Consumers take on Corporate America
The corporate executives worry about how they can maximize the bottom line without breaking the rules of their society or betraying their own integrity, small businesses fight to keep up with the competition while keeping in mind their obligation to their customers and the local community. I want the best job I can get without crossing some lines: breaking the law, acting contrary to my religious beliefs, violating my own personal morality, or turning my friends and neighbors against me.
As corporations become more and more globalized, they encounter new challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits. These organizations could spend millions by trying to comply with government regulations, tariffs, environmental restrictions and varying standards of what constitutes labor exploitation. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly obstruction. Some companies use corporate social responsibility methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets, helping them sustain a competitive advantage by using their social contributions to provide a subconscious level of advertising.
The role of government is that of an independent mediator, ensuring that corporations are prevented from harming the broader social good, including people and the environment. Governments should set the agenda for social responsibility by the way of laws and regulation that will allow a business to conduct themselves responsibly. The issues surrounding government regulation pose several problems. Regulation in itself is unable to cover every aspect in detail of a corporation's operations. This leads to burdensome legal processes due to various possible interpretations of the law and debatable grey areas.
Corporations will keep doing things the way they've always been done, unless they face
ongoing public scrutiny, or a real threat to their reputation and self-respect." -- Evelyn Murphy
My responsibility as a consumer is to act in a way that influence corporate decision-making. There are simple things I can do to ensure that my dollars influence better corporate decisions.
Consumer activism is "citizen action aimed at influencing corporate decisions, corporate power, or the allocation of societal goods and values." Consumer activism means getting in the habit of making informed buying decisions - instead of an unconscious decision, making our buying pro-active. Via the Internet, fax, and World Wide Web, along with traditional modes of mobilization, a diverse group of protesters that includes labor and civil rights activists, environmentalists and feminists, evangelicals and gun owners, the young and the old, progressives and conservatives, are using their collective power to withhold support from businesses deemed immoral or, conversely, use their purchasing power to support a cause. Emphasizing that organized purchasing power can improve not only their own lives but the lives of other people as well, American boycotters have highlighted the ways in which the act of purchasing a good connects the shopper to the business that manufactures it, to the laborer who makes it, to the ecosystem which is impacted by its production (and use), and to the nation in which the product was made.
We can start with a few major items, or items we buy frequently and do the research on them. Choosing the cheapest products might not be the right way to go. We all live on limited budgets, trying to pinch pennies, without realizing the huge impact that our everyday decisions could make in the greater scheme of things. We don't realize the huge power we have on corporate America, they don't have the upper hand, we do. By refusing to buy their products we sent a clear message that something in their business strategy needs to be changed. We have to start being more conscious of the locally-owned and operated businesses we come across everyday. Consumer activism can be as simple as buying from local businesses that perform to the standards that have meaning to you - whatever that may be.
We need to tell the corporations what we think - in writing by letter, by email, by fax or by phone call. For instance, we need to tell them we are not shopping there any more and WHY! This is the most basic yet most effective form of consumer activism. The more you communicate with companies what you think, the more likely and more quickly change will happen. We need to tell others about why consumer activism is important in trying to pursue corporate responsibility. These issues should be discussed with our friends, encouraging them to begin buying influence with their hard-earned dollars, too. We should all become more knowledgeable about the issue that interests us the most, it will make us better communicators as we talk to others about consumer activism and advocacy.
As you might expect, there is enormous variety among values-driven companies. Some are simply trying to avoid the negative consequences of their operations. Others are actively seeking to change the world for the better. The range of possibilities is represented by the diagram...
source www.goldenblossom.com
There are a few good reasons for the companies to be values-driven:
- employees work more productively and pay more attention to a company's profitability when they're working for something they believe in, are treated with respect, are well paid, and receive a share of the profits. They also tend to feel better if the owner or top managers aren't making out like bandits by comparison;
- customers are more loyal and willing to forgive errors when a company's dedication to quality products and services is obvious and when they deal with highly motivated employees - especially when employees are allowed to take the initiative to apologize and make things right; - values alignment between a company and its customers builds loyalty. Customers are more forgiving of mistakes and less apt to buy from a competitor when its goods are on sale;
- the business will be better prepared for the future and more likely to survive inevitable disruptions if it builds relationships today with employees, customers, suppliers, and community.
Social change occurs when people alter their daily habits, when they start to look at familiar things in unfamiliar ways. And the planet we share will be more likely to survive the ravages of the human race if we do everything in our power to lighten our footprint on the environment.
Sources:
Honest Work- Joanne Ciulla
www.buyinginfluence.com
www.commondreams.org
