The marketing environment a process as we discussed in class to first collect data through research, analyze the situation via SWOT analysis, apply marketing objectives, have a action plan to do with thoroughly evaluation of the four P’s which can be a time consuming process in order to execute it correctly, eventually have a set of activities or a program plan that must be implemented, and lastly after it’s been implemented the company must control it i.e. check if it is working frequently. An example would be monitoring sales, looking at what the competitors are doing, checking if the promotion part of the marketing for the product is working, and to see if the packaging of the product needs to be revised or if the product itself must be upgraded.
Social responsibility is described as the company going the extra mile. It can be something environmental friendly or charitable but in the late 20th and early 21st centuries companies have taken it upon themselves rather than it being enforced upon them to do so. In the text it states if company’s don’t do it on their own the government enforcement will be far worse and strict so they decided to implement it themselves which is less strict and benefit them in the long run. Companies also may be doing it for PR reasons i.e. it makes the company look good or they simply believe in the cause. Social responsibility has become a chain reaction and most companies are doing it now, there are usually some information on a company’s social responsibility statement in their mission statement or could be easily found on the company’s website. Some company’s although do not implement social responsibility functions at all, it is most likely the ‘old school’ production based company’s but it appears that these methods will make the company fall behind and go out of business they aren’t doing what the rest of the company’s are doing.
Ethics are doing what is right, morals, values, and social norms that are important to people. These will vary to country, geographic region, age group, religion, and the subculture they belong to. It is important for a company to have a code of ethics and many do in writing. Companies don’t usually put in a code of ethics ruling until they see a problem but over time rules have collected. Some examples is have internal controls on departments and CEO’s to avoid a situation like in the case of Enron but there is also federal laws protection that. Internal controls are also in place to prevent the stealing of company property as well as fair and just treatment of employees. Ethics is important to the human condition and isn’t limited to business. It is an important element that is often overlooked.
In the past where there was the ‘good old boys’ days of business it was viewed as a threat by everyone. But as times and trends are changing like a wave current, if people don’t abide by the changes of social responsibly the company will be left behind or not be a company anymore. Because social responsibility is a growing trend or a business fad most people view it as a good thing. If people aren’t on the ball with social responsibility it looks bad to the customer base. Customers will become disgusted because the company doesn’t care and they may boycott the company and go elsewhere now. I would say without a doubt it is an opportunity in business of the 21st century.
I have chose to select a company which embraces social responsibility and ethics and a company that blantly ignores it. A company that has embraced social responsibility is the 99 Restaurant and a company that completely ignores social responsibility is Friendly’s Ice Cream Corporation. I have chosen both of these within the same industry for an easy comparison.
Friendly’s Ice Corporation is a very backwards looking company which appears to be a service based company but is more production based when looking at their daily activities/functions. They are a very hierarchical and autocratic company. The company’s website has nothing described as their mission statement only a company history and a listening of previous marketing campaigns. They do not declare anything the stand for as far as ethics on their website as well. As a previous employee of Friendly’s for three years their main concern is making sales even at the expense of their customers and employees. This is a prime example of how a company is not socially responsible. This company also speaks to an ethics issue as well. This company has been known to force employees work off the clock, not take breaks, being refused drinking water for health reasons, not letting them leave work well after their shift is over, force them to do a multitude of jobs concurrently, as well as harassment in many forms. Friendly’s also is a anti-environmentalist company because they choose to waste so much such as in food. While Friendly’s throws everything in a trash and sends it to a landfill they could recycle and feed the excess wasted food to pigs on a farm and recycle the cardboard and the packaging products.
The 99 Restaurant on the other hand has a clear mission statement on the website under the ‘about us’ tab as well as a column on the left-hand side that says ‘community involvement’ within the ‘about us’ information. Some examples are dining for a cause, boys and girls club of America, and Pine Street Inn which is also a fundraising function. While Friendly’s has always sold Easter Seals around Valentine’s Day, that is the only fundraising that they perform. The 99 is beating Friendly’s in the social responsibility department by a long shot. Also as far as ethics go the 99 offers and provides their employees with fair and just treatment as well as many benefits. For example the 99 provides these benefits for employees; 401-K, flexible hours, medical and dental plans, as well as rewards for performing well .The 99 also does not look at customers as just a sale by treating customers as people with dignity and respect. The company also does not overload employees to the point they cannot handle their job under normal circumstances. Although the 99 has nothing listed on their website for environmental causes, their causes include programs for children, the homeless, and functions that donate money to the local police/fire department fund.
After definining the marketing environment, social responsibility, ethics, and what it means to 21st century business my opinion on social responsibility is very clear. Looking at Friendly’s and the 99 Restaurant also made it very clear as to how business is operating in that regard. My stance is there is no room to not have social responsibility is a part of business. The company should act upon it before it is mandated which could severely disadvantage the company and set them back for something they aren’t ready for. Also to gain a competitive advantage on other companies it is a good method to contract business. As I said within this blog customers may become disgusted and eventually boycott companies that do not apply social responsibility because it makes the company appear cold and unjust. There are legal, competitive, and public relations benefits in doing social responsibility. All companies in the 21st century cannot afford to not comply.
