Reference no: EM131765346

For Baking Company, Inc., a privately owned corporation, 2015 was a terrific year, by far and away the best year in its history. Its cakes and cookies, which were initially sold locally, are now sold internationally and are flying off the shelves. It seems people especially favor sweets as a relatively inexpensice treat in a tough economy. Baking Company's three owners -- Hugh, Doug, and Kathy, friends from college -- inform the Baking Company's Directors that they want $300,000.00 of th ecorporation's 2015 revenues to be given back to the community in some appropriate way. They ask the Directors for proposals and for rationales for their proposals. In respone, the Directors come up with the following two proposals:

Proposal 1: Spend the entire $300,000.00 to pay the sponsorship fee for being a 2017 sponsor of a popular Walk Away Hunger fundraising event. In exchange for the sponsorship fee, Baking Company's name will be used in all of the event's massive promotional and advertsing materials.

Proposal 2: Make 10 gifts of $30,000.00 each to local, national, and international organizations with proven track records of getting food to those who need it most. Little, if any, publicity will result form this alternative, but the company could be certain that hungry people were being fed with its money.

You are the director tasked with explaining to the owners the ethical implications of each of the above proposals. In your answer, focus on a discussion of the rival views of corporate social responsibility and of the proponents of these views, as well as a discussion of which proposal you would recommend and why.

Be careful that you don't just give your opinion or answer this question solely from a marketing point of view.