The Criticisms of Tasty Meals Company - Assignment Example

Do you think the criticisms Tasty meals Ltd experiences regarding unfair treatment of its employees is justified? Why or why not? Effective on May 26, 2011, the daily minimum wage rates in the Philippines range from Php 389 to Php 426 or approximately US $9 to US $10 depending on what sector or industry an individual is employed (Department of Labor and Employment 1). The hourly wage at Tasty meals Ltd according to the survey conducted by the National Workers Union in the Philippines was slightly above $3 gross. And in September this year, the said rate was raised to $3.6. The bad claims against Tasty meals Ltd include bad working conditions such as working for long hours and unjust wages. However, these are not clearly justified based on the information presented in the case and the present daily minimum wage rates in the Philippines. In reality, Philippines is one of the countries with cheap labor other than the rests of improving or rising economies such as China. Tasty meals used to pay its employees on hourly basis with an average rate of above $3 gross. The daily minimum wage rates in the Philippines are also gross, which means that it is advantageous on the part of employees to be paid with $3 or above on an hourly basis. Furthermore, there were no sufficient data to exactly justify that employees at Tasty meals were forced to work on long hours. If they have to work on long hours and provided that they will be paid per hour, then they are expected to receive higher salary compared to those employees in the Philippines relying on the daily minimum wage imposed by the government. Furthermore, there are many Filipinos who are looking for jobs and even many of them do not have the opportunity to get one. Based on its hourly wage offer, Tasty meals Ltd is such a good opportunity for jobless Filipinos for them to make both ends meet. 2. Should Tasty meals Ltd be held responsible for the problems caused by unhealthy junk foods and high-calorie? Why or why not? A very brief sketch of a free market can be illustrated in the following situations: an individual has the right to work or not to work; organizations have choices to hire or not to hire; production plants have the freedom to produce or not to produce; entrepreneurs have the freedom to sell or not to sell; and finally consumers have the right to buy or not to buy (Commerce Clearing House 403). In a free market, customers have the freedom to choose based on their personal choices, specifications and needs. They have preferences and there are various alternatives in the market to choose from. Product offerings served by Tasty meals are among of the alternatives. In reality, there are customers who have great affinity for unhealthy junk foods and high calorie. They have the freedom to suit their desire for unhealthy junk foods or those with high calorie content for as long as there is no law forbidding them to consume these food types. Though there are continuous public health warnings regarding the health effects of these kinds of foods, in the end it is still the customers who will decide what to eat. After all, the attitude towards certain foods is an integral part of a person’s lifestyle. Thus, there is no sufficient reason to point out Tasty meals Ltd to be held responsible for the problems caused by unhealthy junk foods and those containing high-calorie content. 3. Is it reasonable to demand from Tasty meals Ltd to give up a ‘cost effective’ and ‘convenient’ use of disposable tableware and containers because it is considered to be unfriendly to the environment? Why or why not? It was reported that Tasty meals Ltd’s ‘cost effective’ and ‘convenient’ use of disposable tableware and containers are unfriendly to the environment. However, the use of these materials contributes to the profit generating activity of Tasty meals. Furthermore, these also offer convenience which means they are easy to use, available and for such a long period of time are associated with comfort and suitable usage. However, these materials can still be detrimental to the environment. Regarding this, it is reasonable to demand from Tasty meals Ltd to give up a ‘cost effective’ and ‘convenient’ use of disposable tableware and containers because it needs to consider as well the impact of the use of these materials to its stakeholders and the environment. In its move to achieve economic sustainability, Tasty meals Ltd ended up using disposable tableware and containers that are hazardous to the environment. Tasty meals Ltd is not different from other profit organizations which are supposed to take seriously their social responsibility. Tasty meals should not only operate for its own advantage, but including its stakeholders. In this reason, it is important that Tasty meals Ltd should also look forward to social and environmental sustainability, which the bottom line is to consider the damage it may have contributed into the environment and to its stakeholders. At this point, Tasty meals Ltd needs to have substantial consideration on people, place and profit. People, place and profit reflect economic, social and environmental sustainability (Idowu and Louche 5). Today’s business looks forward to sustainability. In the same way, Tasty meals should not only look forward to its profit, but including the people and the environment. 4. Is it reasonable to demand from Tasty meals Ltd to impose its code of conduct directives to the suppliers it works with if they are involved in illegal or unethical practices? Do you agree? Why (not)? Based on the supplier audits and codes of conduct, companies have the right to have informed judgment about the prevailing ethical standards of their suppliers (McPhail and Walters 205). This is a way of giving any company their privilege or right to demand for the ultimate truth if the supplier it works with is involved in illegal or unethical practices. The ultimate reason of having informed judgment about the prevailing ethics of suppliers is a sort of alignment to the existing code of conduct directives implemented by the purchasing company. This is return is a good opportunity to ensure that the existing business between suppliers and purchasing company is based entirely on ethical and moral principles. I believe that Tasty meals Ltd is not an excuse of understanding what is viewed to be good or bad in business. After all, ethics should be an integral part of its business activities. Tasty meals has the social responsibility to perform morally good business and part of it is to ensure legal and ethical business transactions associated with its product and service offerings. In other words, its transaction with its suppliers should be ensured legal and ethical. However, the point of understanding whether its suppliers have been performing legal and ethical business standard is an integral part of supplier audits and codes. A purchasing company always has the prerogative of knowing this specific information. This makes it reasonable enough for Tasty meals to impose its code of conduct directives to the suppliers it works especially if they are involved in illegal or unethical practices. 5. Overall do you consider Tasty meals Ltd complying with corporate governance principles? Can it be said that Tasty meals Ltd is an ethical and socially responsible corporation? Corporate governance concept simply states that a corporation should be bound by legal and organizational framework that governed its principles and processes, which also includes the power, authority, accountability and relationships of those who control and initiate the lead in the company (Du Plessis, Bagaric and Hargovan 4). The principle of corporate governance is clear. It ensures that the company should perform its business in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Apart from good corporate governance is a sort of failure to follow what is right not only for the company but including for its stakeholders and the whole business internal and external environment. For me, an ethical and socially responsible corporation complies or follows good corporate governance principles, with less to no negative feedbacks from its immediate environment where it conducts its business. As to the case of Tasty meals, there were various negative feedbacks regarding how it conducts business with its employees, in the environment and its entire business process. Though it cannot be ascertained in great detail if the said company was just a victim of being highly politicized, the very point of evidence if it is ethical or socially responsible corporation can be depicted from how it considers achieving profit, conducts relationship with the people and deals with the environment. Based on the reported negative concerns on how Tasty meals created impacts on these environmental business components, I can say that it has to remarkably create a thorough evaluation of its prevailing corporate governance principles. This would mean that there are some unnecessary things it has to ward off that prevents it from becoming a completely ethical and socially responsible corporation. 6. If you were a top member of the Tasty meal’s management team, would you think the proposed actions from Philippines are appropriate? Why or why not? Profit wise, I would say that the proposed actions from Philippines are appropriate due to the following reasons. Firstly, it is stated in the case that profit and industry average and share prices of Tasty meals were down by 25% and the said deterioration would probably still go down provided that the said company continues to receive negative feedbacks in line with its corporate governance in questioned. The very important link between international media and the ongoing corporate governance within Tasty meals have significant connection. Thus, the ultimate way to create a substantial change of those issues forming negative image against Tasty meals is to go with what the society dictates to be appropriate, but of course with appropriate and enough justification. Tasty meals should strengthen its stand for its corporate governance so as to avoid being sensationalized. This dictates more transparency and the international media can actually be a good source of aid for this matter. Secondly, although in some claims there were no enough substantial bases, it is good to think that the proposed actions from Philippines are appropriate simply because for evaluation purposes. Firms like Tasty meals should require an evaluation of how it runs its business in order to improve further its corporate governance and align it with what the society dictates to be ethical and morally right. The proposed actions from Philippines against Tasty meals could stand as an external measure how the said company is actually performing in the market. This is a substantial opportunity for Tasty meals to be checked and improve at some point. 7. Do you believe that if Tasty meals’s approves and implements the proposal would that be made in a way to improve its profitability? Justify your answer. As stated in the case, there is an association between the profit Tasty meals is making and its prevailing issues concerning its corporate governance. This resulted to coming with proposal to further improve the company’s performance in the market as it is considered highly irresponsible corporation when it comes to doing what is socially acceptable and in achieving ethical standard. Thus, there is enough reason to substantially listen to feedbacks and even proposed actions in order to enhance and improve its existing corporate governance since it is highly associated with how much profit it is earning. The move to approve and implement the proposal is therefore a good opportunity for Tasty meals to improve its profit because along the process of doing it, there are substantial things it needs to improve further. Improvement of these things would mean an opportunity for the entire business to evaluate what are necessary and justifiably good. This would improve the relationship of Tasty meals with its stakeholders. For one reason, the opportunity to do what is socially responsible is a good way to ensure good relationship with the stakeholders and the environment. In the first place, this is the very issue Tasty meals is faced with. It has to substantially improve how it deals business with its stakeholders and the environment. Those negative feedbacks regarding these issues could be evaluated and appropriate corrective measures can be implemented if necessary. Tasty meals therefore should improve its business based on the feedbacks it received from its critiques. It should not be taken negatively but as a constructive criticism for it to improve further. 8. Do you think ethical and socially responsible business practices are always in conflict with profitability? Justify your answer. The term applied is ‘always’ and it means a lot because it is different from ‘most often’ or even ‘often’. When it is ‘always’, it would mean at all times or in a regular manner. Thus, agreeing in the above question can be translated as: ethical and socially responsible business practices are ‘at all times’ in conflict with profitability. Personally, I would say this is evidently not true especially in the case of Tasty meals which its profit suffers a lot by not implementing what the society expects to be socially responsible for a certain corporation. Provided that Tasty meals may have committed some important gaps in building a good social responsibility, then it should have maintained a sufficiently high profit even in the midst of its ongoing negative issues. However, this was not the case that happened to the company. There was a spiraling downward performance of its profit in the midst of heated issues on its corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. In fact, various organizations today have integrated sound corporate social responsibility with the way they make their profit. The very important examples in the list in the bucket include McDonald, KFC, and many more. These companies are looking forward to achieve corporate social responsibility as an integral part of creating their profit. The more they are accepted, the better it is for their profit-making activity. One of the most essential activities they can do is to come up with ethical and socially responsible business as they always look forward to what they can provide best to their stakeholders. Thus, it is not true that ethical and socially responsible business practices are always in conflict with profitability. 9. Assume that you are a substantial shareholder of Tasty meals Ltd; would you respond differently to any of the above questions and if yes which ones? I certainly would respond differently to some of the above-stated questions and it is on question number four. As for me, as a shareholder, I would be interested to focus on consumers and my suppliers. As far as profit is concerned, I have to create offerings that suit to the prevailing market condition and consumers’ needs. However, what is another important move is to ensure that I could maximize my resources and even to the point of acquiring supplies from my suppliers in the best possible price which is substantial enough to create a high margin for profit. At some point, I may not even bother some ethical concerns regarding my suppliers especially in its own corporate governance, though I always have the right to do the other way around. What may be emphasized more in my part is to how I can manage to meet the needs of my customers. Furthermore, I may be even more concern on how I can formulate a need for my product or service offerings. These preoccupations would at some point belong to a self-centered approach, but then it is also considering meeting a high level of customer expectation. 10. Do you think the government should regulate business ethics and social responsibilities? Why or why not? The very evidence of ethics working in the society is the formulation and implementation or promulgation of laws embodied in the government for execution. For instance, there are corresponding laws how a certain business should be conducted in a way there is a remarkable considerations on the side of consumers, businessmen, shareholders, stakeholders and the environment. For example, accounting has corresponding laws. Adhering to these would be considered ethical. Furthermore, companies have to adhere to government’s effort of reducing pollution and doing this is a significant indication of a socially-responsible corporation. These are some of the examples showing that the government actually has the opportunity to actually take control how business should function and be implemented. The government is actually defining set of rules that need to be implemented in order that the business could harmoniously work for the benefits of the shareholders and the environment. The above stated examples only prove that the government has long been taking control on some important components in conducting business. By setting set of external corporate rules, the government has actually initiated the very first step of control in business. However, this external control cannot be actually measured in great detail if it has also been applied internally among corporations or enterprises. In order to do this in great detail, the government should ensure both external and internal control so as to properly execute the set of rules that would lead to ethical and social responsibilities. This would ensure that every corporation can effectively abide by the rules set by the government. References Commerce Clearing House. Labor law journal. Chicago: Commerce Clearing House, 1951. Department of Labor and Employment. Daily Minimum Wage Rate. [online]. Available from: http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/ncr/cmwr_table.html, 2011. [Accessed 27th November 2011]. Du Plessis, Jean Jacques, Mirko Bagaric, and Anil Hargovan. Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Idowu, Samuel O., and Celine Louche. Theory and Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility. London: Springer, 2010. McPhail, K., and Diane Walters. Accounting and Business Ethics. NewYork, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Read More