business paper

Anheuser-B

11/02/2018

Anheuser-Busch Case

Letter to the Editor

Nicholas Kristof

The New York Time

Nebraska.

Dear Mr. Kristof,

I strongly disagree that Anheuser-Busch is doing any wrong in supplying the liquor stores of Whiteclay, Nebraska. First and foremost, Anheuser-Busch is operating in a free market. A free market is controlled by the forces of demand and supply. In the free market, demand and supply are allowed to reach a point of equilibrium without the intervention of outside forces, such as the government. Anheuser-Busch is free to distribute its products in the markets where it is legally allowed to operate. Whiteclay is among the many markets that are available to the company, and the company is free to meet the demand that is available in that market.

Further, the company should not be blamed for the problems that are being experienced by Pine Ridge, the Indian reservation. You claim in your article that “Anheuser-Busch and other brewers pour hundreds of thousands of gallons of alcohol into the liquor stores of Whiteclay, knowing that it ends up consumed illicitly by Pine Ridge residents and fuels alcoholism, crime and misery there” (Kristof, 2012, par. 4). But Anheuser-Busch is not responsible for the suffering of the Pine Ridge residents. The parties that should be blamed, in this case, are the liquor stores in Whiteclay. As you know, alcohol is sold to adults, and retailers are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the product is not sold to minors. Anheuser-Busch only sells to the liquor stores. Anheuser-Busch operates in a competitive market with many aggressive players, and its goal is to make more revenue and continue operating. If the liquor stores in Whiteclay ask for more supply of liquor in order to satisfy demand, the company is free to supply the products.

We must consider also the responsibilities of the residents of Pine Ridge. A large number of people consuming alcohol in the area are adults. These adults are consuming alcohol irresponsibly. Is that Anheuser-Busch’s fault? It is hard to see how that could be. According to the National Health and Medical Council, an adult drinking more than four standard drinks in one day is damaging his or her health in the long run (RSA Principles, n.d.). The people consuming alcohol in Pine Ridge should be well aware of such facts. For that reason, they should consume alcohol responsibly when they visit Whiteclay.

Letter to Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman

Corporation Way

Nebraska.

Dear Mr. Friedman,

I do not concur with your argument. This is because I still believe Anheuser-Busch is wrong in supplying the liquor stores of Whiteclay, Nebraska. A large proportion of the liquor that it supplies finds its way to Pine Ridge. The liquor that Anheuser-Busch manufactures and supplies is killing the residents. There are two important elements lacking on the part of the company. The two elements are business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Basically, business ethics are moral principles, which guide the way a firm carries out its operations (Kolk, 2016). Companies should know what is deemed wrong or right and should always do what is right. Anheuser-Busch's liquor is negatively affecting the residents of both Whiteclay and Pine Ridge. 90 percent of arrests carried out by the tribal police are related to alcohol (Kristof, 2012)! Additionally, 90 percent of adolescents in Pine Ridge start drinking alcohol at an early age. This is a clear sign that the company, which supplies the great majority of the products at the Whiteclay liquor stores, is at the center of all the problems experienced by the residents of Whiteclay and Pine Ridge. Yet the management of the company has ignored the plea of the Pine Ridge residents. Thus, it seems the company lacks a clear moral compass.

The second thing that is lacking on the part of the company is social responsibility. Social responsibility means that an individual or organization is obligated to act for the benefit of a community of society (Kolk, 2016). There has to be a trade-off between the welfare of the society and economic development. However, in the case of Anheuser-Busch, there is no trade-off between economic development and welfare of the society. The company manufactured liquor, supplied it to Whiteclay, and went on with its day-to-day operations. But on the other side, the residents of Pine Ridge and Whiteclay were overconsuming the liquor to an extent that it has destroyed their lives as well as the lives of their offspring. The company was only after making money, that is, it was only after economic benefit. The company did not sustain the equilibrium between the two.

CUT THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH,; YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO STEP OUT OF CHARACTER. ALSO, FRIEDMAN NEEDS TO MAKE HIS OWN ARGUMENT, FROM HIS 1970 ARTICLE, PREMISE BY PREMISE. AND KRISTOF NEEDS TO RAISE CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT PREMISES IN THAT ARGUMENT. For example, are shareholders owners of the corporation? Is it the responsibility of executives to conduct the business as shareholders desire, or instead to conduct the business in accord with its mission? Do shareholders as a whole desire to make money only observing the limits of the law, or do many shareholders want the corporation to make money observing ethics, too?

In summary, I side with Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch is doing no wrong in supplying the liquor stores of Whiteclay, Nebraska. Irrespective of the population in Whiteclay, there was demand for liquor and the company is free to meet the available demand. Also, the blame should on the residents of Pine Ridge because they defied their laws banning alcohol and went ahead and consumed it. The company should not be blamed for the mistakes of Pine Ridge residents.

References

Kolk, A. (2016). The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the

environment to CSR and sustainable development. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 23-34.

Kristof, N. (2012). A battle with the Brewers. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-battle-with-the-brewers.html

RSA Principles. (n.d.). responsible consumption of alcohol. Retrieved from

https://www.rsanow.com.au/rsa-online/free-rsa-lessons/responsible-consumption-of-alcohol