Corporate Social Responsibility or Personal Moral Obligation?
Popular societal belief advocates that those who ‘do good’ tend to have good reciprocated to them in return. Following this logic, you would expect businesses that decide to adhere to strict local and international ethics standards to ultimately prevail in their endeavors, experiencing monetary and personal success, in spite of the difficulties that are often faced when striking a balance between profit and ethics. Chiquita Brands bananas is an American firm working hard to conduct their business in a ethically and socially responsible way, though it has yet to see the fruits of their labor.
Chiquita Brands is a firm that has demonstrated it’s commitment to sustainable and ethical business practice on repeated occasions. For example, Chiquita Brands does not use oil from the tar sands to transport their goods, and has worked to elevate the status and presence of women in their workforce. It has also ratified local and global food agreements, and allows their products to be tested against environmental standards.
The case of Chiquitas Bananas brings up the question of whether or not there is an incentive for businesses to spend/expend resources/capital committing to ethical and responsible practice, if there is no greater reward than a guilt-free conscience. If businesses could monetize and capitalize on the guilt free conscience of its stakeholders, adhering to business ethics would not cause concern. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This leaves it up to the individuals within businesses themselves to determine what values their business is built upon, and to decide whether they would be willing to sacrifice anything to compromise those values at any point down the line. It also brings to question whether certain corporations deserve the criticism they face regarding the nature of their ‘corporate social responsibility platforms’ – if their pursuit of ethical business continues to harm their profit margins, the words personal moral obligation may be a more apt term.