bussinesss and socity - 2081 Words

http://cookiemarie.blogspot.ae/2011/03/chapter-5.html http://www.studymode.com/subjects/the-jack-welch-era-at-general-electric-page2.html 1. Corporate social responsibility is defined in Chapter 5 as the corporate duty to create wealth by using means that avoid harm to, protect, or enhance societal assets. Did GE in the Welch era fulfill this duty? Could it have done better? What should it have done? a. In Welch’s era, GE fulfilled its responsibilities to society. So therefore, they did meet the needs of the social responsibility by paying taxes and such. 2. Does GE under Welch illustrate a narrower view of corporate social responsibility closer to Friedman’s view that the only social responsibility is to increase profits while†¦show more content†¦However, analysts felt that the Welch Era was not without flaws. GE had suffered major setbacks, in the form of criminal indictments relating to military contracts and battles with environmental groups. GE was blamed for the Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)3 contamination in the Hudson River. In early 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency endorsed a $460 million dredging plan to clean the river. Analysts also observed that Jack Welch relied too much on GE Capital, the financial services division for GE s growth. However, by 2000, the division had accounted for half of the company s profits. Others pointed out that GE did not encourage women and minorities to take up top managerial positions. According to a few, Jack Welch s biggest shortcoming was his handling of growing political and social pressures, as evidenced by the European Union s veto of the proposed GE-Honeywell4 merger and the Bush Administration s order GE to clean up the Hudson River at a cost of US$460 million. Chapter 5 Exam Case Questions 1. Identify several specific stakeholder groups in each case study and discuss their relevance. According to the stakeholder model, which of these stakeholder groups in each case study would be considered primary stakeholders? Use facts from the case study to support your argument. The founding stakeholders are Thomas Alva Edison