed to be going smoothly at first because there were only 1000 system users, once 4,000 users were on the system, performance deteriorated which lead to 4-8 weeks delivery delays to which some customer cancelled their order and went with a competitor. Whirlpool should never have gone live until they realized what impact the red flags

Additionally, on a socio-cultural level, many consumers feel that restaurants partaking in green initiatives and operations are doing their part to not only help sustain the earth but also to conserving natural resources (Hu, Parsa & Self, 2010). “Going green” is not simply a trend in the food service industry but around the world and in all forms of business. Corporate companies consider “going green” as a sensible business strategy in building recognition for corporate social responsibility among consumers concerned with environmental conservation efforts. Lastly, technological initiatives such as Energy Star appliances (dishwashers, refrigerators, ice machines, etc.) and faucets that use less water must also be analyzed in their ecological conservation capability and weighed against their financial costs (University of Notre Dame, 2014).

Based on my calculation and the assumptions from the case text, I would recommend this project. It can provide an 82.98 million positive economic value to Whirlpool Europe. However I do have a few concerns. The forecasting and calculations are based on large quantity of assumptions, and some of them are pretty optimistic, such as the 25% percent increase in unit sold. Thus, the actual result of this project is subject to a volatility based on the accuracy of the date and forecasting provided in case.