Toyota Case Study

The announcement of Toyota, the world’s biggest car manufacturers claimed by Gibbs (2014), to cease its production in Australia by 2017, has been brought to national attention involving Federal government, individual workers, workers union and more, as the decision will undeniably constitute some difficulties to the country. To analyze and evaluate the consequences of this decision, the two models of corporate social responsibility that are Shareholder and Stakeholders theories have been taken into account in order to have a better understanding in areas of social responsibility holding by each particular member of the society. Each theory contains a different view of responsibility; the shareholder theory focuses on shareholders’ profit maximization, while the stakeholder theory looks at the wider view of taking each stakeholder’s interest into the equation. The decision made by Toyota clearly has impacts on the society, and undoubtedly leaves the company to hold responsibility more or less. However, considering the professional roles of the Australian government and workers union, they are also responsible for the decision. This essay evaluates the positive and negative consequences in regard to the decision made by Toyota to end their Australian car-making and also examines the shareholder and stakeholders theories to identify the role of social responsibility that is borne by these three sections; Toyota, Australian Government and Australian manufacturing workers union.

The story begins with the media statement from Toyota earlier this year to stop its vehicles manufacturing, as well as the production of its cylinder engines, in Australia by the end of 2017, and operate in Australia only as a national sales and distribution co...

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...ve the company profits, and under a legal framework established by the federal government to control the acceptable business behavior that somewhat affects the society. On the other hand, the second model, suggested by Edward Freeman, is the stakeholder theory or the wide view that generates the opposite idea of socially responsible behavior of a corporation. The theory argues that the shareholders-centered idea is incomplete, since there are stakeholders, who are affected by a business decision and also can affect a corporation involved (Fassin, 2012). By definition, according to Beauchamp et al. (2009, p.61), the parties, which have a stake; an investment, benefit, any claims for considerations or influences in the activities that make up the business are defined as stakeholders. This includes stockholders, employees, customers, managers, suppliers, local community