Obesity

Introduction

By using stakeholder analysis, this essay analyses the impact of fast food on each stakeholder group and discusses whether the sale and marketing of fast food should be regulated or restricted. Stakeholder theory is an approach to corporate social responsibility that incorporates morals and ethics in managing an organization. A business has a responsibility to all of its stakeholder groups, and not just to its shareholders (Freeman, 2007).

In theory, stakeholders are groups and individuals that affect business and are affected by business. Beside its shareholders, major stakeholders of fast food companies include its consumers, employees, suppliers, communities and the government.

The impact of fast food on each group of stakeholder

1. Consumers

Many people, especially those who do not have time to cook, find ordering fast food very convenient as fast food restaurants can be found almost everywhere in town nowadays. In addition to that, most of these restaurants provide services such as drive-through or home delivery. Compared to eating at a sit-down restaurant, fast food meals are cheaper, quicker and relatively free from hassle. However, excessive fast food intake may lead to an increase in the risk of obesity, and it is associated with many diet-related chronic diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension and certain cancers (Cancer Council NSW, 2013). This is because this highly-processed food is usually served in large portion sizes, and contains high energy density, high sodium and sugar content, as well as large amounts of food additives and preservatives (Sampateek, 2013). In addition, to prevent grease leakage, many fast food companies coat their paper packaging with perfluoroalkyls, which are toxic compounds that harm the environment and human health (“Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry”, 2009).

1. Employees

Employees are also a major stakeholder group for fast food restaurants as they directly affect the company’s capabilities in terms of productivity, quality of service, and overall efficiency. Their interest claims include job security and safety. Fast food chains provide more career opportunities in the society. They also provide adequate education and training for employees to learn the skills necessary to run each of the workstations in the restaurants, as well as opportunities for advancement (Blundell, 2000). However, work at fast food restaurants is low-skilled, hard and often unrelenting (Royle, 2005) as employees are often forced to work during breaks and overtime without compensation, violating their basic labor rights (“Wage Advocates”, 2015). Some are also forced to work in unsafe working conditions resulting in burn injuries on the job (Lobosco, 2015). Employees are commonly paid at low minimum wages without health benefits (Allegretto et al., 2013) and denied the right to form a union. Several labor strikes were launched because of this, like the recent ‘Fight for $15’ movement, aimed at raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.