Not all businesses are seen as being equal.

The vast majority of industries in today’s world are driven by financial gain. They have either a direct or indirect relationship with customers through the goods and services they provide. Some of the goods should only be used as intended because they are not safe for human consumption. Additionally, certain products can be addicting and put customers at risk for health problems if taken improperly or for an extended period of time. All these companies and their products are useful to the people and the economy and should be treated equally by the regulations. Besides the regulations set by lawmakers, it is an ethical responsibility of the company to let the consumers know what type of products they are handling; whether it is harmful or suitable for use. The user is then left to decide on how to use the product.

Alcohol Industry

The alcohol industry is one of the booming industries in the world. Most people prefer taking alcohol and alcoholic beverages as a way of relaxing; others claim that when they take alcohol, their stresses are relieved. When alcohol is taken inappropriately, it can cause health problems such as liver damage, brain disorder, and inflammation of the pancreas among others. Abuse of alcohol can also lead to social problems such as family breakups. (Rivara, et, al,1993).

The consumer is in most cases fully informed of these dangers of abusing the product and therefore it is not the responsibility of the company to monitor how the customer uses its product. Most liquor bottles are clearly labeled with the instruction and health effects if misused. If the customers read the details about the product and find it unhealthy or unsuitable for use, the decision on using the product is solely left to them. Governments have also come up with rules that control the usage of alcohol in their countries. Adherence to the regulations controlling the use of alcohol is, therefore, the consumer’s responsibility.( Hawkins, et, al, 2012)

The industry creates a lot of jobs to the people both directly and indirectly and therefore it is a significant contributor to the economy. Alcoholic beverage companies are also involved in co-curricular activities such sponsorship of sports teams and events, donations in charity events and offering scholarships. All these cannot be compromised because of consumers who have been warned about the product.

The decision as to whether to safeguard the health of the consumer or make profits is a social responsibility that must involve the consumer through representatives, the state and the company. Corporate decision making is adversely affected if left to be controlled by capitalism. The economy might be at risk since the stakeholders will make decisions that favor their companies to make more profits and increase the sales of their products and services. Such companies will thrive by increasing the price of goods which will, in turn, affect the economy.(Carroll, 1979)

Since alcohol is a major booster of the economy, the industry cannot go down because of the consumer’s health. The worst that can happen is balancing between the interest of the company and that of the consumer. Though one of the interests has to be weighed down and in most cases, it is the interest of the customer. This happens because the company has its own goals that have to be achieved in a prescribed period. The company, therefore, has set of operations that govern it to reach the set objective, and if the interests of the consumer seem to interfere with these activities, then the company will have to ignore them.

References

Rivara, F. P., Koepsell, T. D., Jurkovich, G. J., Gurney, J. G., & Soderberg, R. (1993). The effects of alcohol abuse on readmission for trauma. JAMA, 270(16), 1962-1964.

Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of management review, 4(4), 497-505.

Hawkins, B., Holden, C., & McCambridge, J. (2012). Alcohol industry influence on UK alcohol policy: a new research agenda for public health. Critical public health, 22(3), 297-305.