Nestle is one of the largest global corporations that employs directly 250,000 workers and approximately one million indirectly (Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy 2005). This means that the company creates jobs for the population and largely contributes to economic growth, which is considered a positive characteristic for many. However, when it comes to ‘giving back’ to the community, the company’s CEO, Peter Brabeck-Letmanthe has a very strong position: “companies should not feel obligated to give back to the communities because they have not taken anything away” (cited in Bloomgarden 2007, p. 35). This means that the company follows the economic model of corporate social responsibility and focuses on being profitable while offering jobs to the community and leaves the philanthropic model to others. What is interesting about Nestle’s position is the thought that the company should pay extra attention to the monetary resources of the investors that have the right to manage them as they wish.
While CRS is a great way for companies to benefit themselves as well as help the society (Epstein-Reeves 2012), it is important to remember that social support and incentives to make the lives of communities better should not be limited to only large corporations with millions in their pockets. As members of the community, people should be ethical and philanthropic in their actions in order to contribute with resources, do what is right and fair, improve the overall quality of life, and avoid harm. To some degree, the community should set an example for corporations to promote philanthropy and practices of support, so that the society works cooperatively towards creating comfortable conditions for life.
Reference List
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Anker, T 2016, Truth in marketing: A theory of claim-evidence relations, Routledge, New York.
Bloomgarden, K 2007, Trust: The secret weapon of effective business leaders, St Martin’s Press, New York.
Borkowski, N 2011, Organizational behavior in health care, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston.
Epstein-Reeves, J 2012, Six reasons companies should embrace CSR. Web.
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy 2005, Nestle chief rejects the need to ‘give back’ to communities. Web.
Thomas, K 2013, Companies get strict on health of workers. Web.