Contemporary issue in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Contemporary issue in Management - Essay Example bodies and the guidelines given by social watchdogs are only a part of the process that makes corporations recognize their social responsibility since it seems that the bulk of socially responsible actions come from the need to keep a positive public image. Maintaining that image and being socially responsible is a very important contemporary issue in the management of any company. Colvin (2006) reports that companies such as GE, BP, Starbucks, Dell, Pfizer, and Apple may be loved and hated by many people for various reasons but none of these companies can afford to have their brand name or corporate image to be tarnished in any way. In fact, certain companies may use their image to create customer loyalty and brand recognition more than other methods. Others may even go to court in order to save the image of the company (Alleyne, 2005). Undoubtedly, we are living in the information age and even false rumors about a company’s suppliers maltreating their employees in China, or the company’s employees facing racial, sexual or even gender based discrimination can have really negative effects on the bottom line of the company. Even though it could be possible for a company to be respected and appreciated based on just the financial performance (Forbes, 2005), greater appreciation comes when the company displays a healthy level of social responsibilit y along with financial performance (Natural Health, 2005). Social responsibility is not simply a stance taken by the company for exceeding the given ethical responsibility of a company. In fact, it is actually a business opportunity to seek out an image that has remained for a long time exclusively in the domain of NGOs and social organizations i.e. being a ‘green’ company. While this idea sometimes implies being environmentally friendly, the total environment in which a company operates includes a lot more than making sure that the smokestacks of industry do not create more than an manageable level of pollution.