ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Case Study: Recreational Equipment Incorporated: A Responsible Retail Cooperative

Introduction4

Recreational Equipment, Inc5

Question One: REI's Success6

Question Two: Management of Ethical and Social Responsibility9

Questions Three: Challenges and Recommendations10

Conclusion11

References13

Executive Summary

For several decades, the concern for ethics in business and organizations has been growing. Moreover, in the last couple of decades the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) appeared as a major topic for corporations to address. If, we talk about business in general and if we take corporate social responsibility, in particular, I would say that the responsibility and aim of a company like Recreational Equipment, Inc, is to give something back from what they take. Recreational Equipment, Inc also known as REI is a private American held company, it was established in 1936 by Lloyd and Mary Anderson. However, in 1938, it became an official consumer corporative company. The company deals in sporting goods and sells outdoor recreation along with cloths. This paper analyzed the ethical and corporate social responsibility of Recreational Equipment, Inc which reference to a case study. The purpose of this paper is to let readers know about the social responsibility initiatives and business framework along with some problems of RIE. Initially this paper discussed the success element of REI (consumer corporative or stakeholder orientation), than it identified who is responsible to firm's ethical and social responsibility. In the end overall ethical and social responsibility risks is assessed and recommendations are given accordingly. From the analysis we found that REI is an extremely profitable and strong company while still being ethical and socially responsible. REI believes that we all should respect and value our stakeholders, irrespective of their status of work or their amount of the role they play in an organization. REI has proved that it is an ethical and socially responsible organization with a powerful vision which eventually can help REI to thrive in present and future.

Case Study: Recreational Equipment Incorporated: A Responsible Retail Cooperative

Introduction

For several decades, the concern for ethics in business and organizations has been growing. The insight of the contradictory consequences of corporations on various facets of life has changed buyers' utilization patterns in developed countries, and progressively in evolving countries. The latest economic crisis has supplemented to the contradictory impression of the corporate community. A company's presentation is judged more and more on the basis of its impact on the natural environment and humanity as a whole (Birch & Moon, 2004, 18). This in turn means that businesses have to boost their efforts to improve their corporate blame and trustworthiness in the eyes of customers and the community in general. Being a strategic topic, a firm's cooperative principles require the active engagement of the whole business, peak administration in particular.

In the last couple of decades the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) appeared as a major topic for corporations to address; and with each new corporate quandary, this tendency is picking up momentum. The ethical and social audits have emerged in recent years as an essential tool in ...