Greyston Bakery Essay
For the organizational issues assignment option 1: The Responsibility Project was chosen. A short film called the Greyston Bakery was the short film of choice. The film was chosen based off the brief synopsis. Since the class has been discussing contributions to the community and my team discussed ethical decisions of schools I thought this would be a good film to review. Some of the ethical principles in the film used to address organizational issues were caring, fairness, and respect for others. The external social pressures of the city of Yonkers are a part of Greyston’s Bakery and their organizational ethics. The company takes their social responsibility to give back to their community very serious. The community is very thankful for the opportunities provided by the bakery. The relationship between legal and ethical issues within the film are unparalleled. The lengths this company goes to
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for their community is refreshing and inspiring.
The short film is about Greyston Bakery in New York and it shows how the bakery supports the community. The bakery may not be well known for its name, but the products and partnerships it has makes this bakery very profitable. Greyston Bakery gives back to the community from the profits of baked goods sold (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The biggest item sold is their brownie it is used in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. The company’s proceeds are used in the social enterprise social and profit mission (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The issues in the film are open hiring and community development. Open hiring allows the company to hire people within the community and to provide an opportunity to allow employment regardless of history or status (Liberty Mutual, 2010). Community development is established by using profits from sales of goods to Greyston Foundation (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The Greyston Foundation supports community programs such as housing, childcare, and healthcare (Liberty Mutual, 2010).
Each issue in the film is important. Open hiring allows a community to prosper. Open hiring allows all members of the community gain or share their experiences as well as give back to their community. Open hiring allows criminals to work without being judged and not tempted to go back to crime to support themselves or their families. Another benefit of open hiring is it allows homeless people to get back into the workforce and become a contributing member to society. These factors decrease the unemployment rate. Community programs are important because it supports the community in which it belongs to. Housing gives those in need of low cost shelter a place to live and a better quality of life. Providing childcare allows parents to be able to work to support their families. Having healthcare provides a healthier community and a healthy workforce. Overall, Greyston Bakery is a great example of how a company can give back to their community.
External social pressures have an influence on organizational ethics. Some companies may feel obligated to give back because they do not want to receive any backlash for not doing so. If the community members feel a company is not doing its due diligence they may decide to boycott the company. However by doing so they are pressuring the company to make environmental and social decisions. Another way to apply pressure is to use social media. Because information on social media spreads rapidly it is a fast way to get a company’s attention and get a reaction out of them. Societal pressures may also play a role into how products are made, how employees and customers are treated amongst other things. The community is looking for all types of corporations to give back to the communities that support them. If not they may apply pressure and hit the company where it hurts which is in the pockets. If the company does not support their community the community will stop supporting them, and this may cause the company to go out of business. It is a give and take relationship from both parties.
The issues provided are relevant in which how the organizational and personal decisions are made because the CEO of the company Julius Walls Jr. stated he wants to “Use Business for good not evil (Liberty Mutual, 2010).” Organizational and personal decisions are made with this philosophy in mind. Any type of action whether it is new resources a new project or how to give back to the community the CEO is making decisions based on how he can help serve the community. His personal decisions reflect his empire even if they are not related. Sometimes organization decisions may be hard to make because the intent is on how the community can be made better and what can the company do to aide in the betterment. There may come a time when the organizations needs may need to come before the communities needs so they company can continue to support the community.
Legal issues are issues in which have legal ramifications or an action.
Ethical issues are issues that are wrong but not punishable by law. Although, ethical issues are not punishable by law they have consequences that can hurt the business just as much if not more than a legal issue. The legal and ethical issues of supporting the company’s social enterprise are entwined. The company has the obligation to support the program financially and make sure the book are accurate for tax purposes. The lines of legal and ethical issues overlap. The company hires people from all walks of like, but they have to make sure they document their employees correctly and not try to cut corners to make a profit. There are many legal and ethical issues a company can run into, so it is important to have advisors to notify the company of what is legal, right, or wrong. Having advisors may mitigate any possible damages to the company. The bakery should honor its mission statement and vision. This company seems to have great integrity and seems to be on the right track both legally and
ethically.
In summary, the short film Greyston Bakery was viewed from Liberty Mutual’s website. The two major issues chosen was open hiring and community programs. The impact and importance of these issues were discussed as well as ethical and legal dilemmas.
References
Liberty Mutual, (2010). Greyston Bakery. Retrieved December 23, 2013 from: http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/greyston-bakery
for their community is refreshing and inspiring.
The short film is about Greyston Bakery in New York and it shows how the bakery supports the community. The bakery may not be well known for its name, but the products and partnerships it has makes this bakery very profitable. Greyston Bakery gives back to the community from the profits of baked goods sold (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The biggest item sold is their brownie it is used in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. The company’s proceeds are used in the social enterprise social and profit mission (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The issues in the film are open hiring and community development. Open hiring allows the company to hire people within the community and to provide an opportunity to allow employment regardless of history or status (Liberty Mutual, 2010). Community development is established by using profits from sales of goods to Greyston Foundation (Liberty Mutual, 2010). The Greyston Foundation supports community programs such as housing, childcare, and healthcare (Liberty Mutual, 2010).
Each issue in the film is important. Open hiring allows a community to prosper. Open hiring allows all members of the community gain or share their experiences as well as give back to their community. Open hiring allows criminals to work without being judged and not tempted to go back to crime to support themselves or their families. Another benefit of open hiring is it allows homeless people to get back into the workforce and become a contributing member to society. These factors decrease the unemployment rate. Community programs are important because it supports the community in which it belongs to. Housing gives those in need of low cost shelter a place to live and a better quality of life. Providing childcare allows parents to be able to work to support their families. Having healthcare provides a healthier community and a healthy workforce. Overall, Greyston Bakery is a great example of how a company can give back to their community.
External social pressures have an influence on organizational ethics. Some companies may feel obligated to give back because they do not want to receive any backlash for not doing so. If the community members feel a company is not doing its due diligence they may decide to boycott the company. However by doing so they are pressuring the company to make environmental and social decisions. Another way to apply pressure is to use social media. Because information on social media spreads rapidly it is a fast way to get a company’s attention and get a reaction out of them. Societal pressures may also play a role into how products are made, how employees and customers are treated amongst other things. The community is looking for all types of corporations to give back to the communities that support them. If not they may apply pressure and hit the company where it hurts which is in the pockets. If the company does not support their community the community will stop supporting them, and this may cause the company to go out of business. It is a give and take relationship from both parties.
The issues provided are relevant in which how the organizational and personal decisions are made because the CEO of the company Julius Walls Jr. stated he wants to “Use Business for good not evil (Liberty Mutual, 2010).” Organizational and personal decisions are made with this philosophy in mind. Any type of action whether it is new resources a new project or how to give back to the community the CEO is making decisions based on how he can help serve the community. His personal decisions reflect his empire even if they are not related. Sometimes organization decisions may be hard to make because the intent is on how the community can be made better and what can the company do to aide in the betterment. There may come a time when the organizations needs may need to come before the communities needs so they company can continue to support the community.
Legal issues are issues in which have legal ramifications or an action.
Ethical issues are issues that are wrong but not punishable by law. Although, ethical issues are not punishable by law they have consequences that can hurt the business just as much if not more than a legal issue. The legal and ethical issues of supporting the company’s social enterprise are entwined. The company has the obligation to support the program financially and make sure the book are accurate for tax purposes. The lines of legal and ethical issues overlap. The company hires people from all walks of like, but they have to make sure they document their employees correctly and not try to cut corners to make a profit. There are many legal and ethical issues a company can run into, so it is important to have advisors to notify the company of what is legal, right, or wrong. Having advisors may mitigate any possible damages to the company. The bakery should honor its mission statement and vision. This company seems to have great integrity and seems to be on the right track both legally and
ethically.
In summary, the short film Greyston Bakery was viewed from Liberty Mutual’s website. The two major issues chosen was open hiring and community programs. The impact and importance of these issues were discussed as well as ethical and legal dilemmas.
References
Liberty Mutual, (2010). Greyston Bakery. Retrieved December 23, 2013 from: http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/greyston-bakery