It's Business Ethics term paper. Company report in particular Assignment

It's Business Ethics term paper. Company report in particular - Assignment Example These do not necessarily have to be the areas that the company enjoys high revenues. There is no limit as to the scope of a business’ corporate social responsibility and investment. What is of great debate is the involvement of the business in the corporate social responsibility. Shaw (2011) defines corporate social responsibility as an inbuilt, self-regulation mechanism that allows a business to monitor and ensure and it actively complies with the laws of the country, ethical standards, and the international norms. It stresses the importance of the company taking responsibility for its actions, encouraging the need for positive impact through involvement in the environment, consumers, employees of the business, communities surrounding the business, stakeholders of the company, and the public in general (Schwartz, 2011). Business ethics indicates how businesses examine the ethical problems that arise in the business environment, applying in the aspects of business conduct. Cor porate social investment is allocation of a part of a business’ budget into corporate social responsibility activities, which are not necessarily supposed to bring any revenue to the company (Arnold 2002). 2. Wal-mart Stores Company was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton. As of 2012, it is the world’s third largest public corporation, operating chains of department stores and warehouses across the globe. The company owns 8500 stores around the globe in 15 countries that are registered under 15 different names. It has over two million employees, making it the world’s biggest private employer, and it is the world’s most valuable company (Halepete et al., 2006). Although Wal-Mart has been severally accuse of paying its employees’ salaries below the wage rate, taking customers from neighbourhood stores and hurting its neighbouring communities, and its predatory pricing, in the recent past, it has undergone a major transformation and focused to commit itself on progressive policies aimed towards corporate social responsibility. Recently, as a way of showing its corporate responsibility and concern to its customers, decided to reduce unhealthy salt levels, fats and sugars in most of its packaged food. To encourage healthy living through eating and feeding, the company lowered prices on healthy products such as fruits and vegetables (Halepete et al., 2006). Concern for community does not have to take the form of capital investment or resource allocation, it can do this by the product and services it offers to the masses. Secure products that are of high quality and of correct amount indicates a company’s dedication to corporate social responsibility through care and concern for the people (Werther & Chandler, 2011). The company does not only focus on promoting healthy living among its customers, but also has concern for the environment, a plan evident from its energy minimization plan. Its environmental concern measures include ef ficient use of energy by reducing greenhouse gas emission. This, the company is not shy of spending $500 million a year to increase its fuel efficiency. The pledge by the company’s management is to decrease greenhouse gasses emission by 20% in a period of seven years. It also pledged to reduce its energy use in the stores, by 30% in the same period, cutting its solid waste emission by 25% from the U.S. stores and clubs in a span of three years. It does not only gain good