SuperSize Me Case Study
Introduction and situational analysis
Impacts on the products and goods produced by firms and corporate impacts the daily living of the consequential consumers. To avert and curb the outcomes on these negative impacts firms are embracing the essence of establishing and maintaining the benefits of CSR or the Corporate Social Responsibility. In reference to the outcomes that are costing consumers hefty amounts on medical bills, firms are establishing awareness on the need to facilitate healthy leaving through availing of information on healthy diets. The intriguing factors that underline the essentiality of the issue on Corporate and consumer relationship in relation establishing a healthy interaction based on the products and goods offered. Regulatory bodies and respective governments are enacting regulations in reference to safeguarding the health of consumers.
Firms and Corporate such as McDonald’s which offer food products credited on causing health related risks such as obesity are entangled within safeguarding consumer health and protecting the stakeholders welfare. Various analysts insist that the blame on the health outcomes and risks projected after consumption should not be solely handled by the involved firms such as McDonald’s (Fortunato, 2011). Though the proffered analogy offers deeper insight on establishing effective healthy products the responsibility entailed by the consumers should not be ignored.
Corporate Social Responsibility entails developing strategic plans to achieve commercial success by the organization through honoring ethical values and respect for communities, the natural environment and the people (McWilliams, 2001). To achieve this firms and corporate are establishing Corporate Social Responsibility programs. McDonald’s have discovered the essentiality behind embracing an effective CRS in relation to ensuring their consumers are safe based on the consumptions of their products. In their 2003 Social Responsibility report the firm advocates for the need to create awareness on the issues that make impacts on their consumer health issues.
The firm also emphasizes on environmental and community relationship. The intriguing aspects under the study are on the essentiality of developing effective Corporate Social Responsibility, the roles that the involved consumers have to play and the government roles. Do firms act within the specifications of effective CRS and if they do what measures do they uphold to ensure efficiency and desired outcomes are achieved.
Stakeholder analysis
Establishing and effective Corporate Social Responsibility program calls for effective incorporation of all the stakeholders. The outcomes of increased concerns by the public and the regulatory bodies on the consequential health risks by products offered by the firm can lead to numerous losses on every stakeholder. The main aim of establishing effective Corporate Social Responsibility program that aligns with the organizational strategic plans is to increase corporate performance through creation of respectable reputations.
Investors and every stakeholder advocate developing CSR based on the corporation level on moral development where specific values are set and within which the corporate operates. These values incorporate social responsibility values, decisions and programs through variety of normative systems based on educational, religion and culture in reference to the product developed. Stakeholders are defined as individuals or groups that depends on the set organization to fulfill their objectives and to whom the organization depends (Mele, 2002). Through this analogy it is evident that the welfare of the organization incorporates social and political, resource-base and industry-structures. To secure long-term sustainable growths the firms are entailed to deploy effective and strategic measures through maintaining close and fruitful open dialogue with the key stakeholders if not all. Developing strategic Corporate Social Responsibility offers the corporate stakeholders a close attachment with the firms operations.
Analysis based on ethical theories
Ethical theories advocate for the firms operations within the set market and environment to consider the welfare of the consumers. This is through offering products and services that are healthy with no effects to the consumers’ health. The fact that the products produced by these firms offers implications that are causing hefty financial health bills seems to differ with the values set under these ethics. Consumers and the government regulatory bodies are blaming the involved firms for manufacturing food and consumption products that are resulting to increased medical cases on the consumers.
The long-term implications these products are reflecting on the consumers’ health are raising concerns on the essentiality of these firms within the market. The governments and the critics question the existence of these firms if the products offered are to continue compromising the consumers’ health. However, these organizations are advocating that consumers should be responsible to their health through consumption of quantities that are within the specified set recommendations.
Cultural Relativism is the analogy that stipulates that the right and the wrong doings are normally determined by the individuals involved cultural believes. The assumption behind the initiators of this theory were based on the notion that incase two cultures believes different on certain belief, its right for one of the culture to believe that it is simply right while it is also rightfully right for the other culture to believe that that this is wrong.
In reference to the issue there are those who feel that the outcomes of the health risks are through consumers’ ignorance to maintain healthy diets by consuming food substances that are within the healthy dietary lines. The other culture believes that the consequential outcomes should be solely being blamed on manufacturing firms for offering risky products to the consumers.
Conclusion and recommendation
The issue on essentiality of establishing effective CSR requires incorporation of the consumers, the corporate and the government. Damages caused through consumption of some of these foods substances such as obesity and diabetes are causing the consumers and the government hefty financial implications on medical bills. Awareness on responsible consumption by the consumers and manufacturing ingredients by the corporate should be embraced to reduce the consequential risks and marinating ethics.
References
Super Size Me (2004) Check Out Super Size Me on HuluMcDonald’s Corporate Social Responsibility-Making Progress
Fortunato, J. (2011). Confronting obesity: A case study of the corporate social responsibility of McDonald’s, Advances in Management, 4(11), 20-23.
Jacobs, H. (2004). McDonald’s counters super size me attack. Asia’s Media & Marketing Newspaper.
Trecroci, D. (2005). Did you see ‘super size me’ and decide that Morgan Spurlock’s move was a bunch of baloney? Diabetes Health, 14(3), 26
McWilliams, A. and D. Siegel: 2001, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective’, Academy of Management Review 26(1), 117–127.
Mele, D., (2002). Not only Stakeholder Interests. The Firm Oriented toward the Common Good (University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame).
Post, J. E., Preston, L. E. Sauter-Sachs, S. and Sachs, S., (2002). Redefining the Corporation: Stakeholder Management and Organizational Wealth (Stanford University Press, Stanford)
