In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton,
Connecticut in late 2012, General Electric announced that the
company would no longer finance consumers’ gun purchases. Russell Wilkerson, a
G.E. spokesman, wrote in an email that the new policy was being adopted “in
light of industry changes, new legislation and tragic events that have caused
widespread re-examination of policies on fire-arms.” In other words, the policy shift was not simply a reaction to Sandy Hook. Rather, the company’s executives were adapting to changes in the organization’s environment, including the industry itself. This opens up the question of whether the new policy can be classified under the rubric of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Perhaps the adaptation was simply good business, with the appearance of “CSR” adding some reputational capital through a good public-relations campaign.
Do business principles mandate treating this product like any other? Source: NBC News
The full essay is at "Corporate Social Responsibility at G.E."
