Need Help Comments or thoughts or these statements or improvements. LA1 Corporations operate to satisfy one major motive: a profit.

Need Help Comments or thoughts or these statements or improvements....

LA1

Corporations operate to satisfy one major motive: a profit. However, the social responsibilities of a corporation theory suggests that corporations should not only work for the sake of a profit, but for the social wellbeing of all (The Business Ethics Workshop 2012, p. 589). An example of this can be a taxi company. Vehicles require regular maintenance to ensure safety, so if a taxi service company decides to cut corners on these needed repairs, everyone who uses their services could be in danger. Yes, the business could save money by using subpar parts and doing the bare minimum regarding repair services. But would doing such benefit everyone? The cars may not run optimally, vehicle breakdowns could happen more often, and cars have an increased chance of emitting harmful chemicals into the environment. Using the social responsibilities of a cooperation theory, cutting corners on vehicle maintenance would not be the ethical decision to make. In the pursuit of happiness for everyone, the taxi business would maintain the fleet of vehicles they own to premium standards while watching operation costs to maximize profits.

In terms of arguments against the theory of the corporations having social responsibilities, a big one is corporate social responsibility - economic responsibility. This particular branch under corporate social responsibility says that it is the company's natural instinct to make money (The Business Ethics Workshop 2012, p. 590-591). Without profits, considering the ethics of the business would not even be possible. Given this, focusing the ethical behavior of a business before the actual profits according to this theory is not wise.

Learning Activity #2

A corporation can easily feel the social pressures of their surroundings, and thus, use those influences to take social stands. Using the moral requirement argument, powerful corporations can make a grand social impact when choosing to take a stand on an ethical issue (The Business Ethics Workshop 2012, p. 602). Nike is a major corporation that recently featured Colin Kaepernick in an advertisement that had many people talking. Whether positive or negative comments, Nike got people talking by taking a political stance. With this step, the conversation surrounding Kaepernick's activism has been brought back to the forefront of the public's mind thanks to Nike. Another reasons why a corporation may feel requires to respond to social obligations is to ultimately drive business. Under the enlightened self-interest argument, customers are more willing to spend money with a business who shares similar social standards as themselves (The Business Ethics Workshop 2012, p. 605). With this in mind, a business will want to take a social position on an issue, and work towards doing what they can to fix it. An up and coming women's clothing brand, Reformation, makes a point to note that their clothes are made with sustainable materials. Of course this is great for the environment, but also even better when attracting customers who values environmentally friendly options.