Presentation Ethical Issues in Retailing

Ethical issues in Retailing

WHAT ARE ETHCIS ??

• moral principles OR set of principles of right conduct.

• They could be also for some business.

• The societies can not make laws or codes for each and every aspect of business activity, Legislation by nature tends to be reactive.

• Thus it becomes Imperative for the organizations to behave in an ETHICAL MANNER consistent with Ethical Norms of

society.

• High standards of ethical behavior is regarded Positively by Society

• Creates a Positive impact on Business

• Influence the attitude of current and future customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders towards the organization.

Corporate social responsibility

• Retailers undertaking such activities that benefit society overall.

• Retailers have an responsibility towards the community where they operate and towards the society in general

Reliance - ADAG• Corporate Social Responsibility • Organizations, like individuals, depend for their survival, sustenance and

growth on the support and goodwill of the communities of which they are an integral part, and must pay back this generosity in every way they can...

• This ethical standpoint, derived from the vision of our founder, lies at the heart of the CSR philosophy of the Reliance – ADA Group.

• While we strongly believe that our primary obligation or duty as corporate entities is to our shareholders – we are just as mindful of the fact that this imperative does not exist in isolation; it is part of a much larger compact which we have with our entire body of stakeholders: From employees, customers and vendors to business partners, eco-system, local communities, and society at large.

• We evaluate and assess each critical business decision or choice from the point of view of diverse stakeholder interest, driven by the need to minimize risk and to pro-actively address long-term social, economic and environmental costs and concerns.

• For us, being socially responsible is not an occasional act of charity or that one-time token financial contribution to the local school, hospital or environmental NGO. It is an ongoing year-round commitment, which is integrated into the very core of our business objectives and strategy

Be A Good Samaritan

InstitutionInitiative Details How to participate Contact info

Aircel Mobilises public opinionin partnership with WWF India for the ‘Save Our Tigers Initiative’

Spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Donate through WWF and Corbett Foundation

www.saveourtigers.com

Coca-Cola India

Partners with government agencies and NGOs to combat water scarcity and depleting groundwater levels

Get in touch with Coca-Cola India to help conceptualise, plan, implement and monitor water harvesting project in your locality

Praveen Aggarwal [email protected]

Dabur india

Its initiative, SUNDESH, in UP and Uttrakhand aims for the overall socio-economic development of the poor

Volunteer in your areas of expertise—by teaching, providing technical support or by participating in health care camps  

Sushil Kumar: [email protected]

Maruti Suzuki India

Runs employee volunteering programme, ‘e-Parivartan’, with NGO Literacy India, for teaching underprivileged people  

Contact Maruti Suzuki for support in launching such volunteering programmes in your locality

Ranjit [email protected]

Nasscom Foundation

Promotes development through use of information and comm-unication technology, provides tech donations to NGOs 

If your organisation is a Nasscom member, you can volunteer or donate directly. You can register NGOs for software donations

www.mykartavya.com (for volunteering) wwww.bigtech.in (for software donations

Areas where CSR initiatives being taken

• Community initiatives- charitable donations,

Sponsorship of community events, educational initiatives,

• Environmental protection – energy usage reduction, waste management, tree plantation, avoiding GM crops

• Ethical sourcing – fair trade activities, implementation of labor codes.

• Rising number of ethical and green consumers- i.e. whose purchasing behavior is motivated by their ethical beliefs.

• They are concerned with protection of environment . For example – they are criticizers of GM crops.

• They had a motive to preserve environment for present and future.

Retailer response to EnvironmentalConcerns:

• 2 broad areas :

1. Concerned with products they sell.

2. Related to their operations- 3 R’S –Re-using, recycling , reducing

Concerned with products they sell:

• Increase range of organic foods they sell

• Avoidance of GM foods

• Go for Green- concept is being widely practiced in Germany

• A study found 82% of German supermarket consumers make environmental considerations whereas 67% in Netherlands, 55% in UK and 50% in France.

Are consumers willing pay high for Organic foods ?

• A certain number but even they are also subject to Recession, and influenced by Competitive Pricing and the Media.

• But an another segment who is having cynical view about this ‘Green Game’ see it only as an Trick used by retailers to get more money out of consumers or as a PUBLIC RELATIONS gimmick and cost –saving practice.

Retail Operations and Environment

• Reuse- Using refillable containers.

• Recycling-makes financial sense also, recycle plastic carrier bags, bottles, cans, clothes, papers.

• Reduce –resource usage i.e. CO2 Emissions, energy usage, CFC, Reduce transportation

Ethical Sourcing• Products sold by retailers do not exploit

workers and producers in Third World Countries whether it be a fruit farm worker in South- Africa, a toy worker in China, a factory worker in Bangladesh.

Some considerations:

• Working conditions should be safe and hygienic

• Child labour should not be used

• Living wages are paid

• Working hours are not excessive.

• No discrimination is practiced.

• No harsh or inhuman treatment is allowed.

The invasion of privacy

Privacy

Unwanted emails from Database- SPAMs on Personal Computers

Disguised approach to collect dataCCTV cameras in Retail outlets.