Verified Document

Ethics Mcdonald's Case Study

Ethics With the Starbucks code of conduct, there are a few goods things. First, it touches on a wide range of subjects. There are actually several different reports such as human rights, social responsibility, health care, animal welfare and supplier code of conduct (Starbucks.com, 2014). Second, I like the fact that it addresses the farmers from whom the company buys its beans -- these are people doing manual labor in hot countries, band often do not receive a living wage. So that is good. Third, I like that the company has targets and tracks some of its social responsibility outcomes. This will help the company to improve its social responsibility performance, as well as its ethical performance.

As for the McDonalds statement the company also reflects social responsibility in its statement. This is something that McDonalds has been forced to address by protests and negative publicity and there isn't any real indication that the company has an underlying ethical philosophy, in contrast with Starbucks, which does seem to have an underlying ethical philosophy. McDonalds focuses, like Starbucks, on efficiency measures and things like that. They call it sustainability but it isn't so much sustainable as just wasting less. That's good for business, so for both companies one of the things that...

The third thing that stands out with McDonalds is that the company seems late to the game. I wouldn't necessarily say this is something I like, but I don't exactly admire the ethics of McDonalds, and would be hard pressed to give them heaps of credit for what little they do. They have a long ways to go to be a leader in ethical corporate behavior and self-serving attempts at sustainability aren't getting it done.
Having a code of ethics is a good starting point, but by no means do it ensure ethical behavior in an organization. While it is toxic to assume that people are inherently unethical and need arms twisted to behave ethically, a code is just a starting point. The code provides the baseline level and a frame of reference, but codes of ethics do not get into specifics, and so cannot provide anything more than general guidelines. And even just having a code isn't much if the code itself is weak, vague or incoherent. There are specific philosophies of ethics -- philosophes have long debated different ethical perspectives. The code of ethics should be consistent throughout in its underlying philosophy. It needs to make sense, and be specific to the company, not just something childish like…

Sources used in this document:
References

McDonalds. (2014). Standards of business conduct for employees. About McDonalds.com. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/investors/corporate_governance/codes_of_conduct/standards_of_business_conduct.html

Starbucks.com (2014). Starbucks on the issues. Starbucks. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.starbucks.ca/responsibility/learn-more/policies
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Financial Statements and Ethics Mcdonald's
Words: 917 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

The former deducts the inventory figure from the current assets value. In the years under consideration, both the current ratio and the quick ratio of McDonald's decreased (see table 1). In that regard, the company's ability to settle its debts in the short run seems to have been impaired within the period under consideration. It is however important to note that with a current ratio and quick ratio of more

McDonald Supply Chain Management Issue
Words: 2894 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Description of the company/industry McDonalds McDonalds happens to be a premier global retailer of food services with presence in more than 100 countries (World Branding Forum, 2019). According to World Branding Forum (2019), the Retailer (McDonalds) has an excess of 36,000 locations globally and employs 1.8 million workers. Most of the global McDonalds franchises (approx. 80%) are operated and owned by business people operating independently. McDonalds serves various menu options with outstanding

Mcdonalds Ethical Behaviors Fall Into
Words: 661 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

McDonalds also tailors its leadership and decision-making processes to what customers want and need. If customers get what they need they will be happy and they will come back. That is a winning situation for everyone involved. Because McDonalds is concerned about social and ethical responsibilities, it falls under stakeholder (as opposed to stockholder) theory (Derdak & Pederson, 2004). In stakeholder theory, everything is taken into account, as opposed to

Ethics and Management and Ethics
Words: 17336 Length: 55 Document Type: Research Proposal

Therefore, corporations have had to change their viewpoints and start looking at the long-term consequences of their behavior, as well as looking at the bottom line. Businesses also have to be concerned because consumers have also become aware of environmental concerns, and many consumers are demanding earth-friendly products and have shown a willingness to pay more money to competitors who observe environmentally-friendly practices. Interestingly enough, this demand has given rise

Mcdonalds and Advertising Children Are
Words: 3480 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

But if you're looking at it as how many nutrients are you getting for a dollar, it's the least economical." New findings on the biological effects of fast food suggest that obesity isn't simply down to a lack of an individual's self-control. Some scientists are starting to believe that eating too much of foods that are excessively high in fat and sugar such as those from fast food restaurants can

Mcdonalds Corporation Mcdonald's and the
Words: 2011 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

McDonald's, the International Olympic Committee, and the American College of Sports Medicine opened a Web site. McDonald's also introduced an educational campaign, Real Life Choices about how to track diets and put menu items into three categories: "Watching Calories," "Watching Fat," and "Watching Carbohydrates." McDonald's also provided nutritional information on its Web site" (Obesity and McLawsuits). The Menu Education and Labeling Act (MEAL) was released by the House and the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now