Quick Store is a medium sized company which specializes in merchandising. It has a branch network of approximately thirty stores which are situated in ten states across the United States. Over the years, the management of the company has been leading the company from the front on matters pertaining to social responsibility. This is because the management acknowledges that there is a need for companies to contribute to the community. Over and above that, the management attributes the success of the company to the members of the different communities in which the company operates. This is because in most of the states that the company operates, there are many other medium sized stores but they are not as successful as Quick Store.
Quick Store has two main groups of stakeholders namely, primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. The primary stakeholders comprise of the following groups of people; employee, customers, shareholders, suppliers, and creditors. These groups of stakeholders are affected by the day to day performance of the company. This is because they are either; buying, producing, or supplying a product or service. On the other hand, there are secondary stakeholders. They comprised of mainly institutions such as banks, governments, and the various regulatory bodies. This group of stakeholders is impacted directly by the outcomes of the company. The nature of impact can either be positive or negative. The management of the company normally ensures that it is in good terms with these two groups of stakeholders. The managements put the necessary effort to ensure that all the stakeholders are managed effectively. This is because they are almost equally valuable to the company.
In line with that, it is worth noting that although there is a disparity in the nature of roles that these two groups of stakeholders play their actions have an impact on the success of the company. The primary stakeholders usually have an influence on the day to day running of the company. This is because employees are the people who are tasked with the responsibility of achieving the objectives of the company. They are the people who deal with customers. As a result of this, they are one of the greatest determinants of the overall success of the company. This is because customers are the people who procure various products, which retail at Quick Store Outlets. The suppliers ensure that they supply products to the company in proper time. They also ensure that they are able to meet the demand for the products. In addition to that, they also make sure that they supply high quality products. When the suppliers are successful at performing their duties, this has a positive impact on the overall success of the company.
On the hand, there is the second group of stakeholders which is known as secondary stakeholders. They nature of roles that they play has an indirect impact on the success of the company. An institution like the government is responsible for developing and implementing policies. The types of policies, which are developed and implemented by either a federal or county government, have an impact on the operations of the company. If the local government of a county increases the level of taxes levied on companies operating within the county, this will have a negative impact on the profitability of a company. By making such a move there would be a decline in the ability of the companies operating within that county to attract investors. This is because of the level of return which can be realised from the county. Institutions such as banks can also work hand in hand with companies to promote the growth and development of companies.
In light of all the aforementioned information, the management of the company can be able to harness the energies of all the stakeholders to promote social performance. In order to achieve this objective, the management of the company will set up a day’s workshop on social performance. The objective of this workshop will be to enlighten stakeholders on various ways through which they can make a collective effort to impact the society positively through Quick Mart social responsibility programs. Due to the disparity that exists between the two groups of stakeholders the management will provide both indirect and direct ways of contributing to the social performance of the company. Primary stakeholders will be provided with the opportunity of being involved in the day to day operations of the programs. Secondary stakeholders will be accorded the opportunity of contributing to the social performance by way of providing items such as; donations, grants, products, and services among others. During this workshop, the stakeholders will be educated on the various checks and balances which will be put in place to ensure the success of the project. Throughout this workshop, stakeholders will be sensitized on the merits of social performance projects. At the end of the workshop, there will be various presentations on the different types of social performance projects which stakeholders can invest. In the course of these presentations, they will be handed brochures which provide detailed information on the various projects.
In the course of encouraging stakeholders to form a coalition to help the company to enhance its social performance, it is expected that there are various challenges, which will crop up. One of the anticipated challenges pertains to the management of the social performance projects. It is expect that all the stakeholders will demand that they need to have a representative in the management of these projects. This is because it is expected that they would like to monitor the progress of these projects. The second anticipated challenge pertains to the selection of the projects to be implemented in a particular county. This is because it is anticipated that, some stakeholders might feel that some counties are being favored in terms of the nature of social responsibility projects which are being implemented.
In order overcome these challenges as well as other which have not been anticipated, the management will lead the stakeholders in developing a company policy that will govern the affairs of these programs. This policy document will determine the manner in which the management of these programs will be constituted. It will explicitly state how managers will acquire the various offices of management. In addition to that, this policy document will also state the manner which projects will be distributed across the ten counties where Quick Mart operates. It will overtly state the criteria which will be used in the distribution of these projects. This policy document will also state the powers of the various offices of management of the social performance programs. Finally, the policy document will state the procedure to be followed when there is a need for amending this document.
References
Cooper, S. (2004). Corporate Social Performance: A Stakeholder Approach. New York: Ashgate.
Giesen, B., & Alexander, J. C. (2006). Social Performance: Symbolic Action, Cultural Pragmatics, and Ritual. London: Cambridge.
Gössling, T. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Performance. New York: Edward Elgar.
Mallin, C. A. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study Approach. New York: Edward Elgar.
