McDonald's: Ethical Responsibility

1368 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mcdonalds brief history

McDonald’s: Ethical Responsibility

Small business owners of fortune 500 companies, democrats, republicans, men and women all have ethical responsibilities that should always be considered. Mc Donald’s is a well-known restaurant around the world. Some people enjoy this fast food restaurant and also have made Mc Donald’s one of the leading fast food companies. Although, Mc Donald may have some tasty food, there are still many critics that think Mc Donald’s may have a lot of ethical issues and company violations. Some consider being ethical is simply defined as knowing the difference between what is considered good and evil. However, ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior, and the practices that violate them. The practices of unethical behaviors, by various fast food corporations, like McDonalds have become of great concern to our society.

We all have a responsibility to live ethical in regards to respect of others thoughts and feelings. Although not been ethical is not always against the law there are also other negative outcomes that a company may endure for such practices. One outcome is a negative or bad image. Since McDonald’s targets a lot toward children having a negative image could deter parents from wanting their kids to eat there and thus affecting McDonald’s bottom line. Not only parents would be affected by a negative image but also other countries that the company may want to expand to. For example, some countries do not allow McDonald’s to operate there because of some of the unethical decisions that have made.

McDonalds over the years has defended its unethical practices and those of their franchisees, they have been slapped with numerous lawsuits for various violations w...

... middle of paper ...

...so, other violations included that they failed to give employees an extra hour of pay at minimum wage when 10 or more hours is worked.

Works Cited

Bizguru (2009). History of McDonald Restaurant. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://historymcdonaldrestaurant.blogspot.com/

CSRWIRE.Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire article April 14, 2002

Kevin Thompson (2006). Ethical Criticism of McDonalds. Retrieved march 20, 2014, from http://voices.yahoo.com/ethical-criticism-mcdonalds-147813.html?cat=3

Mark Hughes (2008). "Logos that became legends: Icons from the world of advertising". Retrieved March 27, 2008, from www.independent.co.uk/news/media/logos-that-became-legends-icons-from-the-world-of-advertising-768077

Ray Kroc (2009).The Ray Kroc Story. Retrieved March 15, 2014, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history/the_ray_kroc_story.html

Show More
Related

  • Reactionary Essay To If Aristotle Ran General Motors, By Tom Morris

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the only important value is the bottom line, most executives merely give lip service to living and operating their corporations ethically.

    Read More

  • An Anaysis of McDonald’s Corporation

    2712 Words  | 6 Pages

    The corporation I chose to discuss is McDonald’s. McDonald’s is a publicly traded corporation that includes the following domestic companies, McDonald’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Boston Market. This paper will discuss the following:

    Read More

  • Restaurants Are Fighting the Obesity Epidemic

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    McDonald's, because of its sheer size, with more than 13,000 restaurants nationwide, has been a large target, although two attempted class-action lawsuits against it, alleging liability for obesity-related illnesses, either were dropped or were thrown out of court.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism, Kant's Deontological Ethics, And Virtue Ethics

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.

    Read More

  • Mcdonald Case Study

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    How should McDonald’s respond when ads promoting healthy lifestyles featuring Ronald McDonald are equated with Joe Camel and cigarette ads? Should McDonald’s eliminate Ronald McDonald in its ads?

    Read More

  • Lack of Ethical Behavior in the Cases of Bernie Madoff and Enron

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical behavior is behavior that a person considers to be appropriate. A person’s moral principals are shaped from birth, and developed overtime throughout the person’s life. There are many factors that can influence what a person believes whats is right, or what is wrong. Some factors are a person’s family, religious beliefs, culture, and experiences. In business it is of great importance for an employee to understand how to act ethically to prevent a company from being sued, and receiving criticism from the public while bringing in profits for the company. (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2010) Business ethics is when ethical behavior is applied in an business environment, or by a business. There are many situations that can arise in which a person is experiencing an ethical dilemma. They have to choose between standing by their own personal ethical standards or to comply with their companies ethical standards. In some instances some have to choose whether to serve their own personal interests, or the interest of the company. In this essay I will be examining the financial events surrounding Bernie Madoff, and the events surrounding Enron.

    Read More

  • The Super-Size Me Documentary

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, my personal reaction to this is documentary is an eye opener. I knew McDonalds was more harmful to than other fast food places, but I never knew about the lawsuit between McDonalds and it consumers. I never saw McDonalds as having big impact on my life; this is probably because the McDonald’s in my hometown never had a super-size option. In the video, Spurlock conducted interviews to gain ...

    Read More

  • Starbucks versus McDonald’s Code of Business Ethics, an analysis

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    McDonalds’ corporation is a leader in the fast food industry. Nonetheless, the corporation website has some drawbacks I terms of detailing the company’s social responsibility statements. As opposed to Starbucks, which delineates in a more precise manner its social responsibility statements, McDonald’s does not show its commitment in a clear way. Here are some of the aspects that were impressive when analyzing Starbucks business ethics and compliance standards of business conduct booklet.

    Read More

  • Mcdonald's Case Study

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main target customer for McDonald's includes parents with young children, young children, business customers, and teenagers. Perhaps the most obvious marketing for McDonald's is its' marketing towards children and the parents of young children. Ronald McDonald was first introduced in 1963 and marked the beginning of their focus on young children as a critical part of their ongoing business. Parents like to visit McDonald's because it is a treat for the kids, and the kids enjoy the cartoon like atmosphere. McDonald's also targets business customers as a part of their core business. Business customers may stop during the workday and can count on fast service, and consistently good food. Another major target of McDonald's marketing is to teens. Teens find the value menu especially appealing and McDonald's markets their restaurants as a cool place to meet with their friends and to work (The Times 100).

    Read More

  • Coca Cola's Ethical Dilema in Belgium

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Business ethics are the core fundamentals of a business and are extremely important for organizations smooth and successful operation. It can have either positive impact by operating ethically or negative impact if they are caught up in any unethical situation or dilemma. Ethics has been defined as “study and philosophy of human conduct with an emphasis in determining the right and wrong” (Ferrell et.al, 2010). This case study will analyze Coca Cola for the ethical dilemmas they were involved in Belgium, and how the company responded to the issues.

    Read More

  • Starbucks Business Ethics Case Analysis

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every thriving company must embrace some sort of code of ethics ground rules which will guarantee its success. In this case, Starbucks wants to promote high standards of practice; by selling the richest and aromatic coffees in the world to the ...

    Read More

  • Ethical Challenges Of Mcdonalds: The Case Study Of Mcdonalds

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the years, growing attention has been paid to the ethical, environmental and social dimensions of business, most often under corporate social responsibility (CSR). Much of the early literature aimed to specify the concept and the various components of CSR, as it emerged in the second half of the 20th century (MINTZBERG, H., 1983). Various environment organizations and people are conscious of the toxic waste, of pollution, mountains of garbage and depletion of forests. McDonald’s, the largest restaurant chain in the world, presents a notable case study. For years McDonald’s used polystyrene containers for the famous Big Mac clamshell for its hamburgers. Since these containers were light in weight, did not absorb grease and kept the burgers warm. McDonalds soon become target of the Environmental Defense Fund which claimed that by making polystyrene packaging created toxic fumes, which took too much of landfill and took too much time to

    Read More

  • Toyota's Ethical Issues

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu

    Read More

  • Public Relations Overview Of McDonalds

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving 46 million customers each day. It is one of the most well-known and valuable brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which it does business. Problems Faced By McDonalds And The Public Opinion Of McDonalds For many years, McDonalds enjoyed worldwide success built on a few well-known, highly standard conditions. The company with the Golden Arches served a simple menu- hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes or soft drinks. The food was priced low, its quality was consistent, and it was served speedily from establishments that all looked alike and were extremely clean. However in recent years, McDonalds has seen its growth rate slow down and its dominant market position slip. There are various reasons for this. The main reason is the several allegations made against them by environmentalist and health experts. These allegations are: Destruction Of Rain Forests McDonalds sells beef. Many beef suppliers get their beef from Central and South American countries. These cattle farms are usually placed on rainforest land that had been cut and cleared. The poor soil of the rainforest can only sustain life (grain for the cattle to fed upon) for up to a decade (although the mean is 2 years). The beef suppliers must move their farms every few years and consequently destroy more rainforest. Rarely does the forest re-grow, even if replanted. 70% of the moisture that makes a rainforest a "rain" forest originates from the transpiration of the leaves on the vegetation. Once that vegetation is removed for a few years and...

    Read More

  • Customer Service at McDonalds

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    McDonalds provide high quality products, such as burgers, fries, drinks, muffins, etc, which are safe and reliable that it does what it is supposed to do, but not only does the quality of the products matter, the good value for money affects the business. E.g. buy one extra value meal and get one free with a food voucher that represents the offer only. They ensure that a high standard of the product is carried out at all times and they try to compete very competitively with other fast food businesses with their good value for money. Also a customer would know if the product is good value for money by checking in another food outlet like KFC for their services and products.

    Read More

More about McDonald's: Ethical Responsibility

Open Document