Walmart Ethical Issues

Ethics/Social Issue

Chapter 1, question 2 of the Rothaermel (2016) text asks, “Corporate leaders are responsible for setting the firm’s strategy to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. Should managers be concerned only about the company’s financial performance? What responsibility do company managers have for other consequences of their strategy? For example, should Walmart try to mitigate the negative impact its arrival in communities can have on small locally owned stores? Should Apple be concerned about the working conditions at Foxconn (the company that manufactures the iPhone and the iPad in Chine)? Why or why not? Explain” (p. 26). To answer these questions simply, yes. Corporate leaders and managers should be concerned with more than just their financial performance. Financial performance is an intensely important factor for businesses, but not at the expense of damaging the external environment. Corporate social responsibility is defined as the economic, legal, social, and philanthropic expectations that society holds to a firm during any given moment (Rothaermel, 2016). Corporate social responsibility is a concept that has emerged

This causes businesses to be held accountable for the ethical and social missteps. The consequences of their strategies, such as the working conditions of Foxconn and the implications of a new Walmart on the surrounding environment, are something managers should be concerned with as many consumers will boycott a business because of unethical decisions by managers. Managers should find themselves completely responsible for the implications of the strategies they have put into place. It is important for managers to understand the ethics and social issues of the day and incorporate those into a business strategy that will continue to allow competitive advantage while remaining socially responsible (Carroll,