UNETHICAL PRACTICES

Unethical Practices

Unethical Practices

Introduction

The rapid expansion of the fast food industry has prompted for major changes and shifts in the attitudes, processes and perceptions of businesses and people. The fast food industry has now expanded all through the world. Initiating from the United States, fast food services are often advised as an attribute of the new international culture. The various factors impacting the industry may be categorized as internal and external. In addition, several factors such as change in the eating habits of people and the operating procedures of businesses and their approaches have shown dramatic changes. These changes have occurred over a short span of around 10 years. This is by all means a rapid change which is evident due to its magnitude. These fast food restaurants are showed as casual, have consistent service to any individual despite of communal rank and focuses on giving quick-service to its customers. The fast food industry increased out of a heritage beliefs that substantially standards friendliness more than propriety, fundamentally more than customs of gracious dwelling and popular agreement over status-based partitions.

Corporate Social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been defined as a “company's commitment to minimizing or eliminating any harmful effects and maximizing its long run beneficial impact on society”. The idea that companies should act as good citizens is not universally embraced, as famously noted by Milton Friedman's often quoted statement that” ... there is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits ...”. Nonetheless, the belief that corporations should function in a manner that benefits a variety of stakeholders has gained traction (MacKenzie 1989: 48). As a response to accounting scandals and prominent corporate frauds, social responsibility has been viewed as a way for companies to redeem their reputations and address calls by consumers for companies to contribute to society.

The academic literature on corporate social responsibility follows a number of paths, but of primary interest for the current research is its focus on consumer response. Typically these studies have explored sponsorships and cause related marketing, corporate philanthropy, or environmental marketing. A common theme is the desire to understand how consumers respond to various attempts by companies to engage in and promote their socially responsible initiatives.

The issue of advertising to children can be approached from the CSR perspective. Similar to company efforts to meet consumer needs by providing support for desired causes or adopting environmentally friendly practices, company strategies for communicating with children can be understood as evidence of social responsibility, particularly in the domain of food advertising (Anderson 1998: 938). As the nation has become increasingly concerned with obesity and its related health problems, concurrent with the increase in childhood obesity, food marketers' actions in this arena have come under increased scrutiny and businesses have explored possible responses and rationales for action. How companies respond to these demands, and how consumers react to corporate initiatives, are analogous to other CSR tactics that have received academic ...