Running head: INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING PAPER 1
Integration of Faith and Learning Paper
BUSI 690: Policy and Strategy in Global Competition
Liberty University
3 May 2020
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Ethical issue: Should managers focus be only about the company’s financial
performance? What responsibility do company managers have to society? Identifies instances
where the company has acted ethically or showed its interest in a key stakeholder – or where it
has failed to do so.
Amazon
What started as a long shot of a man quitting his job for a long shot at success turned into
a ground-breaking success story Jeff Bezos when, in 1994, he started out as an online
marketplace for books. In 2015, Amazon would pass Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the
United States. This was only a start of what was to come for Amazon, in 2017 Amazon acquired
Whole Foods Market for $13.4 Billion. Nobody can question the success of Amazon; it has
made Jeff Bezos the richest man in the World in 2020. Overall, Amazon employs 750,000
people and helps simplify millions of people’s life all around the world. These are all great feats,
but it still leaves much of Amazon and Bezos legacy challenged by many due to those struggling
with poverty while both continue to get rich. Amazon does focus on the community, just after
customers and employees, but it does offer more options like Amazon Smile. The company must
also address governmental interests regarding consumer protection and international retail. These
considerations show that Amazon’s corporate social responsibility strategy is satisfactory but has
room for improvement (Ferguson, 2017).
Throughout the years, Amazon has been possibly unfairly judged because of how much
money it has made for those at the top, but this does not quite seem to add up, or does it? Jeff
Bezos has never been under so much scrutiny as Amazon has become even more important with
people all over the world afraid to shop, ordered to stay home, or due to some people panic
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buying. Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has committed $10 Billion to help counter the effects of
climate change. It is a good time for Bezos to make the donation. He’s already added $15.6
billion to his fortune -- or about $325 million a day -- in the first seven weeks of 2020 (Metcalf,
2020). Even after this large and generous donation to a good cause, it was Bezos’s pet project
and was patronized for it. Amazon funded some other things such as keeping seasonal workers
and donating $100 million in April to food banks during the Coronavirus. But the relief fund
also sparked backlash after it included a "Donate" button on the relief fund site, leaving many to
conclude that Amazon, a $1 trillion company, was soliciting donations from the public to help its
workers (Hartmans, 2020). The customer has a lot of control with how responsible the company
is within the community. A smaller and more powerful client base means that each customer has
more power to negotiate for lower prices and better deal (Chappelow, 2020). While some
customers truly care, it is too difficult to compete with Amazon, so customers would continue to
use them even if they are not responsible. The study, which utilized benchmark data dating back
to 1993, revealed that 87 percent of consumers said they’d purchase a product because a
company advocated for an issue they cared about and more than 75 percent would refuse to
(MacCarthy, 2017). purchase a product if they found out a company supported an issue contrary
to their beliefsThis all sounds great, but in the grand scheme of things, it is just a drop in the
bucket compared to what Amazon could offer the rest of the world. There is no reason Bezos’s
must do, he could do much more or much less, there is not a guideline on the right answer. Just
because he can do more, does not make it wrong that he does not.
In today’s competitive business environment, companies are using every available
marketing strategy and even questionable business practices to be profitable and remain relative
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to consumers. This makes sense as peoples jobs depend on the bottom line, but most customers
expect a company to do the right thing, as opposed to trying to become profitable.
It is also important to identify why a person might care about what they do? This could
be anything from a core belief or religious belief or the way someone was raised. Some
companies try to keep religious and political views outside of the workplace, but it is nearly
impossible as these can be core values. The lower a person is in the company the more likely
they are to extend beyond the company, including such things as political, cultural, or religious
beliefs. However, the higher up in the company, the more important it is to focus on the
company’s values. Business executives and a people of integrity, values should be reinforced
when making decision within the company. In 1 Timothy 6:9 (The New King James Version),
the scripture reads: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
First Timothy was the letter written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy to explain the
responsibilities of leaders and warned against the pitfalls of putting riches before godliness. The
letter went on to explain the sins of false teachers, greed, and the love of money. Although the
letter provided instructions about the importance of caring for the Church, this teaching can be
applied to company leaders in acting ethically when dealing with stakeholders. By adhering to
the lesson of the scripture in 1 Timothy, it is important for companies to be more concerned
about the well-being of its employees and the effect the company’s actions or decisions have on
its customer-base as opposed to financial performance.
In conclusion, there is no legal wrongdoing here by Amazon, and the company is not
likely to lose customers as there is too much supplier power here. However, from an ethical and
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Christian viewpoint, it is impossible for Amazon to operate with such high profit margins and
touch so many people and cities not to contribute even more. These large profit margins show
that stakeholders and profits are more important than customers and community.
References
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Chappelow, J. (2020, March 2). Porter's 5 Forces Definition. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/porter.asp
Demers, Jayson (2017, May 17). 5 Common Unethical Marketing Practices: Are You Guilty?
Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/05/17/5-common-unethical-
marketing-practices-are-you-guilty/#79de75552f27
Ferguson, E. (2017, February 20). Amazon.com Inc. Stakeholders, Corporate Social
Responsibility (An Analysis). Retrieved from http://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-
stakeholders-corporate-social-responsibility-analysis
Hartmans, A. (2020, April 2). Jeff Bezos will donate $100 million to help food banks that are
facing shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak. Retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-amazon-feeding-america-food-banks-
donation-coronavirus-2020-4
MacCarthy, L. (2017, May 18). New Report Reveals 86% of US Consumers Expect Companies
to Act on Social, Environmental Issues. Retrieved from
https://sustainablebrands.com/read/marketing-and-comms/new-report-reveals-86-of-us-
consumers-expect-companies-to-act-on-social-environmental-issues
Metcalf, T. (2020, February 18). Jeff Bezos Donating $10 Billion Barely Dents His Surging
Fortune. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-18/jeff-
bezos-donating-10-billion-barely-dents-his-surging-fortune
