Monthly Archives: September 2015

At Sauder, success in the corporate world is defined not only by a company’s profits but also by leadership, social contribution, creativity, and human decency. Although such success is much easier said than done, which is demonstrated by the large blog posts regarding poor business ethics written by my fellow peers, I believe it is attainable.

image source: http://www.oneindia.com/img/2015/07/16-1437049145-facebook.jpg

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, claimed internet access to be “an enabler of human rights” and a “force for peace.” On Saturday, Facebook was  reported to partner with United Nations to help provide Internet connections to refugee camps through solar-powered mammoth drones with Internet.org, the company’s initiative that aims to ”provide internet access to four billion people in the world who cannot afford a smartphone or does not live near fibre-optic cable lines or cell towers.”

“It’s not all altruism,” Mr. Zuckerberg said later, in an implicit acknowledgment that drawing new users to his service is also good for Facebook’s bottom line. “We all benefit when we are more connected.”

Through this initiative, it’s true that Facebook earns profit, but as we learned in class, profit is one of main goals of a company. The importance is whether or not how these corporate decisions affect our society as a whole. Facebook’s initiative will bring them more users, and thus generating profit, while making a positive social contribution.

I found this article interesting because I personally also believe in the power of technology, and its ability to unite the world positively. For developing nations, internet connection means access to knowledge, and that is the key in becoming more powerful.

Sources:

According to the Stakeholder Theory, what differentiates a successful business from a declining one is the ability to find the perfect balance of creating value for all of its stakeholders. This includes maximizing corporate profit while making executions that are in accordance with social responsibility to create positive externalities for our society as a whole.

United States’ largest drugstore chain, CVS Caremark, is one of the companies taking on the initiative to promote business ethics by ceasing its cigarette and tobacco sales as well as providing mini-clinical services to rebrand itself as a health care provider. In addition, it would be discordant for the company to continue its sales while providing patients with services such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease, all of which are linked to smoking.

Although CVS estimated this decision to result in a $2 billion loss in cigarette sales, it’s merely a small fraction in relative to its overall sales of $123 billion in 2012. The company also plans to make up for the profit by introducing a cigarette cessation program for Americans, which targets clients such as insurance plans companies.

Although many organizations are skeptical of the tangibility of the fine balance between ethics and profit, this is an example of how businesses can exercise social responsibility while continuing to generate revenue as a corporate.

Work Cited:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/business/cvs-plans-to-end-sales-of-tobacco-products-by-october.html

Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory. Dir. R. Edward Freeman. N.d.