Ethics and Socially Responsive Business

Panera, a “fast casual” restaurant is built on the premise of creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for employees and customers alike. Employees abide by a code of conduct that spells out ethical rights and responsibilities on individual and corporate levels and encourages employees to ask questions in person or by way of a dedicated Ethics Hotline. They also have an anti-retaliation policy to protect anyone who reports a potential violation from mistreatment (Panera Bread

It is a centralized system, where decisions and recommendations come from the top down. However it is also flexible giving any employee the freedom to reach out to an upper level director. This succession of power lets Cheesecake Factory operate smoothly and competently. Each location manager has to go through extensive training to be able to be in that position and is well qualified to look over the whole restaurant. Given the success of Cheesecake factory, I would say they should keep their hierarchal structure the same and if anything they should add higher monitoring of lower levels. The upper levels seem to operate efficiently, but upon reading employee reviews of working at Cheesecake factory, there were several that were unhappy with their general managers. Many of them claimed that the management was unapproachable, and did not pay attention to the hard work of the employees. It was also said that the managers tend to be overbearing and lack communication skills with employees. Another overarching theme was the inconsistent breaks because they are up to the discretion of the manager. My recommendation would be to invest more in the employees and the directors that are above the general managers to make sure that the employees are satisfied. Promote company values more and participative leadership and more incentive for employees to go above and beyond and focus on team building as opposed to individual competition. In one of the reports they even said themselves that the success of the business is due to happy employees. “Our future growth and financial success will be highly dependent on our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified staff members who are capable of successfully managing upscale, high-volume casual dining restaurants, and consistently executing our extensive and complex

Another limit to ethical behaviour at McDonald’s might be training and discipline within the company. For example, if an experienced employee was selected for a course or was offered a promotion, another employee might find it unfair and discriminative. Similar situation could possibly happen when it comes to discipline, for example a manager would treat employees making the same mistake differently and favour one person more than another. If any of the employees made an official complaint about any of those, it could lead to publicity’s hesitation and bad relations between employees within the company and its suppliers.

We as business owners, management and or in a role of authority must set, address and comply with a solid foundation of ethics. “A code of conduct is the single most important element of your ethics and compliance program. It sets the tone and direction for the entire function. Often, the code is a standalone document, ideally only a few pages in length. It introduces the concept of ethics and compliance and provides an overview of what you mean when you talk about ethical business conduct.”

Ethics and moral obligations are issues we all encounter at one time or another. In the professional setting, all people should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. To be ethical, one has to determine their obligations, moral ideas, and moral philosophy (Boatright, p. 19, 2009). The case analysis involving Jacob Franklin was a perfect example of how an individual can face the dilemma of doing what is right or wrong. Businesses have their own code of ethics, and the employees within the business have to determine whether or not they will follow the company’s code of conduct. I will discuss several ethical issues in the case analysis including; failure to report information, remaining silent regarding faulty equipment,

The Cheesecake Factory has been in operation for over thirty years. We opened the doors to the first Cheesecake Factory store on February 25, 1978 in Beverly Hills, California. Since then, we have excelled and expanded tremendously. We currently have over two hundred stores around the world. Our unique settings set us apart and give us diversity in the restaurant industry. We appeal to a vast majority of patrons, and pride ourselves on the integrity of the Company. Our staff, being just as diverse as the dining experience that we offer, consists of people from many different backgrounds. The Cheesecake Factory has a Code of Conduct in place to regulate conduct and ensure that, while providing great service, the staff is being treated with respect as well. The code of conduct also covers the responsibility of the staff members in regard to the interest of the Company. A code of conduct is a guide and reference for users in support of day to day decision making (Driscoll 2000). We want our staff to know that we value your hard work and commitment. We also want them to know that we expect them to provide a high quality of service to our guest.

Restaurants always have food that does not get used for one reason or another, and being able to donate fresh, edible food to shelters and enabling someone who would go hungry to have a meal would be wonderful. A second way for The Cheesecake Factory to engage in socially responsive activities in the community would be to help raise money for a local local organization. This could be done in many ways but, the important aspect is that the company is giving back to the community in which it is a part. One final way that the Cheesecake Factory could engage in socially responsive activities in the community would be to offer free meals to shelters for specified holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is an excellent way of giving backto the community.

As we strive to enhance the lives of those we serve in our restaurants, Buca Di Beppo is committed to creating value for our customers and the communities we proudly serve across 29 states. Every day, we arrive with a passion for creating a lively atmosphere and an authentic Italian menu for all to enjoy, and making a lasting positive difference in people’s lives. As we do, we’re continuously seeking to better integrate our compliance and ethics efforts into our daily actions. The secret sauce for making our business adhere to legal and ethical obligations: integrating an effective compliance program into the very heart of the enterprise, where our efforts create value for our teams.

The notion of ethics deals with people’s behaviors within a company. Social responsibility involves a company’s moral obligations and the manner in which the organization makes its decisions. Although ethics and social responsibility are similar on a conceptual basis, each has its own unique characteristics that express their differences and its independence of the other. Ethics and social responsibility have to be present and coincide with one another for a business to be ethically sound.

As an ethics consultant for Tasty’s, since the establishment in a whole has at least 50-199 employees, an Ethics officer should be established within the company, the officer teaches/trains all current and future employees professional ethical conduct and how situation should be and will be handled within the company. The Ethical code of conduct and will not only relay the general regulations within workplace, but how to handle and assess situations from a 1-10 scale. (1 being minimal and 10 being severe) Since Tasty’s is a family catered establishment, all of the employees should be able to interact with all people from a variety of backgrounds and ages, providing equal service and care from one table to the next. All employees

The Cheesecake Factory has a four significant areas of code of conduct that is very important. The first conduct is general standards of conduct is when the employee builds a relationship amongst trust, loyalty, honesty, and responsibility within the company. The employee will have the responsibility to follow the rules and procedures to uphold the company guidelines of interest at all times. This is important because you will want to build and have that trust with your staff members.

1. The Sales Rep. A sales representative for a struggling computer supply firm has a chance to close a multimillion-dollar deal for an office system to be installed over a two-year period. The machines for the first delivery are in the company’s warehouse, but the remainder would have to be ordered from the manufacturer. Because the manufacturer is having difficulty meeting the heavy demand for the popular model, the sales representative is not sure that the subsequent deliveries can be made on time. Any delay in converting to the new system would be costly to the customer; however, the blame could be placed on the manufacturer. Should the sales representative close the deal without advising the customer

The Overall Code of Ethics for any Cheese Cake Factory employee whether you are an executive officer, senior financial officer, director or a staff member will always have a productive influence on the company’s ability to have continued success. It is very vital that the business upholds the correct standards and ethics for each department with regard to keeping the respect for our employees and our faithful patrons. This material will explain the areas of our code of conduct that are important to our business with emphasis on why it should be significant to our business. We will also go in

Is the deception of consumers worth making a profit? The Ford Pinto, popular car of the 1970s, made a profit off of a vehicle that endangered the lives of hundreds of people. In his essay “Pinto Madness” Mark Dowie, author and Pulitzer Prize nominee, exposed the unethical decisions made by Ford Motor Company. When it came to their customer’s safety and profit for the company, Ford made a decision that led to consequences their customers had to pay the price for. Should the business be held accountable for these actions? In his essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profit” Milton Friedman, powerful economist, discusses what a business should prioritize in the economic system. Friedman declares what a business is responsible for and the guidelines they must follow. Due to Friedman’s view, he would not have condoned the actions and decisions that the executives at Ford Motor Company took.

ITC Ltd has worked exremly hard to start several procedures that have led to compliance of the standards of social responsibility. ITC’s dealings within the tobacco industry have contributed to the increase in company revenues and the company has worked towards following the triple bottom line and giving back to society. Most, businesses pay little attention to their social responsibilities and make it part of their overall strategy, instead they concentrate more on financial benefits from the sales of products. Consequently, managing business in a socially responsive manner contributes to the best combination of business success and societal acceptance, trust and loyalty. Giving back to the community in ways that benefits only society such as planting trees to curb pollution and help the environment or using biodegradable materials in packaging can reap financial benefits to a company by building loyalty among the community. The notion of business ethics and corporate social responsibility is becoming a defining concept in all industries worldwide. ITC believes in the Triple Bottom Line philosophy where the performance and perception of a corporation should not be judged only on the basis of its financial statements or revenues, but its environmental and social performance as well. ITC is one of the only companies in the world to be carbon positive, water positive, and conduct solid waste recycling. ITC provides water to areas where water is very