Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Amity Research Centers
Length: 11 pages
Data source: Published sources
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https://casecent.re/p/105443
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Abstract
On 22 April 2011, a large number of residents from Bristol, UK, turned violent and hurled bottles and bricks at the riot police, sending many to hospital. The root cause for the violence was the opening of a Tesco store, which the residents had tried to block for the past 15 months. Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer and the largest retailer of UK, was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919. Over the years, it expanded its business aggressively through acquisition and overseas expansion. In 2011, the company’s profit was pegged at £3.8 billion. However, Tesco’s aggressive growth faced constant protest from various individuals and groups. The company was accused of annihilation of the small individual retailers and also was criticised for abusing the farmers by not sharing profit. Tescopoly, formed by an association of over 300 local organisations continuously protested (since 2005) against Tesco’s omnipresence in UK retail market. Nonetheless, the company continued building more and more Tesco-towns through mixed-use development route where the retailer would build houses, roads, schools and parks around its supermarket store. Tesco justified its actions, by emphasising that it was providing employment and development to the areas where it was needed. The case study leads to a discussion on business ethics; whether Tesco’s aggressive expansion was beneficial to the society by creating new jobs or actually hampering its health by phasing out the individual shops and mishandling the farmers.
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Abstract
On 22 April 2011, a large number of residents from Bristol, UK, turned violent and hurled bottles and bricks at the riot police, sending many to hospital. The root cause for the violence was the opening of a Tesco store, which the residents had tried to block for the past 15 months. Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer and the largest retailer of UK, was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919. Over the years, it expanded its business aggressively through acquisition and overseas expansion. In 2011, the company’s profit was pegged at £3.8 billion. However, Tesco’s aggressive growth faced constant protest from various individuals and groups. The company was accused of annihilation of the small individual retailers and also was criticised for abusing the farmers by not sharing profit. Tescopoly, formed by an association of over 300 local organisations continuously protested (since 2005) against Tesco’s omnipresence in UK retail market. Nonetheless, the company continued building more and more Tesco-towns through mixed-use development route where the retailer would build houses, roads, schools and parks around its supermarket store. Tesco justified its actions, by emphasising that it was providing employment and development to the areas where it was needed. The case study leads to a discussion on business ethics; whether Tesco’s aggressive expansion was beneficial to the society by creating new jobs or actually hampering its health by phasing out the individual shops and mishandling the farmers.