Corporate and Social are not usually two words that you would naturally pair together. The word ‘corporate’ throws up images and thoughts of money making, profit, shrewd, out for themselves, only thinking about the big bucks, will trample on whoever it takes to meet our needs, the little man is nothing. The opposite of responsible.
Is this really the case however? Are corporations just interested in the dollar or is there a little more to them? I certainly used to think this.
The biggest corporation that springs to my mind other than Coca Cola was McDonalds, I don’t think there is a single person on this planet who doesn’t recognise those golden arches. McDonalds often manages to raise mixed emotions in people. The most common probably being the biggest junk food distributor across the globe, responsible for single-handedly raising the already alarmingly high rate of obesity. So just how exactly is this corporation responsible? Can it even be called responsible?
Honestly, I was quite shocked and impressed by their efforts and policies. I had no idea the work McDonalds actually do. Take a look at the following video.
The McDonalds definition of social responsibility is “striving to do what is right, being a good neighbour in the community and integrating social and environmental priorities into restaurants and relationships with suppliers and business partners”
It seems that they do take this responsibility very seriously. Firstly, the environment; Mcdonalds “as worked with suppliers to reduce the amount of material used in its packaging and increase the amount of recycled material in use” - Scot M Cutlip, Effective Public Relations, p394. It has been doing this since 1990.
Then there is community obligations- this is a major part of McDonalds business strategy. World Children’s Day, is an annual fund-raising event, which takes place in the month of November. It takes place in McDonalds restaurants. These restaurants are housed in over 100 countries and so the money raised from across the globe goes towards Ronald McDonald House Charities and other non-profit children’s organisations. “Since its inception in 2002, World Children’s Day has raised more than $27 million”- Scot M Cutlip, Effective Public Relations, p394. This is something that no matter how sceptical a person might be around the notion of corporate social responsibility, you cannot deny that is a great thing. Only huge corporations such as McDonalds have the power to raise vast amounts of money and awareness for causes such as this.
Further examples of McDonalds social responsibility are ” The Ronald McDonald House programe provides a home away from home for the families of seriously ill children being treated at nearby hospitals. Started in 1974 in Philadelphia, the program has grown to nearly 250 Ronald McDonald Houses in 24 countries and has helped more than 10 million families around the world.
Nearly 70 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms have been created in hospitals in nine countries to provide a place of respite within the walls of the hospital where the families of critically ill children can rest and relax.
The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program delivers cost-effective medical, dental, and health- education services to children who are uninsured and/or unable to access quality health care.”- Scot M Cutlip, Effective Public Relations, p 394. There are well over 30 Ronald McDonald Mobile programs in operation in the US, Argentina and New Zealand.
It is clear the McDonalds certainly does work hard to adhere to its definition of social responsibility. In my opinion it has to be one the most responsible corporations out there. But on the other hand McDonald will always be blamed for the appalling rates of child obesity. So I guess the question is is it worth it? The problem is we live in a world where everything is too readily available and perhaps there is too much and choice and we choose to take the easy option. S o long as that is the case, McDonalds are doing a good thing by staying responsible in one sense.
My personal opinion is that in order for a corporation to fully undertake corporate social responsibly, its efforts have to be noticeable for it to have any value to the corporation itself. Perhaps McDonalds needs better PR, so that the general public are more aware of its CSR policy. Maybe then it will be featured in the press for the good that it does rather than being blamed for making the world ever so larger.
Mallen Baker; Corporate Social Responsibilty - What does it mean?
Ronald McDonald House Charities; Mission & Vision
Ethical Corporation; McDonalds and Corporate Social Responsibility?
